Asia and Australia

1700s - 1960s: Policies Against Asian Immigration

Gold Rush

It is estimated that Australia’s first contact with Asia occurred between 1500 and 1700, placing it around 80-280 years before European settlement. The first migration however happened during Australia's gold rush, especially in Victoria, starting in the 1850s. These mainly Chinese immigrants made up 7% of Victoria’s population, however their unfamiliar culture and appearance fostered Australia’s racism, to the point where legislation (An Act to Make Provisions for Certain Immigrants, 1855) was passed directly disallowing any Chinese immigration whatsoever. This highlights Australia’s fear for non-white immigration into the country and its strong history of proud western culture.

White Australia

The Immigration Restriction Act - a major component of the colloquially named White Australia Policy - was put in place as a foundational piece of legislation on which the Federation of Australia was built. It infamously put forth a dictation test which immigrants would have to complete in order to gain entry into Australia, which would be undertaken with "a passage of fifty words in length in any European language". As no language was specified, this allowed immigration officers to set tests in languages they knew the participant wasn't literate in; essentially setting them to fail. This method immediately disallowed any non-European into the country, but also gave officers the power to disqualify whomever they deemed unworthy of Australian immigration (Robertson, Hohmann & Stewart; 2005).

This bill of course didn't come without controversy, shortly after its inception in 1905, the Australian Government was pressured, especially by the Japanese Government, to ammend the immigration restriction act, as they felt that "[they] as a friendly and allied power, feel that this measure, in its present form, is an offence to [The Japanese Government]" (Best, 1905). Subsequently the bill was reformed in the same year with the Immigration Restriction Ammendment which replaced the European dicatation measure with the simpler provision "[to] pass the dictation test", allowing for people who don't speak a European language proficiently to enter Australia and opening the doors to possible Asian migration. This pressuring however likely increased tensions between the Japanese and Australian governments, worsening Australians' perceptions of "the Asian race" and hightening the idea of the yellow peril (Meaney, 1995).

The Immigration Restrictions Act was slowly dismantled after the Second World War as Australia took in around 170 000 refugees from across Europe. A "Populate or Perish" doctrine was adopted as Australia looked to create growth and jobs in the country. Soon after, the 1958 Migration Act specified that skilled immigrants should be given special consideration in migrating to Australia, allowing people of all races to immigrate. It also abolished the need for a dictation test. A new Department of Immigration would determine the skills that Australia needed and from which immigrants these skills would come.

1960s - 1990s: Dismantling of the White Australia Policy

Decolonisation

The withdrawl of colonial powers from Asia grew the former colonies' independence, leading to the possibility of Asian nations being a economic and cultural force in the region. Whereas only Japan was the only notable state with influence in Australia, the new stability and autonomy of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore changed the political landscape of the Australasian region. Australia's involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars brought issues in other countries into public discussion and weathered away at Australia's isolationist culture.

The Hawke-Keating Years

Under the Governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, Australia was transitioning away from its anglospheric identity to adopting a more geopolitically correct view of its place in Asia as opposed to the west. Liberalising trade with Asian countries and affirming Australia's place in Asia questioned the Australian peoples' negative perceptions of Asian people in the country. Political gestures such as allowing 42 000 Chinese students to stay in Australia after the Tiananmen square massacre (Chan, 2017) set a firm position that the Australian government was aware and wanted to get involved in Asian geopolitics; while the introduction of the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 set a social stance to end hatred toward non-white Australians. The years after the fall of Saigon in 1975 saw many Vietnamese refugeees entering the country, the firsts major migration of non-westerners to Australia since the gold rush. It was then that the Government could see their work of breaking barriers taking action.

References

Australian Senate. (1905). Immigration Restriction Ammendment. Canberra: Commonwealth Government of Australia.

Best, R. (1905). "Immigration Restriction Ammendment BIll" second reading. Speech, Canberra.

Capling, A. (2008). Twenty years of Australia's engagement with Asia. The Pacific Review, 21(5), pp.601-622.

Chan, G. (2017). Cabinet papers 1988-89: Bob Hawke acted alone in offering asylum to Chinese students. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jan/01/cabinet-papers-1988-89-bob-hawke-acted-alone-in-offering-asylum-to-chinese-students

Commonwealth Government of Australia. (1958). Migration Act. Canberra: Commonwealth Government of Australia.

Jupp, J. (1995). From 'White Australia' to 'Part of Asia': Recent Shifts in Australian Immigration Policy towards the Region. International Migration Review, 29(1), 207.

Koleth, E. (2010). Multiculturalism: a review of Australian policy statements and recent debates in Australia and overseas. Australian Parliament Research Papers, 6.

Meaney, N. (1995). The end of ‘white Australia’ and Australia's changing perceptions of Asia, 1945–1990. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 49(2), pp.171-189.

Robertson, K., Hohmann, J., & Stewart, I. (2005). Dictating to One of 'Us': The Migration of Mrs Freer. Macquarie Law Journal, 5, 241-275.