Really Long Post--"An Answer to Fear: Exploring the Practicalities of the "White Australia" Policy

So, most of you probably won't find this interesting, but I'm posting the paper I just wrote anyway. It's about the extremely racist policies that were put in place during the time of Australia's federation because of certain insecurities the nation felt b/c of their lost ties with Britain. Good stuff. Peruse as you fancy...

"An Answer to Fear: Exploring the Practicalities of the "White Australia" Policy"

The time period surrounding Australia’s decision to form a federation was a tumultuous one in many ways. The change over caused something of a crisis for the former colonies because of the loss of their close ties with Britain, which brought with it feelings of military vulnerability, economic instability, and anomie about the issue of national identity. The laws and mindsets of the White Australia Policy were an attempt to address the fears and concerns that were prevalent during the time of Federation by restricting immigration and promoting a native Australian population.

There were many reasons that it was believed that restricting immigration would help to stabilize the Federation. One of these reasons was that many Australians believed this would solve the economic problems that were facing the colonies at the time. Trade unions were a large part of promoting these beliefs, maintaining that high rates of immigration were contributing to a shortage of work for native Australians. One of the reasons pointed to was the fact that foreign labor was so cheap; it was common to pay two shillings a day for a laborer from the Pacific Islands, four for a Chinese laborer, and seven for a white laborer. The fact that foreigners were willing to work so cheaply was seen as undermining the unions’ work for a better wage. This problem was only exacerbated when foreign labor was used to break strikes. The seasonal nature of agricultural work in Australia also led to a high degree of competition between white labor and foreign labor, causing many Australians to believe that to allow the entry of any foreign labor would inevitably cause a loss of jobs for white laborers. These fears were even more deeply engraved into the Australian psyche during the gold rushes of the 1850’s, when a greater number of foreigners were coming into the country than ever before. In 1855, more than thirty ships carrying Cantonese migrants landed in Australia, by 1858 one in every ten Victorians was Chinese. After a time of heavy influx of migrants, it was feared that foreigners would never cease to pour into the country. It is understandable that people feared immigration would threaten the existing population when one considers that “The inflow of gold rush migrants in just two years exceeded the grand total of convicts who had arrived in the eighty years of transportation.”

Another reason that restricted immigration was seen as a solution to the identity crisis at the time of Federation was that it allowed Australia to establish itself as a “white man’s land” from the outset. It was largely to further these ends that the Australian Natives Association formed. By the 1870’s, native-born, white Australians had become the majority. But these increased numbers did not automatically lead to a more cohesive sense of nationhood. Many of those who had been born in Australia scorned their native land and insisted on continuing to refer to England as “home.” It was within the organization of the Australian Natives Association that this new national identity was intended to be formed. This society tried to set itself apart from similar British societies, with their old-world class distinctions. However, membership in the association remained a formal aspect, as shown by the practice of certifying members (see figure 1). These associations reinforced the idea that native Australians were white Australians, helping to give a more settled feel to the matter of identity.

Another major concern in deciding to form a federation was the militarily vulnerable position in which Australia would be left. In the 1870’s, Britain had decided to withdraw their troops and leave Australians locally responsible for their own defense. Even before this time, Australia had reason to feel anxious about their own defense simply because of their geographic isolation from the protective “mother land.” Also, the 1894 Anglo-Japanese treaty was a cause for much consternation. This treaty gave rise to a new awareness among many of Britain’s colonies that Japan had risen as a new world power, which was of especial concern to Australia because of their proximity. This led to an even great fear of the eventual prospect of occupation. It also showed Australians that Britain was still intent on pursuing its own interests in the Pacific and that they would have to take the initiative to protect their country. However, Japan was not the only restless superpower which caused some anxiety among Australians. It was also during this time that Russia was taking over Manchuria, China was being carved up by the European superpowers, America, with its demands for an “open door policy,” was making its presence felt in the Pacific, and France and Germany were not shy about participating in the land grab. All of these factors made a defensive build-up seem prudent. These feelings of military vulnerability left Australia especially sensitive to the fact that large numbers of foreigners were now attempting to enter the country.

