rocured their supplies from the local Supply Depot. Although the
meat was passable, the bread--heavy, sodden, and often mildewy--was a
source of daily and indignant protest. Complaint after complaint was
lodged with the Supply people but improvement was almost despaired of,
especially after verbal intimation had been received through
semi-official channels that if the West Australians wanted better bread
they would have to pay for it. Eventually, however, a change took place
and the article became more palatable. The groceries were purchased from
the Army canteens, which at this time were farmed out to contractors.
Here the trouble was in the rising price of staple articles, the want of
variety, and the scarcity of supplies. Tea and coffee were ample, but
the sugar ration was hardly sufficient for these let alone any surplus
being available for puddings, etc. Of the side-lines, such as tinned
fish, rice, prunes, oatmeal, etc., what there was of these did not go
far to appease the appetites of men used to better fare and having now
to undergo hard training. The 8-1/2d. could not work miracles, and try as
they would--and did--those responsible for the welfare of the men found
themselves hard pressed in ensuring that their charges were even
decently fed. Nor was the procuring of suitable and adequate rations the
only trouble. Cooking them also presented many difficulties. Travelling
kitchens had not then been supplied to the new units, and the only
cooking vessels available were the camp kettles or dixies. Consequently
such food as had to be cooked could only be boiled or stewed, and even
then the results were not always satisfactory. The cooks themselves were
untrained and often had to be changed. They lacked the knowledge and
experience necessary to secure the best results and avoid waste. They
were also handicapped for want of proper fuel and plant. The fuel was
wood. What kind of wood it was, or where it came from, nobody knew. It
had the appearance and endurance of that stray log which sometimes
arrives in loads from Australian woodyards and which the self-respecting
householder absolutely declines to tackle except in the last extremity.
It played havoc with the temper of the cooks' fatigues and also with
their tools.

Clothing was an important factor. The heavy woollen material of the
Australian uniforms was unsuitable in a climate where rain was almost
unknown and where the daily temperature averaged over 90 deg. in