Photo courtesy of Paul Pope.
Redland Museum’s Queensland Day celebrations will be marked by Theatre Redlands’ premiere presentation of The Other Diggers, a play based on the Australian Women’s Land Army and the vital role it played in World War 2.
Written and directed by Theatre Redland’s Jan Nary, the play was created to pay homage to the Land Army women and to afford their contribution more public recognition. The Redlands (known as the “Fruit Bowl”) and its surrounding regions depended heavily on Land Army labour so the story, while its anecdotes and incidents are drawn from all around Australia, have a special resonance here.
“Like many of us I had only a basic understanding of the Land Army and what it achieved,” says Jan. “A talk given by Cr. Paul Bishop about the Land Army’s camp at Birkdale Community Arts Hall made me think – there’s a play in that!”
And indeed there was. In 1942 Australia faced the double threat of invasion and, due to the number of able-bodied men who had enlisted, a critical rural labour shortage. The government formed the Australian Women’s Land Army and called for women to take on the role of producing food and fibre for the domestic population, for our forces overseas and for USA troops stationed in Australia. Women answered the call, coming mostly from occupations in shops, factories, offices, homes and restaurants. With little or no previous experience they signed up for the back-breaking work of digging, planting, harvesting, milking, slaughtering, butchering, tractor driving, baling, shearing and crating – and they kept their country and its dependents fed, even managing to supplement the UK’s rationing.
The women in the story are fictitious but their history and anecdotes are drawn from research that revealed a fascinating and admirable story that had almost faded from the pages of history. The Other Diggers hopes to help give the Land Army women the status that they deserve.
The Other Diggers, opens at the Redland Museum on June 2nd 2023. More information at https://www.redlandmuseum.org.au/whats-on/events