When the idea of cutting ties with Britain was entertained, Australians developed a preoccupation with seeking to fill vast, “unsettled” areas of the country in the west and north. The thought of new immigrants coming into the country made many uneasy because of the fear that foreign settlers could eventually question their right to effective proprietorship. Trying to settle an entire continent with only four million people was not a very practicable solution, but many felt that if this was not accomplished, Australia would not be able to make a case for their claim on the land. Many bookshops of the time were stocked with novels on the theme of “invasion.” Anxious thoughts were filled with pictures of descending Chinese and Mongol hoards that would come and tear the country away from the white settlers as they, in turn, had taken it from its original inhabitants. The political cartoon in figure 2, which was run in The Bulletin, is a good example of common sentiment at the time; it shows obviously caricatured Chinese people breaking into to people’s very homes through cracks in “Deficient Immigration Laws.” It was also during this time that a republication of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire led to parallels being drawn between the demise of mighty Rome and the recent decline of power which Britain had experienced. These parallels gave rise to the fear that the time of the white race was ending and unless drastic actions were taken, they would be forced to succumb to the increasing numbers and advanced technology of Asia. These rather jingoistic fears also played a large role in the decision to restrict immigration at the turn of the century.

All of these fears and concerns led to the decision that something had to be done to restrict immigration. One of the first bills that was passed after the formation of the Federation was the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901. This act became the centerpiece of what was to be known as the White Australia policy, legislation that was aimed at excluding all non-European migrants. However, the terminology of this law could not express that explicitly. British approval was needed to allow the bill to be written into law, and Britain would not have allowed any legislation that would have offended their new Japanese allies with racist rhetoric. Therefore it was decided that the dictation test, first developed and implemented in Natal, South Africa, would be used to screen out non-European immigrants. The initial suggestion was to implement the test in English, but this was decided against because it could discourage desirable northern European migration while encouraging undesirable Japanese and African-American migration. So the specification eventually decided on was “any European language” in which the proctor should decide to conduct the test. Initially, the specification caused difficulties because most customs officers conducted the test in the language they were most comfortable with: English. Because of this oversight, four Indians were able to pass the test, which caused an immediate public outcry. Officials responded by training the customs officers to use the test to effectively bar the entry of any non-European person. From 1932 on the dictation test could be given at any time within the first five years of residency, and the test could be repeated any number of times, but it was unlikely that these loopholes ever had to be utilized, since no one managed to pass the test after 1909. It was very unlikely that someone from northern Europe would be asked to take the test at all, unless they fell into one of the other categories of immigrants that were deemed undesirable, such as those who were insane, anyone who was likely to become a public burden, any person suffering from a contagious disease, as well as prostitutes and (ironically) criminals.

Along with this piece of legislation, the Pacific Island Laborers Act was also created in 1901. The purpose of this act was to allow for the deportation of the vast majority of Pacific Islanders after the end of December 1906. Of the 10,000 Pacific Islanders living in Queensland and New South Wales at the time, only 700 were exempt from deportation. The act also imposed limits on the number of migrants from the Pacific Islands who were allowed entry before 1906 and encouraged emigration for the current population. These two laws, as well as some others passed during this time period, were intended to shape the character of the newly federated Australia, establishing a white identity and stabilizing the Commonwealth economically and defensively.

However, in spite of these well-intentioned legislations, Australians still faced a dilemma. They wanted their population to reflect their British roots, and yet they still needed to settle the “empty” regions of the country. One of the ways they sought to accomplish this was by decreasing “desirable” immigration, soliciting candidates from Britain and northern Europe. Not only was propaganda a major part of this scheme, but there was also financial assistance to encourage people to take advantage of the opportunities of Australia. Australia Unlimited, a book published by E.J. Brady, was full of lively descriptions and photos depicting the boundless opportunities the land could offer an enterprising settler. The dual nature of Australians’ attitudes towards immigration is well expressed in the political cartoon (shown in figure 3), which shows the mixed messages that many immigrants received. It is significant, too, that the immigrants portrayed are Italian, as they would have been one of the groups who received different messages based on the degree to which their appearance allowed them to assimilate into mainstream Australian culture.

However, it was not just immigration that was placed under greater government control during this time period. Another major goal of the White Australia policy was to maintain racial purity, which meant that the number of native, white Australians had to be increased. Because of the perceived health of the climate and the lifestyle of Australians, it had historically been perceived as a kind of breeding ground which would, given enough time, produce a superior race of human beings. This lofty goal was behind much of the opposition to immigration, based on the desire to keep bloodlines pure. Because the production of white male babies was seen as vital to both the defense and the development of the country, it was the Australian mother who was placed under scrutiny, especially when studies uncovered a recent drop in the birthrate. A newly formed Commission on the Decline of the Birth Rate and on the Mortality of Infants in New South Wales reported that any desire to restrict fertility was “characteristic of a decadent state of society.” Women’s use of birth control and other methods to control their fertility was seen as “selfish,” a product of their indulgent desire to enter the industrial world. Unfortunately these opinions ran against those which the mothers themselves were forming in the time after Federation. Increased levels of education for both men and women contributed to these changing ideas; the demand for more children was in conflict with the aspirations of many Australian families. It was largely considered to be more immoral to give birth to a child they couldn’t afford than to deprive their country of one more citizen. For them, having fewer children was an opportunity to be better, more dedicated parents.

