Snapshot of the Past

During the second world war Land Army girls were employed at the Drouin Flax Mill to help with the processing of flax.
Flax was an important product as it "was used to make coats, parachute harnesses, ropes and tarpaulins. With shipping disruption in 1939, Britain's flax supply vanished and Australia increased production to compensate" (from the Old Treasury Museum website).
The cellulose fibres inside flax stalks are used to make linen. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants in human history.
Drouin was one of the 16 mills built by the government in country centres like West Gippsland.
The Australian Women's Land Army was established in 1942 to help combat the shortage of 'manpower' during World War II. Many land army girls worked on flax farms. The work was physically tiring and there were mice in the stacks and snakes in the straw. Fire was a constant danger.
This photo shows two land army girls using pitch forks to feed the processors as the flax was delivered. The girls received £3 10s per week, about 75 per cent of the wages paid to men for the same work.
The girls were recruited from the city and the country with most working on farms.
This photo is part of the Drouin: A Small Town at War collection held by the Drouin History Group.
The photos were taken by Jim Fitzpatrick official war photographer.
Hear more of the stories of the Women's Land Army and the Drouin Flaxmill on the story of the CWA, Drouin: a small town at war and several of the other stories on www.storiesofdrouin.com.au
Information courtesy Stories of Drouin, a cooperative oral history project between The Committee for Drouin, the Drouin History Group and 3BBR FM to preserve local stories.