The early optimism for the War was as evident in Brunswick and Coburg as it was elsewhere in Australia. Enlistment in the local area was high, and departing troops were given large public send-offs.

This photograph shows a send-off organised by the Brunswick City Council for departing soliders on 9 September 1914. A dinner was held at the Town Hall and then the soldiers moved to the Lyric Theatre (now the Brunswick Club) for entertainment. Around 250 local soldiers attended and each was presented with a silver matchbox and a compass.

At the time these soldiers were training at a camp in Broadmeadows. The Victorian contingent of the First Expeditionary Force departed on 16 transport ships between 17 and 21 October to rendezvous with the contingents from other states at Albany, Western Australia.

The honour board at the Brunswick Town Hall shows the names of all residents of the Brunswick area who served in the War.

The honour board contains the names of over 3000 soldiers from the local area, around 500 of whom died while serving. This honour board is unusual in listing all locals who served in the Australian army, not just those who died. It also has officers and enlisted men together, rather than in separate lists as some honour boards do.

The honour board was completed in 1928. Both Frank Anstey, the anti-conscriptionist member of Parliament for Brunswick, and former pro-conscriptionist mayor Matthew Balfe spoke at the opening ceremony.

This is a Memorial Plaque. These plaques were issued to the family of every soldier from the British Empire who died. Because of their size they were colloquially known as "Dead man’s pennies".

World War One was the bloodiest conflict in Europe for nearly three hundred years. In a little over four years, from July 1914 to November 1918, 10 million soldiers and 6 million civilians were killed. Sixty thousand Australians died, and more than were 150 000 wounded, out of a total force of 400 000 - nearly 10% of Australia’s population at the time.

This plaque was issued to the family of Leonard William Telford from Bendigo. Telford was killed in France in 1917 from a bomb dropped from a plane.

Like the Brunswick Town Hall Honour Board, the memorial plaques did not distinguish soldiers by their rank. All plaques were the same.

Prime Minister Billy Hughes announced his support for conscription when he returned from visiting Britain in early 1916.

In November 1915, just before departing for Britain, Hughes made a speech in which he promised that Australia would send an additional 50 000 soldiers to the war. One of the arguments used by pro-conscriptionists was that it would be shameful for Australia to fail to honour a promise made by its Prime Minister. This poster is based on that argument.