However, because the need for more native Australians was so strongly felt in the public ethos, the issue of fertility became not so much a personal preference as a matter for state action. For many politicians, quantity trumped quality because of the ultimate need for a large population to perpetuate the race, win wars, and claim the land. In order to encourage their goals, the government banned the importation of contraceptives and birth control information, and introduced a “baby bonus” of five pounds for every white child born in order to discourage abortions. Not only mothers, but cities were also blamed for the decline in birth rate, and were seen as disease centers which polluted the healthy and wholesome Australian way of life. Many doctors recommended that people be sent to small country farms, which had the added bonus of providing incentive for them to have large families.

In spite of these differing opinions, both government and families agreed that it was essential to Australia’s future that the infant mortality rate be cut. Increased medical knowledge made an instant advancement in discovering how to thwart the major killer of young children: diarrhea. But the government was seeking a more all-encompassing system through improving the sanitation system, establishing infant protection acts to prevent infanticide, and improving education on mothering practices (or “mothercraft,” a term which was coined in this era). The picture in figure 4 shows a meeting of a mothering class, with all participants proudly holding a healthy and robust little one. But beyond the propaganda aspect of this image of joyful motherhood, it is also interesting to note the posters on the wall, admonishing the maintenance of a healthy diet and the reminder that babies are a woman’s “rare pearls.” It was also during this time that metropolitan areas began to establish large women’s hospitals and maternity wards as “monuments to motherhood,” as well as infant welfare centers. The photo in figure 5 shows a baby being weighed by a nurse at one such center to check the health of the baby. It was agreed during this time that better education in mothering was key to producing healthier children and families, which was in turn, key to securing the future of the nation.

However, in spite of these efforts, the baby craze never quite caught on to the degree that the government had hoped it would. Although the importation of contraceptives and birth control was banned, it was not illegal to produce them inside of the country and information concerning their use was, by this time, beyond the government’s ability to control. Furthermore, changing ideas and cultural tides rendered much of the propaganda too little, too late. But in spite of not achieving the immediate results desired, this campaign did have a lasting impact on the Australian psyche. A slogan from a New South Wales “Baby Week” broadside sums up the sentiment well: “The nation that has the babies has the future.”

The attitudes and mindsets that were prevalent during the time of Federation were reflective of the fears aroused by the loss of ties with Britain. Foremost in the minds of many Australians at the time were fears of economic instability, military invasion, and a loss of national identity. The White Australia policy sought to address the fear of economic instability by removing competition through restricted immigration. It also sought to secure the country against military invasion by prohibiting an influx of immigrants who could challenge the claim to effective proprietorship and by encouraging a baby boom to supply more Australians to fight for and fill the country. And it shaped the character of the nation by affirming a white identity through attempted removal of any foreign presence and an emphasis on bolstering the native population of Australia. Although these policies served to direct the nation through this pivotal and formational time of their history, they would prove insufficient and misguided as a lasting paradigm for future generations. However, these matters would have to sidelined, as the focus shifted to the all-encompassing problem of a Great War in Europe…

The Silence of Shannon

For the few, proud blog-readers who may remain; my apologies. I am sorry that it has been so long since I last updated this blog, but I have spent the greater part of the last week in the abyss of research and paper-writing. Next on the agenda: break. So it will be probably another two weeks before you hear from me. But, at least when I come back, I should finally have something interesting to say again (at least I hope...). Cheers, mates!

Bwah!!!

Sharon reads my blog!!!! And I, I am an abuser of friends... :-( I will write to her someday!

