Mike
An interesting one from DFAT.
Australia actually had a trade surplus during WW2 (all those Liberty ships full of wool and wheat). Of course the vast majority was with USA which was the only game in town at the time.
Unemployment was at record lows (due to war production and military service), people had more money than ever and the Reserve Bank was terrified of a post war inflation run-away like after WW1.
I venture to suggest that the stuff westbound across the Pacific was war material actually purchased with Eastbound trade profits - a great proportion commercial transactions by Australian war contractors not government.
Still collecting data.
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