Let's Keep Australia White!
The White Australia policy collectively refers to a number of Australian federal and state policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia from 1901 to 1973.
At the dawn of the twentieth century Australia was a social laboratory. A great experiment was underway to make this new country the most pro-gressive and egalitarian nation in the world.
The country was busy initiating radical reforms, born of noble ideals, that enshrined basic political freedoms and the rights of fairness and opportunity for all. At Federation in 1901, Australia seemed to stand as a beacon to the world – a new nation with a utopian vision. Or so it thought ...
At the dawn of the twentieth century Australia was a social laboratory. A great experiment was underway to make this new country the most pro-gressive and egalitarian nation in the world.
The country was busy initiating radical reforms, born of noble ideals, that enshrined basic political freedoms and the rights of fairness and opportunity for all. At Federation in 1901, Australia seemed to stand as a beacon to the world – a new nation with a utopian vision. Or so it thought ...
In fact, at the heart of this great, bright experiment lay a dark paradox – the belief that to create a country of such cutting-edge social ideals the population had to be exclusively white. It was a fundamental contradiction that would take almost a century of extraordinary evolution to try to resolve.
The insecurities of those at the helm meant that at the start of the twentieth century immigration policy was driven by fear and racism, as well as by a vision of being a ‘British’ Australia. As the White Australia Policy was developed and enforced, many of the non-white residents were deported and barred from entry. Vibrant communities were fractured and the Chinese population dwindled dramatically.
Reflecting its British heritage, Australia isolated itself from the Asian region. The bombing of Darwin by the Japanese in 1942 highlighted the vulnerabil- ity of this vast and sparsely populated land. As the nation reeled from World War Two, the great experiment that started at Federation was about to enter its next crucial phase. A Department of Immigration was created and its inaugural minister, Arthur Calwell, had a clear message for the Australian people: ‘We must fill this country or lose it.’
Fearful for its future and security, Australia embarked on a dramatic immigration program. Migrants from war-torn Europe arrived enmasse. It was social engineering on the grandest of scales. The country would be fundamentally transformed forever. But the gatekeepers to the nation’s borders had to take Australia and its people with them on this radical journey of change. The new arrivals had to be white, and the dream was kept alive through stealth and propaganda. The message was clear: ‘You’re welcome but on our terms and only if you adopt this country as your own.’ It was the age of assimilation.
But the world changed and the 1960s brought with it civil rights movements and activism in the United States and beyond. The idea of an exclusively white Australia was questioned from without and within. This was a time when the influence of the immigrant population grew and those in the corridors of power raged against the system and transformed a nation once again.
From 1973 on, the White Australia policy was for all practical purposes defunct, and in 1975 the Australian government passed the Racial Discrimination Act, which made racially-based selection criteria illegal. However inferential policy still exists which preferences white immigration, of course this is now about language and culture and has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with skin colour
;-).
Documentary 01: Immigration Nation Episode 01 (or all three if you have time)
The insecurities of those at the helm meant that at the start of the twentieth century immigration policy was driven by fear and racism, as well as by a vision of being a ‘British’ Australia. As the White Australia Policy was developed and enforced, many of the non-white residents were deported and barred from entry. Vibrant communities were fractured and the Chinese population dwindled dramatically.
Reflecting its British heritage, Australia isolated itself from the Asian region. The bombing of Darwin by the Japanese in 1942 highlighted the vulnerabil- ity of this vast and sparsely populated land. As the nation reeled from World War Two, the great experiment that started at Federation was about to enter its next crucial phase. A Department of Immigration was created and its inaugural minister, Arthur Calwell, had a clear message for the Australian people: ‘We must fill this country or lose it.’
Fearful for its future and security, Australia embarked on a dramatic immigration program. Migrants from war-torn Europe arrived enmasse. It was social engineering on the grandest of scales. The country would be fundamentally transformed forever. But the gatekeepers to the nation’s borders had to take Australia and its people with them on this radical journey of change. The new arrivals had to be white, and the dream was kept alive through stealth and propaganda. The message was clear: ‘You’re welcome but on our terms and only if you adopt this country as your own.’ It was the age of assimilation.
But the world changed and the 1960s brought with it civil rights movements and activism in the United States and beyond. The idea of an exclusively white Australia was questioned from without and within. This was a time when the influence of the immigrant population grew and those in the corridors of power raged against the system and transformed a nation once again.