Right into the Dandedongs

This weekend we were kind of casting about for things to do, since this is one of the only weekends that we don’t have excursions planned for our Engaging Australian Culture class, so we had a lot of spare time (comparatively) and not a whole lot going on. Well, someone from the other flat suggested that we head out to Dandendong National Park, that we can get to with our met passes, but is remote enough (about 2 hours by train) that we still feel like we’re doing something cool and exciting. So we set out bright and early Sunday morning (comparatively, like 10:30) and caught a few trains till we ended up at Upper Fern Tree Gully Station, only a short walk away from our next adventure. I must confess that the better that I know the land of my new, temporary home, the more I love it. The forests that we visited were amazing. As the train made its way out into “the country” we could see the rolling hills on the horizon, carpeted with trees like astroturf run amok. I certainly was not prepared for what remarkable scenery we were about to see. At the head of the trail, there were groves of tall, stately eucalyptus trees, stretching back like ghostly pillars as far as I could see and creating a tall, leafy canopy over head. I remember reading in one of our exploration accounts for Oz Lit that the explorer narrating found the eucalyptus trees to be rather distasteful, thinking that their leaves were a drab, ugly olive green. I find that I must heartily disagree with this assessment. I never saw so many shades of green as I did in the bright bushy heads of the gum trees (don’t get lost, still talking about eucalyptus here). And not just greens, but ambers and reds, which tinged the sides of the leaves and added to the rainbow of the forest.

As we went further, the scenery on either side of the path became even more breathtaking. In addition to the mammoth gum trees, there were also monolithic ferns of a size that boggles my puny North American imagination. At least 6 feet in height and four feet in circumference, these giants looked as though they had been beamed in from a primordial time period, as attested to by layers and layers of dead fronds that drooped to skirt the trunks of the trees as their life span had ended, making something that seemed like a grass hut around the bottom. Then, in stark contrast to the old life of the fern, in the very center of the verdant ring on the top, the new shoots sprang out in architectural glory. They looked like a natural version of the top of a bishop’s crook, curling in on itself over and over in complex spirals of the life-yet-to-be. So each fern is reflecting its whole life span in its layers of foliage.

Then as we hiked up the fairly steep trail (at least I thought it was steep, which my hips verified in whining tones all the next day) we stumbled upon and old, old hollowed out tree, coated in lime green moss and vacant, for the moment, at least. Exploring inside, we find every child’s dream woodland playhouse, the haunt of elves and fairies, with shafts of sunlight streaming in the bounce off the ripples of the little stream that ran through it. The tiny, tender fingers of new roots were emerging from a branch that slanted through to break up the space looked as fragile and the little mushrooms that were carving out a spot in the wall of the old, sagacious tree.

Not only this, but the variety and the novelty of bird life that we saw were also remarkable. We saw these amazing birds that were bright blue and red and others of the same size and shape that were bright green and yellow. They were fairly small and would race through the canopy like Luke Skywalker getting chased around the Death Star by those other guys, making a chirpy, chattering noise. Then, of course, there were the usual suspects. The sulfur crested cockatoos that would streak through the brush screaming angrily and the kookaburras with their cheeky smiles and teasing laughter.

Ummm…I can’t think of how else to end this post, so hey, if you ever happen to go to Oz, this is one of the places you should visit. Word.

FEAST

Tonight we were invited to a TONGAN FEAST, an invitation we were loath to decline and so, in due time, at five o’clock this evening, we showed up at Box Forest Wesleyan Church, all apprehensive as to what we might find. I think actually, I was fairly well prepared mentally for the experience; when I thought about it before we actually showed up I was like, hey, they’ll probably be a lot of people of a different race than I am and a lot of stuff will happen that I don’t understand, and I’ll probably be in the minority as a white person and the whole situation will probably be uncomfortable. All of this was running through my mind as we walked up to the church, but it was not actually making me feel apprehensive, since I’ve been in this situation quite a few times before, and so I figured I would probably be able to survive fairly well. Well, I think perhaps the most uncomfortable thing was the ice breakers that they subjected us to, but again, I think those were more about the dread after seeing them on the program than any actual trauma caused by the ice breakers themselves, since all we had to do was wander around looking for people from the same part of Melbourne as we are, and then do the same with people of the same birth month. Also, another situation arose which was probably rather embarrassing, though fortunately not for me. Apparently (and I don’t know if this is typical of all Tongan services or all Australian services at small churches, or was only for this one event this one time) every group that is represented there is supposed to come with an “item,” either a skit or a song or a dance or some entertaining little thing to present to the rest of the people. Well, apparently none of us knew that before hand, so we were left quite item-less and in a bit of a panic of what to do. Then finally Pete, the guy who was responsible for inviting us said, “Don’t worry guys, I’ve got an idea” but then wouldn’t tell us what the idea was. Well, when it came around to our turn, he brought us all up to the front and had us introduce ourselves. Then he asked the audience to pick out three of us to do a little activity. Well, earlier in the evening, one of the groups had done a song with Tongan-style dance actions that went along with it. These hapless three were abandoned on the stage, left to perform the dance/actions from memory with no assistance from anyone. That was quite an amusing thing to watch, since they didn’t seem to remember very much.

