Today, the 6th of June, marks the 66th Anniversary of the allied forces landing on the beaches of Normandy, the day that was code-named, D-Day. Operation Overlord eventually landed hundreds of thousands of troops and millions of tons of materiel on the French coastline and resulted, in April of the following year, in the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The liberation of Europe had far-reaching consequences, not the least here in Australia where, over the next 15 years, hundreds of thousands of firstly refugees, and then displaced persons and finally immigrants fleeing post-war privations caused the biggest spike in our population since the Gold Rushes 100 years before. Using the huge available pool of labour, governments and industries were able to complete massive engineering projects like the Snowy Mountains Scheme and so our country’s prosperity was increased and our recovery from the strictures of wartime rationing and belt-tightening was hastened.
The addition of thousands of people from countries of which most Australians had never even heard before also richened our society and the introduction of new foods, customs and ideas helped to make Australia the tolerant and inclusive country it is today.
We owe a lot to the heroes of D-Day.
