In the wake of what historians are calling Australia’s “history wars,” a look at the factors leading up to the passage of the controversial White Australia Policy is significant. It may be difficult to understand and interpret all the implications of the Australian public’s concerns in the fifty years before leading to its passage, however a look into the historical events and the language used at the time is a crucial step. This paper chronicles the sequence of events between the arrivals of the first Chinese indentured laborers in the 1840s to the passage of the White Australia Policy in 1901, using a critical eye to view the arguments brought against the Chinese by the European diggers, labor union leaders, popular press, and politicians. Based on the events of the time and the context they occurred within, this paper argues that the assertions against the Chinese were concurrently economically and racially grounded. Australians alike were threatened by the competition brought by Chinese immigrants who easily entered new industries for sub-standard wages. However, the arguments against Chinese morality and race added intensity to the movement that was necessary in gaining popular support for the legislation across Australian societal factions.
Following the discovery of gold outside of Bathurst and facilitated by the opening of ports in Southern China for trading purposes, Chinese immigration to Australia drastically increased in the fifty years before the passage of the White Australia Policy in 1901. A migration of this magnitude would undoubtedly impact the landscape of any country, and negative reactions to the Chinese immediately swept over the colonies. Fear of economic competition and a degraded standard of living wa...
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...al ideology of the times.
The passage of the White Australia Policy in 1901 was the product of fifty years of building tensions. From the early contacts with the Chinese indentured laborers in the pastures, to the violent outbursts witnessed in the goldfields, and to the antipathy industrialized Chinese faced in the cities, there is no question that the economic impact of the Chinese immigrants led to calls for restrictive legislation. However, the racialism that erupted immediately as further justification exhibits the fact that economic concerns may not have been strong enough to cause general public outrage across factions of society. The two fed off of each other, but in the end this paper argues that without the backdrop of racial ideology so inherent in public opinion of this time, the White Australia Policy may not have garnered such unanimous support.
Immigration, transport, trade and taxes, and growing national pride were the three main reasons Australia needed to federate. Fear of coming under foreign attack, and concern over being invaded by non-white immigrants were major factors, which encouraged support to Federate. Despite the fact that several colonies already had implemented laws, which restricted immigrants from certain countries, all of the colonies were keen to strengthen their policies. In this time, there were many prejudgments against the Chinese and Pacific Islanders. The Chinese immigrated during the gold rush period, in the 1850s and from 1863; Pacific Islanders were also brought to Australia to work in the hot conditions in the sugarcane fields. People believed that foreign workers took jobs away from them.
During world war two Australia came close to being invaded, the Japanese in Sydney Harbor were a huge fright to many Australians. After world war two it seemed Australia needed to populate or perish. So the government made a big push to fill Australia. Many children were born due to this new idea. They were called the 'Baby boomers'. The baby boomers were being born at huge rates and inflating Australians population. The white Australia policy was pretty much abandoned as migrants flooded into Australia. White Australians still felt that they were superior but they needed these immigrants to populate Australia.
Key events in Aboriginal Australian history stem from the time Australia was first discovered in 1788. For instance, when Federation came into existence in 1901, there was a prevailing belief held by non Aboriginal Australians that the Aborigines were a dying race (Nichol, 2005:259) which resulted in the Indigenous people being excluded from the constitution except for two mentions – Section 127 excluded Aborigines from the census and Section 51, part 26, which gave power over Aborigines to the States rather than to the Federal Government. Aboriginal people were officially excluded from the vote, public service, the Armed Forces and pensions. The White Australia mentality/policy Australia as “White” and unfortunately this policy was not abolished until 1972. REFERENCE
English literature have been used to express the experiences and history of Australia. In Dorothy Mackellar’s “My Australia” poem, signifies the beauties and the terrors of the luck country. However, Migrants experience a different terror, as conveyed by Ania Walwicz as the “big, ugly” side of Australians - facing the cruel racism of the White Australian Policy. In Australia’s history, Migrants have been treated with alienation and physical discrimination which distant them from Australia’s community. Migrants not only faces the terrors of the land but also the racism enforced by Australia’s laws.
Furthermore, the evidence supporting the Canadian labour leaders’ view on other racialized groups significantly had to do with the treatment other countries had on these similar groups. For example, the article states that in the United States “The Knights of Labor in America were particularly committed to this cause, bringing in more than 90,000 black members by 1887.” (Goutor, 53). The actions of other nations such as the U.S played a role in the actions of Canadian labour leaders, therefore it is unfair to say that labour leaders hated all immigration and were prejudice to all racialized groups. Additionally, labour leaders went on to portray the Chinese as “sexual predators who sought to take advantage of white women.” (Gotour, 49). These diminishing portrayals of Asians (typically the Chinese) clearly reveals the labour leader’s prejudice views on only the people of Asian descent. The false accusations on Asians made it clear that labour leaders were prejudice to specifically
The Chinese, along with many others from all around the world, had heard that Australia had struck gold...
