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Pearson Australia
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(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd)
First published 2012 by Pearson Australia
2015 2014 2013 2012
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Publishers: Sarah Russell and Kirsty Hamilton
Authors: Sally Bullen and Michael Pyne
Project Editor: Rachel Davis
Editor: Cameron Macintosh
Designer: Anne Donald
Cover Designer: Glen McClay
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Copyright & Pictures Editor: Michelle Jellett
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Bullen, Sally.
Title: The threat of communism / Sally Bullen and Michael Pyne.
ISBN: 978 1 4425 6003 1 (pbk.)
Series: Australia in the 20th and 21st Centuries.
Notes: Includes index.
Target Audience: For primary school age.
Subjects: History, Modern 20th century Juvenile literature.
Australia History 20th century Juvenile literature.
Other Authors/Contributors: Pyne, Michael.
Dewey Number: 994.05
Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd ABN 40 004 245 943
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Contents
Introduction 4
Timeline 6
Australias Response to Communism in Asia 8
Australias Response to Communism at Home 12
Vietnam War 14
Vietnam War Splits the Nation 18
Impact of the Vietnam War 22
Refugees 24
Impact of the Vietnam War on Australian Culture 26
Australias Relations with Asia 28
Glossary 30
Index 32
Find Out More 32
Words that are printed in bold are explained in the Glossary on pages 30 and 31.
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The Korean War
was one of the wars
Australia became
involved in to help
fight against the
threat of communism.
5
Introduction
This series looks at Australian history from just before the time
Australia became a nation in 1901 to the present day. Each book
examines a different period of Australian history over the 20
th
century
and into the 21
st
century. This 111-year period has been a time of
great change in Australian history.
Some Australians wanted the Australian
Government to bring the troops home. While
Australia saw itself as an independent member
of the world community, it was influenced by
the USA.
About This Book
This book covers the period from the end of
World War II in 1945 to the beginning of the
1970s. You can read about:
Australias response to the threat of
communism in Asia after World War II
the response to communism in Australia
Australias involvement in the Vietnam War
differing views of Australias involvement in
the Vietnam War
the impact of the war on various aspects of
Australian life.
In 1945, World War II ended, but Australians
continued to experience rationing and the
emotional scars of returning soldiers and
families touched by the war. The end of the
war began a chapter in Australias history when
fear and suspicion ruled many decisions. It
remained a time of fear and suspicion towards
Asia, and the policies formed by Prime Minister
Robert Menziess conservative government
dominated Australian politics for most of this
period.
Australia became involved in several wars
to fight against communism, including the
Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the
Vietnam War. Australias entry into the Vietnam
War was supported because of a belief in a
war against the evil of communism. But,
it became clear that the Vietnam War was
complicated and difficult to fight.
Australians opposition to
having troops involved in
the Vietnam War grew as
the war progressed.
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n 1945 World War II ends in Europe.
Atomic bombs are dropped on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, and Japan surrenders.
n 1946 Wartime security controls are
stopped.
n 1947 There are one million registered
motor vehicles in Australia. The 40-hour
working week is introduced in NSW.
n 1948 Wartime rationing finally ends.
The first Australian-made Holden car is
produced. Donald Bradman retires from
cricket.
n 1949 Robert Menzies and the
conservative Liberal Country Party win
government. The right to vote is given
to some Aboriginal people in NSW,
Tasmania and South Australia.
n 1950 The Communist Party
Dissolution Bill is introduced. Australians
are committed to United Nations forces
in the Korean War.
n 1951 Australia, New Zealand and the
USA sign the ANZUS treaty. Australia
celebrates the 50th anniversary of
Federation. The High Court declares the
Communist Party Dissolution Bill invalid.
n 1952 Queen Elizabeth II ascends
to the throne and becomes Australias
head of state. The British explode an
atomic bomb off the north-west coast of
Australia.
n 1953 The Korean War ends.
n 1954 Queen Elizabeth II visits
Australia. SEATO is formed.
Timeline
n 1955 Australia sends troops to
Malaya. The Australian Government
agrees to British atomic bomb tests at
Maralinga in South Australia.
n 1956 The polio vaccine is first used.
The first television service occurs in
Sydney. An atomic bomb is exploded at
Maralinga. The Olympic Games are held
in Melbourne.
n 1958 The Australian Council for the
Advancement of Aborigines is formed.
The dictation test is removed from the
Australian immigration process.
n 1959 The Australian population
reaches 10 million.
n 1962 Australia sends military advisers
to Vietnam. Uranium is found in the
Northern Territory.
n 1964 Conscription is introduced for
20-year-old Australian males.
n 1965 Australia sends troops to
Vietnam.
n 1966 Decimal currency is introduced.
There is an increase in Australian troops
in Vietnam to 4500.
n 1967 Ninety per cent of Australians
vote yes to the Aboriginal Referendum.
Australian forces in Vietnam increase
to 8300. The National Service Act is
changed to imprison conscientious
objectors to the Vietnam War.
n 1970 The Gorton Government
reduces troop numbers in Vietnam. The
moratorium movement grows. The 200
th

anniversary of Captain James Cooks
discovery of Australia takes place.
n 1971 The Australian Government
withdraws troops from Vietnam. The Yirrkala
Aboriginal people fight for land rights. Neville
Bonner is the first Indigenous person to
enter the Australian parliament. The first
census in which full blooded Aboriginal
people are included occurs. Australias
population reaches 12.7 million.
Queen Elizabeth II was
crowned queen in 1953.
She is Australias head
of state.
n 1972 The Aboriginal Tent
Embassy is established at
Parliament House in Canberra.
The Whitlam Labor Government
is elected. Australia recognises
the Peoples Republic of China.
