Bringing Our Stories Home

- Season 1

(2016)

As President of the Templestowe Cricket Club and Head Teacher of the Templestowe State School, Robert Searby felt, as much as any, the personal tragedy that came with watching a generation of young men be sent off to war.

In 1914, Adela Pankhurst, daughter of celebrated suffragette leader Emmeline, migrated to Australia. It wasn't long before she was imprisoned for inciting protests against wartime food shortages.

For Gordon Wallace, his physical scars were a visible reminder of the horrors he endured during World War I. Upon his return home, it was his wife Evelyn who bore the brunt of his frustrations and disappointment.

Many women found ways to support and encourage the troops, from home in Melbourne. Miss Mulholland organised a bazaar, which raised funds towards the construction of a soldiers memorial fountain in Mordialloc.

Samuel Tongway was born in Australia, the son of Chinese immigrants. After enlisting to fight in World War I, he was told his services would not be required, as he was not of "sufficient European blood".

During World War I, Seattle showmen The Phillips Brothers played host to a series of carnivals at Melbourne's Luna Park, in order to raise funds for wounded Australian soldiers.