The fourth decade 1930-1939
| Effects of the Depression |
| New markets for courses |
| The Royal Commission on Youth Employment and the Apprenticeship System |
| World War II |
Newspaper Articles Student Profiles Industry Profiles
Effects of the Depression
The 1930s represent a troubled decade, beginning with depression and ending in war. The impact of these major world events greatly affected the operations of Midland Junction Technical School as well as its students and staff.
The spiraling economy of Midland Junction at the beginning of the decade
virtually destroyed any opportunities for young people. 
When the value of
wheat and wool plummeted, local businesses that provided employment for
technical school graduates could no longer rely on the support of the farming
community. The loss of export income caused the Government to shed
many of its employees, particularly in the railways. This in turn took its toll
on other businesses in the district. Public works and private building virtually
came to a standstill – and builders stopped taking on apprentices.
Such a dramatic drop in building trade employees meant the Superintendent of Technical Education, J F Lynch had to close classes for these trades. In turn this created problems for the Building Trades Apprenticeship Board because it could not carry out the provisions of the Industrial Arbitration Act. Ed Dept File 2355/27
Lynch’s solution was to provide a more general and limited scheme of vocational training. In June 1931 he wrote to the Director of Education with a proposal:
'to offer 100 unemployed youths vocational training that they might otherwise receive via an apprenticeship.' Ed Dept file 2355/27
He wanted to retain the expert trade staff who, he said,
‘had generously and unanimously offered to conduct the classes outside of their official teaching hours without payment until such time as it is possible to include the work as part of their normal duties’. Ed Dept file 2355/27
As well as a dramatic drop in student numbers, which extended beyond the trade classes, the Technical School struggled to cover the costs of building maintenance. An issue relating to a small amount of accidental damage to a window by a student attracted much correspondence back and forth between senior officers in their efforts to extract the costs from the student’s parents. Maintenance costs were often a bone of contention between the Education Department and the Railways with whom the Technical School shared the building.
New markets for courses
Other ways were explored to remain in business by generating money through courses. A self-supporting class in Motor Mechanics was established with an enrolment of 23. The fee was 10/- for ten lectures but was later raised to 15/-. In 1931 the School initiated a course in Stationary Engine Driving, the only one of its kind in the metropolitan area. Farmers who were forced to lay off labour were beginning to rely more on engines to do jobs like cutting chaff.
Another way the Technical School survived was to support the one industry in
the Valley that continued to retain a strong export market throughout the
Depression. The Horticulture Industry exporting dried fruits had been heavily
promoted in Britain, Canada and New Zealand for many years and growers
benefited. A series of lectures were delivered by advisers of the Department of
Agriculture to students who were viticulturists. Students worked on experimental
plots on holdings and it was anticipated that much information would be gained
in later years by these projects. The course expanded to include general
Horticulture and was conducted over two 15 week terms. Swan Express 2 April
1931.
By 1932, new export markets in Asia had been sourced, and economic conditions began to slowly improve. The Railway Workshops at Midland Junction began re-engaging its former employees, which in turn brought back the need for technical training. The school gradually returned to a "normal" state, focusing on more everyday concerns. The 1933 Annual Report lamented the fact that,
‘a billiard saloon on the premises is ever a source of trouble in the school, and whilst every effort is made to discourage billiards during school hours, the temptation is ever present, and until the school has a building to itself, it will be necessary to combat this nuisance’. Annual Report 1933
Although the railways remained the Technical School’s main industry focus in the mid thirties – in 1936 there were 304 railway apprentices compared to 232 other students - the trend towards expansion to meet the training needs of a broader range of industries continued. In 1934 under the auspices of the Advisory Board, a series of six lectures on ‘Poultry for Profit’ was given in the Midland Junction Lesser Town Hall.
The Royal Commission on Youth Employment and the Apprenticeship System
But despite improvement in the economy, youth unemployment remained high –
particularly for those who had missed out on gaining apprenticeships due to the
Depression. Although this affected both sexes, an increasing percentage of
females were being engaged in clerical and other occupations, which, some
claimed, could be filled by males. In the 1938 Royal Commission on Youth
Employment and the Apprenticeship System, such attitudes attracted strong
opposition from women’s groups.
