I was inspired to write this book by stories my uncle told me about growing up in Sydney during the 1930s. Racing the Moon is set in 1931 and follows a year in the life of Joe Riley. I’ve tried to convey what it was like to be a boy, living and going to school during the Depression. I want the reader to be right there with Joe – seeing, feeling and experiencing everything that he does, to get a personal understanding of what it was like growing up at this difficult time in Australia’s history.
Very few families had a car or even a telephone back then. Most people in Sydney caught trams or trains to get around, or else walked. Aviators like Charles Kingsford Smith were flying around in small planes and commercial flights were just starting out. Ships were used to transport goods and people around the world, but only the wealthy could afford to travel. Computers weren’t invented, there was no television and the film industry was just starting up. Apart from listening to the wireless or gramophone records, people had to make their own entertainment at home.
Most people consider the American stock market crash in 1929 to be the start of the Great Depression. As prices for our primary produce (mainly wool and wheat) collapsed and overseas loan funds dried up, businesses closed, the government cut back on services and staff, and many people lost their jobs. The Bank of England advised our government on what needed to be done for Australia to be able to pay back its loans. In 1931, the government cut the basic wage by ten per cent, increased taxes and slashed spending. By 1932, around thirty per cent of Australian workers were unemployed, while many of those with jobs had to accept pay cuts or part-time employment.
The government provided some relief to the unemployed through the dole or sustenance (known as ‘susso’), but it was barely enough to survive on, and consisted mostly of food vouchers and coupons that could be exchanged for basic food items like bread, butter and meat. Soup kitchens and bread lines were organised by churches and other charities to help the destitute. There was no rent support provided by the government so a lot of people were forced to leave their homes and live in shanty towns or on the streets and in parks. Many people had to be creative to make ends meet during the Depression – just like Joe and his family.