Though the downturn in the economy had a much greater effect on the lives of the poor, not even the very rich could ignore the situation, as evidence of the Depression could be found everywhere.
The Depression was illustrated by the estimated 40,000 homeless who had to create makeshift accommodation in public parks and fields and by the men that went wandering—"on the track"—in search of work during this time, or even food, known as swagmen.
These men, estimated to be somewhere around 30,000 in number, had to report to a police station every week, where they could claim very basic rations of food.
[3] Numerous campaigns took place around Australia in which community members carried out protests over inadequate levels of sustenance and the invasive and patronising treatment of recipients.
[4][5] It was immortalised in a contemporary children’s rhyme (probably based on "You're in the Army Now", a World War I song featured in intertitles of the 1925 King Vidor silent film The Big Parade):