Project blog

Poster by Artist Norman Lindsay

Mosman backed Prime Minister Hughes’ conscription campaign. Women voters voiced their opinions. Like the rest of the nation, they were divided in their support.

Opinions about compulsory conscription divided the men in the trenches, and those at home. In the words of official historian C.E.W. Bean, the plebiscite was one of the most acrimonious struggles Australia has ever seen.

Strike-breakers at Taronga Zoo viewing the monkey enclosure, 1917. Their tents can be seen in the trees behind them. Stanley R. Beer Studio (National Library of Australia)

Sarah Laing’s letter asking after her son (AWM R149302)

Photographs of strike-breakers at Taronga Zoo and a digitised image of a letter written by a Mosman mother enquiring about her son, give us a glimpse into Australian society in the early 20^th century.

Aeroplane V. Airship. The Strand Magazine, 1916.

Bill Taylor, 3rd son of Mosman Mayor P.T. Taylor realised his dream was to fly..

I knew immediately this was how I wanted to go to war. I wanted to fly one of these aeroplanes, to get to grips with the enemy without all the sordid complications of war on the ground.

The Battle of Fromelles has been described as the worst 24 hrs in Australian military history..

Imperial German Army sign board, taken from the roadside leading into Fromelles, opposite the trenches occupied by the 5th Australian Division. Image: AWM RELAWM07383