Section II: Making A Nation Flashcards
Describe Australia before 1788.
There were approximately 500 Aboriginal nations before Australia was settled in 1788.
It is estimated that there were roughly 750,000 Indigenous Australians across these 500 nations, and that they collectively spoke over 250 languages.
However, according to the 2016 Census there were only 649,173 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people living in Australia, and most of their languages have been lost.
Describe the effects of colonists on Aboriginal people.
Colonists did not recognise Indigenous connections to the land - “terra nullius” (“nobody’s land”).
Aboriginal people were viewed as new subjects occupying Britain’s newly claimed land (terra nullius) rather than as a separate population who’s home the colonists were invading.
Any resistance to mistreatment by the colonists was viewed as a rebellious and criminal act.
Aboriginal people became victims of dispossession, brutality and other injustices committed by the colonists.
Aboriginal victims often could not challenge colonists, as they were not given the legal rights or protection colonists were entitled to as British subjects.
Many Indigenous Australians suffered losses to sickness, violence, and murder by European colonists, and this trauma is still seen in communities today.
Loss of language, landscapes, and cultural identity have also severely impacted Indigenous Australians across many generations.
Describe how European Settlement impacted the Australian Landscape.
Colonists constructed permanent infrastructure such as roads, buildings, bridges, fences, wells, ports and tramways.
They cut down trees for wood, mined for ore and stone, and farmed the land to grow crops (attain resources).
Aboriginal peoples lived in harmony with the land and therefore had little permanent infrastructure - the permanent infrastructure which was established put extreme amounts of pressure on the land, resulting in damaged ecosystems, reductions in biodiversity, and the degradation of soils and waterways.
The environment was damaged by the introduction of foreign plants and animals that did not have natural predators, including cats and foxes, which preyed on small native animals, and rabbits, which destroyed the landscape with their excessive grazing.
Plants such as blackberry and pear plants could quickly overrun and destroy areas of native vegetation.
The farming of foreign animals and plants such as sheep and wheat also destroyed the environment, as they were not adapted to the Australian landscape.
Describe how the Australian Landscape impacted European Settlement.
Early European settlement was mainly established on the coast, where resources such as water and naval forces were easily accessed.
Harsh climate further away from the coast also influenced European settlement.
Abundance of wide-open land also led the colonists to settle in areas that they could use as pastoral fields. This allowed the owners of these fields to raise the livestock necessary to produce wool, meat and hides, all of which were incredibly profitable.
The discovery of gold also affected European settlement, as the prospect of finding gold and getting rich led many to migrate to gold-rich settlements, greatly increasing the population of these areas.
The positive effect that gold had on Australia’s economy led to the even greater and faster development of colonies, which attracted more and more people to Australia, which then led to even faster development.
Australia’s gold-rich landscape affected European settlement by greatly increasing the rate at which Australia could be settled.
Describe the role of convicts in the early settlement of Australia.
Australia began as a penal colony, meaning that much of the early development of Australia was completed by convicts who were sent to do so as punishment for crimes they had committed back home.
Cities such as Sydney, Hobart, Brisbane, and Melbourne began with small convict settlements
Many convicts were trained as tailors, tanners, blacksmiths, bakers and boot-makers, which made them more suited to city life than a rural existence as shepherds and farm labourers.
Around 4000 of the convicts were from non-British origins and around 1000 of them were non-white, sent from regions all over the British Empire.
What were the Frontier Wars?
“Frontier” is a term that is applied to the land that was gradually being taken over by the Europeans.
The Aboriginal people resisted British colonisation and occupation of their land – these conflicts and wars were known as the frontier wars.
The colonists were far more experienced with tactics, organisation, advanced weaponry, and resources which were extremely advantageous when warring against the Aboriginal people, who lacked experience, technology, and resources in this context.
Aboriginal people were often “otherised” due to race, unfamiliar practices, cultures, languages, religions – they were therefore thought of as inhumane, animalistic, and lesser (in comparison to Europeans).