In the nineteenth century, the “History wars” became the fight between the most prominent historians revolving around the deception of frontier conflict between the labor and coalition. The debate aroused from the different interpretations of the violence that took place during the European colonization and to what degree. It became a crisis in history, emerging from the dispossession of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) that resulted in exclusion of their traditions and culture. The ATSI were the first people of Australia that brought along a different culture, language, kinship structures and a different way of life (Face the Facts, 2012). Post European colonization was a time where the ATSI people experienced disadvantage in the land they called home. With the paramount role as future educators, it demands proficient knowledge on the Australian history and one of the most influential moments in our history started from the first European settlers.
Historical sources utilised for studying local and community history are often selected due to their primary focus. Often documented by amateur historians or local historical societies the initial focus of local and community history was primarily directed towards pioneering progress and male worthies. With changing times and changing attitudes the focus of local and community was soon extended to include a diverse array of topics. In this regard, the essay Tracking the Dragon: the history of the Chinese in the Temora district of New South Wales focus is the history of migration and settlement of Chinese immigrants in the Temora district. This essay explores the occupations the immigrants pursed, their lifestyles and beliefs, meanwhile highlighting
The aim of this paper is to discuss the experiences of the Chinese immigrants during the Australian gold rush period by looking at the challenges they faced and how they overcame it as well as the role they partake in building Australian society, and in shaping
The image above portrays a Chinese head with octopus’ tentacles portraying each sin the Asian race has committed. In a way the Asians were used as a scape goat for all the colonies problems. In many ways, the Australian people’s malice toward Asians generated the first sense of unification Since the convicts. The anti-Asian feeling ran highest during the 1890. They ran high because It was the great depression had a strong grip on Australia and it was believed that the Asians cheap labour were replacing the more expensive Australians.
Within Australia, beginning from approximately the time of European settlement to late 1969, the Aboriginal population of Australia experienced the detrimental effects of the stolen generation. A majority of the abducted children were ’half-castes’, in which they had one white parent and the other of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Following the government policies, the European police and government continued the assimilation of Aboriginal children into ‘white’ society. Oblivious to the destruction and devastation they were causing, the British had believed that they were doing this for “their [Aborigines] own good”, that they were “protecting” them as their families and culture were deemed unfit to raise them. These beliefs caused ...
The assimilation policy was a policy that existed between the 1940’s and the 1970’s, and replaced that of protectionism. Its purpose was to have all persons of aboriginal blood and mixed blood living like ‘white’ Australians, this established practice of removing Aboriginal children (generally half-bloods) from their homes was to bring them up without their culture, and they were encouraged to forget their aboriginal heritage. Children were placed in institutions where they could be 'trained' to take their place in white society. During the time of assimilation Aboriginal people were to be educated for full citizenship, and have access to public education, housing and services. However, most commonly aboriginal people did not receive equal rights and opportunities, for example, their wages were usually less than that paid to the white workers and they often did not receive recognition for the roles they played in the defence of Australia and their contribution to the cattle industry. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s that expendi...
In the 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights movement in the US, Charles Perkins organized the Freedom Ride of 1965. The tour’s purpose was to study the race relations in Australia, and raise awareness of the lack of equality for Indigenous Australians. This attracted lots of media attention around Australia and overseas, encouraging Australians to face racial confli...
It all started in 1859. Australia was slowly becoming populated with European pioneers who sought the newness of the great, unsettled continent. However, there were a few things from home from which they just couldn’t part.
Millions of immigrants over the previous centuries have shaped the United States of America into what it is today. America is known as a “melting pot”, a multicultural country that welcomes and is home to an array of every ethnic and cultural background imaginable. We are a place of opportunity, offering homes and jobs and new economic gains to anyone who should want it. However, America was not always such a “come one, come all” kind of country. The large numbers of immigrants that came during the nineteenth century angered many of the American natives and lead to them to blame the lack of jobs and low wages on the immigrants, especially the Asian communities. This resentment lead to the discrimination and legal exclusion of immigrants, with the first and most important law passed being the Chinese Exclusion Act. However, the discrimination the Chinese immigrants so harshly received was not rightly justified or deserved. With all of their contributions and accomplishments in opening up the West, they were not so much harming our country but rather helping it.