The rest of the performers, on the other hand, did quite an excellent job. There were a couple of different groups that did dance items, which were really interesting to watch. The last one that was presented was the most interesting to me, since that was the most traditional. It seemed like the dance combined something akin to hula dancing with a relative of hip hop. The men’s dancing part was much more energetic than the female counterpart, which seems to be in keeping with other Pacific Island dancing that I have seen, where dancing is predominantly a male phenomenon, as part of the warrior culture. It was really neat to see how, in the dancing as well as in some singing, which incorporated the Tongan language, these people are preserving their culture and incorporating it with their Christian faith. One of the most puzzling cultural encounters I have ever had actually took place tonight. We were watching a group sing a choral piece, when an older woman in a long black overcoat just walked right out into the front and walked up to one of the members of the choir, where I thought I saw her tucking something into her shirt. After she left, I continued scrutinizing, incredulous. “I think that woman just put money down her shirt,” I said to Katie who was sitting next to me. We were both pretty bamboozled, but then during a later dance number, it happened again, this time unmistakably so. What was this all about? Well, finally for the last item, the woman who was serving as a director of ceremonies mentioned that although it may seem embarrassing to us, it is a Tongan custom to show appreciation by bringing some money up and “putting it on them” (a nondescript way of putting it, if ever I heard it). So for this last number, about 10 different adults came up to different dancers and either put money in their shirt or laid it on the floor at their feet. I am glad they clarified this to us, or who know what I would have gone away thinking.

I think, however, the best part of the night was after all the entertainment was over, and we got to sit with some of the girl who were a few years younger than us and talk. They asked us about our classes, what “college” was like in America (here the word refers to high school), if we’d ever met any famous people (who they apparently thought could be found wandering the streets in America) and what driving and drinking laws are like in America. And we asked them what the rules at home were like, what kind of school they went to, what church services were like, the significance of 21st birthdays and what it was like to live as a third culture kid (without actually using the phrase, of course). This was such a neat time of fellowship and mutual learning. I may go back some time for their church service…

Dual Personalities

Well, now in my continuing discourse on Australian life and culture, I have chosen to focus this day's entry on the concept of the Outback. What's really kind of ironic about it, right off the bat is that while it is considered iconic of the essence of Australia, only about 1% of the Australian population actually lives in the Outback. I think in actuality, while it is regarded as a place of adventure, of freedom and untamable, immutable wildness, it is also regarded with fear and suspicion by many of the residents of this fair land. We have been discussing the roots of this fear in Oz Lit, and they go back to first contact with this land. So many of the first explorations ended up with the participants dead or defeated, just from trying to cross the land. They found it dry, inhosopitable, confounding and deceptive. Incidents like floods that come without rain and ground that looks firm but is actually bottomless mud are not exactly the makings of a great first impression. That is the origin of the development of the Outback, "Stay away from the interior!" Faces towards the safety of the coast, many feel like they can't forget the presence of this inhospitable monster which is always at their backs, always lurking somewhere behind them, shrouded in it's mystery. This is so much in the Australian conciousness that you can even find references to "the dead heart of Australia." In many ways, the quiet country setting is regarded as far more dangerous than the violence and fears of terrorism in the cities, somewhat the opposite of many American mentalities. And yet...At the same time, Australians do take immense pride in their land, even in the very danger of it. Many Australians are quick to brag about the dangers of their land, the great variety and creativity that goes into the sheer numbers of things that can kill you here. But more than that, those that do live in the Outback seem to be inextricably connected to it. The aborigines have developed the concept of being "sung to by the land" and once you are sung to by the land, you can never forget it or leave it. It becomes a part of you forever. And there is the iconic nature of the land, that they can love it in spite of, or perhaps because of its wildness, its transcendence, its immutable, frowning indifference to human meddling. Pehaps this vision of the land is somewhat romanticized, but you could never take the Outback out of Australia, not for the country dwellers or city dwellers. So now, the question that I shall leave you with, and shall continue to ponder is, where is the heart of Australia?