Due to this unequal power balance, Europeans generally held the upper hand during these conflicts, and therefore they can be referred to as “massacres”.
Identify the main offences committed against Aboriginal people by colonists during the Frontier Wars.
Displacement of Aboriginal peoples through colonisation of Australia.
Systematic violence against a group of peoples, including massacres, armed conflicts, and extermination campaigns (genocide).
Unlawful killing (not in self-defence).
Cultural erasure.
Discrimination towards Aboriginal Australians (in social and political settings).
What does this quote reveal about the Frontier Wars?
“We have little or no news – the Natives at the Hawkesbury are murdering the settlers … soldiers are in return murdering the Natives (but it cannot be avoided).”
Aboriginal resistance to their dispossession angered the colonists, who responded with violent attacks (the Frontier Wars).
There are few records of Frontier violence, partly because these incidents were becoming too regular to take any special notice.
Colonists viewed the conflicts and massacres as “unavoidable” and necessary in order to strike terror and force obedience amongst Aboriginal peoples.
What does this quote reveal about the Frontier Wars?
“The natives are… the poorest objects on the habitable globe… I would never consent to hang a white man for a black one. I for one would never see a white man suffer for shooting a black.”
The Aboriginals were viewed as subhuman and inferior to the colonists, both socially and politically.
Colonists who committed acts of frontier violence were rarely punished or convicted, as they were seen as superior to Aboriginals in legal systems and in court.
Describe the extent of the Frontier Wars.
Early massacres are all mostly located around European settlements, for example, Sydney.
Most conflicts and massacres were initiated by Europeans, not by Aboriginals.
Massacres occurred all over Australia.
Massacres occurred over 250 years – for multiple generations, Indigenous people lived in fear of colonists and as a result would be severely impacted.
Centuries of this generational trauma are still seen today where Aboriginals are statistically shown to have a much lower quality of life than other Australians.
Describe the Myall Creek Massacre.
12 white stockmen rode into Myall creek station and massacred 28 Indigenous people in 1838 – it was the first and only time that white perpetrators were brought to justice.
The trial was very controversial – the all white jury cleared the 12 stockmen, but later, they were retried and 7 were convicted and hung.
Today, there is a desire on both sides to acknowledge and reconcile regarding the events of the past and their everlasting impacts.
Acknowledgement and reconciliation events such as those that occur each year at Myall Creek do not occur at other sites due to a lack of recorded evidence, as well as a lack of trial and conviction
Describe the Black War.
The Black War is one of the biggest acts of violence that occurred in the Frontier Wars.
It occurred in Tasmania from 1824 - 1831.
At least 1000 Aboriginal people were killed according to official records, however the actual number is estimated to be much higher.
Towards the end of the war, in the late 1830s the Black Line occurred.
Over 2000 colonists formed a series of offensive lines that stretched across the land and drove the Clans away from their homes and away from land the colonists had taken or wanted to take, with the aim of either killing or moving the Aboriginal Tasmanian people to the Tasman Peninsula in the southeast where the colonists planned to have them remain permanently imprisoned.
The Black War resulted in the near-destruction of all Aboriginal people living in ‘Tasmania’ due to frequent mass killings and can be viewed as an act of genocide (intentional action to destroy a an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group of people).
The experiences of Japanese settlers in Australia:
Why did they come to Australia?
During the 1880s, the Japanese came to Australia to work in pearl diving areas such as Darwin, Broome, and Thursday Island.
They often immigrated from small fishing villages on the southern coast of Japan.
Over time, the Japanese had their own pearling ships, and by 1897 around one-third of the Thursday Island fleet was run by Japanese people.
By 1901, around 3400 Japanese people were in Australia while only 400 of them were women, and approximately 90% lived in northern Australia.
The experiences of Japanese settlers in Australia:
How did they live and work in Australia?
