Australian Women's Army Service
Raised on 13 August 1941 to "release men from certain military duties for employment in fighting units"[1] the service grew to over 20,000-strong and provided personnel to fill various roles including administration, driving, catering, signals and intelligence.
The Service recruited women between the ages of 18 and 45 and it was initially envisaged they would serve in a variety of roles including clerks, typists, cooks and drivers.
[citation needed] AWAS personnel initially served in Headquarters, and Base Installations, and later in a number of direct command Army units.
3,618 served with the Royal Australian Artillery and they manned the Fixed Defences of Australia from Hobart in the South and Cairns in the north, and Perth in the west.
[4] The women were given a few days to acclimatize to the tropics and settle into the 68th AWAS Barracks on Butibum Road, Lae, near Voco Point before starting work.
The barracks had been constructed by army engineers and New Guinean workers and the compound perimeter was enclosed by a high barbed wire fence patrolled by armed guards.
It was also discovered that unknown to Army authorities, two officers and three sergeants in Intelligence had earlier been moved from Brisbane to Dutch New Guinea in June 1944; once realised, these women were brought back to Lae to serve with the main contingent.
The Women's Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) was formed in April 1951 to counter a manpower shortage that developed due to hostilities in the Korean Peninsula and post-World War II full employment.
