Clothing ration card for a child.

During World War II food and clothing were rationed in Australia from May 1942, to reduce spending so that people could put more money into war loans, to limit shortages and to ensure an equitable distribution of resources. Australians were never as short of food as people in Britain, but there was rationing of clothing, tea, sugar, butter and meat and sometimes eggs and milk. Each week each person was allowed 1 kilo of meat, half a kilo of butter, 1 kilo of sugar and the ration of tea was 250g each 5 weeks with smaller rations for children. Later in the war many rations were reduced. In Dowerin many people had access to meat, milk and butter and vegetables from their own gardens and farms. The Lynn family and the Maisey family did not use all their coupons.