From 1973 on, the White Australia policy was for all practical purposes defunct, and in 1975 the Australian government passed the Racial Discrimination Act, which made racially-based selection criteria illegal. However inferential policy still exists which preferences white immigration, of course this is now about language and culture and has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with skin colour
;-).
Documentary 01: Immigration Nation Episode 01 (or all three if you have time)
Last year SBS aired a 'feature documentary' called Immigration Nation: The Secret History of Us, the untold story behind Australia’s multicultural mix. It explores Australia’s untold immigration story; a century long struggle to overcome the White Australia Policy that resulted in one of the world’s most multicultural nations.
You can watch the first episode through the Immigration Nation website or on YouTube. This is such an interesting documentary I do recommend that you watch all of it, because it offers a great insight into racism in Australia, and many of the issues raised are still relevant in Australia today. But for the sake of the following Task you can get away with just watching Episode 01.
Task 11: Immigration Restriction Act
The Commonwealth Immigration Restriction Act was passed as a national law by the first parliament in its 1901 session (No. 17 of 1901). During debates on the Act in the new Commonwealth Parliament there were three main reasons given for excluding non-European immigrants to Australia:
Task 12: Immigration Restriction Act
The 1901 Commonwealth Parliament passed the Pacific Island Labourers’ Act (Number 16/1901) immediately before the Immigration Restriction Act. This was a law to stop the immigration of labourers from the Pacific islands after 1904, and to deport most of those who were already in Australia by 1906.
After watching Immigration Nation answer the following questions:
Task 13: Versailles Peace Treaty
In 1919 representatives of many nations gathered to impose a peace treaty upon the defeated Germany and its allies. Australia was represented separately from Britain after pressure from prime minister Billy Hughes.
Japan, emerging as a modernised and strong Asian nation, wanted a ‘racial equality’ clause inserted in the constitution of the League of Nations – the new international body created to try to keep peace in the world.
After watching Immigration Nation answer the following questions:
Task 14: British settlement schemes of the 1920s
During the 1920s there were various attempts to settle British people in Australia.
After watching Immigration Nation answer the following questions:
You can watch the first episode through the Immigration Nation website or on YouTube. This is such an interesting documentary I do recommend that you watch all of it, because it offers a great insight into racism in Australia, and many of the issues raised are still relevant in Australia today. But for the sake of the following Task you can get away with just watching Episode 01.
Task 11: Immigration Restriction Act
The Commonwealth Immigration Restriction Act was passed as a national law by the first parliament in its 1901 session (No. 17 of 1901). During debates on the Act in the new Commonwealth Parliament there were three main reasons given for excluding non-European immigrants to Australia:
- they were racially inferior
- they threatened the economic standards of white workers
- they were so culturally different that there could be no mixing of races, as this would stop the development of a common national identity.
- To whom did this act apply?
- What was its main aim?
- What were its main impacts?
- What is the explanation offered in Immigration Nation about why the Australian people at that time were prepared to accept such a law?
- Several parliamentarians spoke against the proposed law and had racial attitudes that were different to those of the majority. Why do you think that ideas of racial equality that we take for granted today did not apply to the societies of 1901 around the world?
Task 12: Immigration Restriction Act
The 1901 Commonwealth Parliament passed the Pacific Island Labourers’ Act (Number 16/1901) immediately before the Immigration Restriction Act. This was a law to stop the immigration of labourers from the Pacific islands after 1904, and to deport most of those who were already in Australia by 1906.
After watching Immigration Nation answer the following questions:
- What was the aim of this act?
- Who would it apply to?
- What is the explanation offered in Immigration Nation about why the Australian people at that time were prepared to accept such a law?
- What were its impacts?
Task 13: Versailles Peace Treaty
In 1919 representatives of many nations gathered to impose a peace treaty upon the defeated Germany and its allies. Australia was represented separately from Britain after pressure from prime minister Billy Hughes.
Japan, emerging as a modernised and strong Asian nation, wanted a ‘racial equality’ clause inserted in the constitution of the League of Nations – the new international body created to try to keep peace in the world.
After watching Immigration Nation answer the following questions:
- What was the aim of the peace treaty?
- Why did Hughes oppose this?
- What does Immigration Nation say was the effectiveness of Hughes on this issue?
- The film draws a connection between this issue and the outbreak of World War Two. Explain this connection.
Task 14: British settlement schemes of the 1920s
During the 1920s there were various attempts to settle British people in Australia.
After watching Immigration Nation answer the following questions:
- Describe the scheme referred to in Immigration Nation.
- Why did it largely fail?
- What did this scheme show about the attitudes of Australians to race in the 1920s?