Bessie Rischbieth, a prominent activist for equal rights for women, addressed the Commission on the position of girls as compared with boys in industry, commerce and the professions:
"...From the time they leave school, boys and girls cease to be regarded as equals, and this attitude continues until, by the time girls reach the age of 21, they are struggling under grave disabilities. In some instances they are prohibited from entering certain trades; and in some cases their work is governed by special legislation, and in all avenues of work, with the exception of the higher professions, they receive only about half the wages paid to men."
Rischbieth was particularly scathing about the fact that the clothing trade, which employed many thousands of girls, restricted some apprenticeships to males only.
Rischbieth believed an ideal employment opportunity for women was in the field of Domestic Science, but at a more advanced level. By the 1930s cooking and laundry classes were an established part of the Technical School’s program, however Rischbieth’s plan was to extend the training focus beyond household employment - to give domestic science equal standing with other sciences by incorporating subjects such as dietetics and infant health.
The beauty trade, a relatively new industry, was also seen as providing employment options for women, however Rischbieth strongly advocated the necessity for a four year apprenticeship, or two years technical training followed by a two year apprenticeship to stabilise the industry.
Another inequity Rischbieth brought to the attention of the Commission was the fact that girls were penalised by a regulation of the Shops and Factories Act: unlike boys, they were not allowed to work in factories until they were 15, despite the fact that the school leaving age was 14. Raising the school leaving age from 14 to 15 to reduce the number of unemployed youth was one of the main recommendations that came out of the Royal Commission. Those students who did not show any aptitude for a cultural education would be directed towards subjects of a junior technical nature at the age of twelve.
Pre-vocational training was already being offered at some of the technical schools including Midland Junction. Girls received training in commercial work, dressmaking and millinery, and boys obtained a preliminary knowledge of engineering and building trades to assist them to make more informed choices for their future. One of the recommendations from the Commission was that approved apprentices must have satisfactory pre-vocational training for the trade they wished to enter. Recommendations that were never implemented included ‘compulsory full time attendance at a technical school for all youths from the time they leave day school until they secure employment’, and ‘compulsory part time attendance at a technical school in the employer’s time for all workers up to 18 years of age’.
The Commission found that current facilities for technical education were
inadequate and looked to the Federal Government for increased funding. Prior to
the Royal Commission, the Australian Education Council, made up of State
Ministers for Education had lobbied the Federal Government for grants for
capital expenditure on sites, building and equipment to support technical
education.
But by the end of the decade other issues were beginning to take priority for Commonwealth spending. With the deteriorating international political situation, money was being directed towards defence. The aerial bombardment of cities in the Spanish civil war in 1937 had given a new prominence to the aviation industry and part of the Commonwealth’s investment included an Airforce Base at Pearce to the north of Midland Junction. Training in Aviation which in later years was transferred to Midland Junction Technical School was already being conducted at Perth Technical School prior to the outbreak of war.
World War II
The announcement by Neville Chamberlain in September 1939 that Britain was at war was immediately followed by an announcement by Prime Minister R. G. Menzies that Australia was also at war.
Re-introduction of compulsory military training was fiercely resisted by the Labor Government and the union movement. The capitalist as warmongers and war profiteers was a common Labor theme during the isolationist thirties and the leader of the Labor Party John Curtin had begged for reassurance that the Government had not pledged Australia to go to war should Britain be committed to do so.
‘The chief menace to peace is the failure of nations to make the welfare of their own people the paramount activity of their governments’. J M Main, Conscription: the Australian Debate 1901-1970, Cassell Australia, 1970.
Menzies was acutely aware of the sensitivity on an issue that had caused bitter conflict in Australia during World War 1.
"
I once more emphasise that there is no question of conscription for overseas service. We are definitely pledged against it. But for very many years the law of this country has been such as to impose upon all citizens of certain aged classes the liability to serve in Australia in time of war..... In order to maintain the Militia Forces at their appropriate strength, it is not necessary to go beyond calling up the trainees of one age class. The class selected consists of those who attain the age of 21 years during the current financial year." J M Main, Conscription: the Australian Debate 1901-1970, Cassell Australia, 1970.
With the introduction of compulsory military service the suspension of apprenticeships until after the war was recommended. Technical school students training for reserved occupations could obtain exemptions by making application to the area officer in their district. The local paper contained regular reminders of such obligations and there were penalties for failing to report.
The Commonwealth Government funded the State Education Departments to provide technical education for service personnel, and as the limited amount of space at Midland Junction Technical School had become a matter of urgency, the Advisory Board secured a new site in preparation for a very different decade of training.