1945 1955 1971 1972
1959
1950
1954
1965
1970
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Communist countries
NATO/SEATO countries
East Germany
Poland
Czechoslovakia
Hungary
Yugoslavia
Rumania
Albania
Bulgaria
North Korea
Japan
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Great Britain
Holland
West Germany
Belgium
France
Austria
Italy
Greece
Turkey
Laos
Vietnam
Cambodia
Philippines
Thailand
Malaysia
Singapore
Indonesia
Papua New Guinea
Australia
New
Zealand
Soviet Union
USA
Canada
China
Australias Response to
Communism in Asia
The end of World War II saw the beginnings of the Cold War. The
Cold War was a conflict between the two superpowers the USA and
the Soviet Union about the way the world after World War II would
look. The Soviet Union began to spread the word of communism.
Communist activities spread to Asia in 1949, and people feared it
would come to Australia.
Australia took an aggressive and involved
stand in Asia, especially against communist
uprisings, entering the Korean War in the early
1950s, the Malayan Emergency in the later
1950s and 1960s and the Vietnam War in
the 1960s. Australia also joined the ANZUS
(Australia, New Zealand and the United
States) Treaty, whereby the three countries
agreed to assist each other in matters of
common defence. In addition, Australia joined
SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation),
another mutual defence treaty.
Forward Defence
Australias foreign policy was influenced by
the forward defence policy, based on the
principle that it is better to fight them over
there than here. After its experience with
the Japanese in World War II, Australia was
prepared to support any US action against
an aggressor. The Menzies Government
also believed in the Domino Theory, which
said that if one country in South-East Asia
falls to communism, they will all fall, until
communism reaches Australia.
Communism
Communism is a political belief that sees all
history as a class struggle between the rich
middle class and the workers. The workers,
according to communists, will inevitably win
the struggle and set up a dictatorship of the
working class.
The Soviet Union set up the Warsaw Pact,
which was an alliance of Eastern European
nations that the Soviets had freed from
Germany. In response, the USA and its allies,
including Canada, Britain and some Western
European countries, formed NATO the
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. These two
alliances divided Europe with what became
known as the Iron Curtain. In 1949 in China,
Mao Zedung took the communists to control in
the Chinese Revolution.
Foreign Policy
During World War II, Australia had been
greatly affected by the Japanese threat, and
now turned towards the USA and Asia as the
main focuses of its foreign policy. This meant
that Australia saw the AsiaPacific region as
more important than the European region. So,
Australia supported Indonesias independence
movement led by Dr Sukarno, which led
to independence from the Dutch in 1949.
9
This map shows the way
the world looked after the
end of World War II.
Mao Zedung
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26 Oct
24 Nov
Seoul
Pyongyang
Pusan
Inchon
Chosan
Hyesanjin
Chongjin
Sea of Japan
Chosin
Reservoir
Im
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R
Y
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Manchuria
(CHINA)
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1950 24 JANUARY 1951 OCTOBER 1951JULY 1953
P
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Seoul
Pyongyang
Pusan
Chungju
Inchon
Samchok
Sea of Japan
Im
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R
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Manchuria
(CHINA)
Seoul
Pyongyang
Pusan
Inchon
38N 38N 38N
Kansong
Sea of Japan
Yellow Sea Yellow Sea Yellow Sea
Im
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Manchuria
(CHINA)
0 100 200 km 0 100 200 km 0 100 200 km
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The Korean War
The Korean War occurred between 1950 and
1953. Australia sent 17 000 military personnel
to Korea, including nurses. The war began
when North Korea, backed by the Soviet
Union, invaded South Korea in June 1950,
disobeying United Nations resolutions.
The UN responded quickly, sending the forces
of 15 nations, including Australia, to counter-
attack. Already, most of South Korea had been
overrun by the communist forces and the UN
forces had to fight them back up the Korean
Peninsula. The war was a see-sawing affair
with advances and retreats on both sides.
Fighting conditions in Korea were very difficult.
The UN forces had to face not only the many
hundreds of thousands of North Korean and
Chinese soldiers in human wave attacks, but
also the cold and bitter winters. Also, the
terrain was mountainous, which made it ideal
for the enemy to conduct guerilla warfare
using hit and run attacks.
Refugees
One of the results of the Korean War was
the creation of large numbers of refugees.
Millions of people were made homeless and
forced onto the road to flee. This created
huge problems for the UN, which had to feed
and house them until the fighting was over.
Because the war ended with the country
divided into communist north and non-
communist south, many refugees were never
able to return to their homes. The war finally
ended in July 1953, with a truce and the old
border at the 38
th
parallel (38 degrees north)
still dividing North and South Korea.
Malayan Emergency
19481966
The Malayan Emergency began shortly
after the British re-entered Malaya
after World War II. The British set up
a long-term plan for handing over the
country to Malays. However, there were
communists in Malaya, who wanted to set
up a communist state. The British were
not prepared to give independence to a
communist government in Malaya, so there
began a long guerilla war for control of
the country. Australians were concerned
about the spread of communism in their
region, and they also felt responsible for
helping to defend Britains interests in the
area. So Australia sent a bomber squadron
to Malaya, where they served from 1950
until 1958, along with infantry and support
troops to support the British. By 1966, the
war was over and an independent Malayan
Government was in power, free from
communist influence.
Korean War Facts
Australias contribution to the Korean War
included sending 17 000 personnel to
Korea, including Army and RAAF nurses.
Of this number, 340 were killed and 1216
were wounded, while 29 were taken
prisoner. The total United Nations forces
included 74 000 killed, 250 000 wounded
and 84 000 missing or taken prisoner.
These maps show the highs and lows of the Korean
War. The red line indicates the changing border between
North and South Korea as the battle between the UN
and communist forces raged.
The Australian Government
sent 17 000 military personnel
to help fight the Korean War.
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