3.2 International Migration

(please note, some of this material is in Populate or Perish.'

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to demonstrate your ability to:

identity different push and pull factors which influence international immigration to Australia.
Understand why Australia required immigration in the Post War II period.
Outline the economic and cultural effects of international migration to Australia.

Push and pull factors affecting international immigration

Copy the following: Push factors “push” people away from their home and include things like war. Pull factors “pull” people to a new home and include things like better opportunities. The reasons people migrate are usually economic, political, cultural, or environmental.

Task

Create a mind map of push and pull factors which could influence international immigration to Australia.
In pairs, sort the ideas on the board and categorise them under the following headings:

Economic, Political, Cultural, Environmental

The image is of Vietnamese refugees arriving in Australia to escape the Indochinese wars during the 1970s. These people were referred to as ‘boatpeople.’

See, Think, Wonder

Study the picture carefully:

Quietly respond to the following in your workbooks:
What do you see?
What do think about this?
What do you wonder?
Can anyone guess what push and pull factors could be involved in this scenario?

Why Australia needed migrants in the Post World War period.

Copy the following:

Between 1945 and 1965 two million immigrants arrived in Australia. The Australian Government had decided to open up the nation because it believed there was an urgent need to ‘populate or perish’ after the Second World War. Among the new immigrants were the first non-British migrants allowed by the Australian Government. This massive influx of people eventually transformed Australian society.

Class discussion:

What might ‘populate or perish’ mean? Think about this in context of Australia as a member of the Asia Pacific region.

Complete the following activities:

Visit the following website and read the passage underneath the title, ‘Why did Australia need to ‘populate or perish’?

Click here: https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/postwar-immigration-drive

According to Arthur Calwell, why would Australia need more people?
How did the 'Ten Pound Pom' scheme contribute to migration.
Who were the 'beautiful Balts' and why were they well received?
Why might the Australia government have sought migrants from Europe after WWII. Can you suggest two reasons why.

Asian Immigration to Australia

The following resource consists of a range of activities related to Asian Immigration to Australia. It will take approximately TWO lessons to complete.

Asian Migration to Australia .pdf

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