World War Two
1939–1945
Population passed 7 Million.
There was little immigration during World War Two. Towards the end of the war and just after, Australia experienced a net
migration loss, losing 15,148 people in 1946.
The war brought home Australia’s vulnerability. The acting Prime Minister, Frank Forde said after John Curtin’s death in
1945: ‘History will some day record how close Australia was to being overrun’.