The Early YearsClearly Australia has a rich migration history. However attitudes to migration and particularly to the ideal source of migrants have changed considerably over these 218 years. The first migrants were decidedly involuntary, the convicts transported from Britain, Ireland and, to a lesser degree, other British colonies. Altogether 80,000 arrived in New South Wales between 1788 and 1840.
During the Gold Rush, over 600,000 came and while the majority were from Britain and Ireland, 60,000 came from Continental Europe, 42,000 from China, 10,000 from the United States and just over 5,000 from New Zealand and the South Pacific. By the time of Federation the total population was close to four million of whom one in four was born overseas. |
Protection Policies and Government InterventionWhen the colonies federated in 1901, control of immigration changed. Instead of each colony managing its own system, the Commonwealth now oversaw recruiting and selection. Assisted passages were offered to encourage migration with priority still being given to the British and Irish. Often referred to as the ‘White Australia policy’ this effectively banned Asian migration for the next fifty years.
Just as in the First World War, with the outbreak of the Second World War previously acceptable migrants — Germans, Italians, Japanese and Hungarians – were reclassified ‘enemy aliens’ and interned or kept under close police surveillance. When the war ended, the government took an entirely new approach to migration. The near invasion of Australia by the Japanese caused a complete rethink of ideal population numbers. As Prime Minister Ben Chifley would later declare, ‘We must populate Australia as rapidly as we can before someone else decides to populate it for us.’ |
From White Australia to MulticulturalismMost migrants arrived by ship, disembarking in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. From there they were immediately taken to migration hostels in rural areas, often in former military barracks.
Although the official government policy was that migrants should assimilate into Australia’s Anglo Celtic culture, many celebrated their origins through membership of clubs, sporting and religious organisations. From the 1950s, Australia began to relax its ‘White Australia’ policy. In 1956 non-European residents were allowed to apply for citizenship. Two years later the Dictation Test was abolished as a further means of exclusion. By the 1960s mixed race migration was becoming easier. In 1975 the first of what would become known as ‘boat people’ arrived in Darwin. More than 25 000 arrived in the next thirty years, initially from East Timor and then from Vietnam, China and, most recently, the Middle East. All are subject to compulsory internment while their claims of refugee status are assessed. Although Australia has been criticised by the United Nations and Amnesty International for the injustice of interring all illegal migrants, particularly children, it continues to this day. |