Many Japanese immigrants lived and worked in pearl diving areas.
Deep-water diving was a dangerous occupation, as divers risked injury or death from decompression, sickness, weather events, or shark attacks.
Broome’s Japanese cemetery contains the graves of hundreds of Japanese men who died seeking pearls.
Many Japanese people married Australian settlers and raised families in these regions.
Other Japanese became involved in a range of trading activities.
Some Japanese immigrants came as indentured workers, meaning that they had to pay back their fares before they could keep their own wages.
The experiences of Japanese settlers in Australia:
Describe the contributions of Japanese workers to the development of Australia until 1900.
Japanese workers’ expertise in deep-water diving was crucial to the development of the Australian pearl industry.
The pearling industry was quite profitable, and sold large amounts of pearl shells to international markets to make buttons.
During the early twentieth century, Broome produced 80% of the world’s mother-of-pearl shells.
Other Japanese contributions include those in the trade industry:
e.g. Fusajiro Kanematsu, a Japanese businessman, established a trading company that eventually controlled most of the trade of Australian wool to Japan.
e.g. The Nakashiba family, who ran a store in Cairns that sold local and imported goods, making an important contribution to the wealth of the town.
The experiences of Japanese settlers in Australia:
Describe the impact of discrimination on Japanese settlers.
Japanese immigrants experienced racism from European Australians due to their different appearance and unfamiliar culture.
In 1896, the Japanese government set up a consulate office in Townsville, Queensland to serve the many Japanese citizens in the area, which rejected the humiliating and racist treatment of Australian governments towards its people.
Unlike other Asians, some Japanese divers were exempted from the White Australia policy after Federation due to their excellence in deep-water diving which was instrumental to Australia’s extremely profitable pearl industry.
The experiences of Chinese settlers in Australia:
Why did they come to Australia?
On European settlement, a few convicts were of Chinese background, while most came as indentured labourers.
However, the gold rushes of the 1850s prompted large numbers of Chinese men to immigrate to Victoria and NSW.
Many of these immigrants were from the southern provinces of China around the Pearl River delta and were seeking a better quality of life in Australia.
Many were also political refugees who left China after the Taiping Rebellion which raged across China between 1850 and 1864.
The experiences of Chinese settlers in Australia:
How did they live and work in Australia?
As the gold diggings ran out, some settlers returned to China but many stayed and moved into other occupations.
Some found work in vineyards or by operating pearling luggers, while others played important roles as store keepers, furniture makers, and in import and export businesses.
Many took up market gardening and supplied towns and outback stations with fresh vegetables.
Some became respected community members, such as Mei Quong Tart (1850–1903) and William Ah Ket (1876–1936).
The experiences of Chinese settlers in Australia:
Describe the contributions Chinese workers to the development of Australia until 1900.
Chinese settlers participated and contributed to all aspects of the colonies.
They contributed to the development of local facilities, newspapers, and also brought with Chinese cultural festivals.
In 1879, three Chinese men wrote The Chinese Question in Australia in protest against the laws that discriminated against them.
These writers pointed out that anti-Chinese legislation was illegal, as it contradicted the 1860 treaty between the Chinese and British governments, which meant that Chinese people had “a perfect right to settle in any part of the British Empire”.
This treaty also allowed British and Australian people to settle in China.
The experiences of Chinese settlers in Australia:
Describe the impact of discrimination on Chinese settlers.
By the late 1850s, Chinese immigrants represented 25% of miners in Victoria.
In NSW, 60% of miners were Chinese immigrants.
European miners were critical of the Chinese miners because they weren’t Christian and their unfamiliar culture.
Some colonists thought that the Chinese people were too numerous and should not be allowed on the goldfields – this fear of being overrun also created tensions between European and Chinese miners.
In 1855, the Victorian government imposed a poll tax of £10 on all Chinese immigrants arriving in Victoria.
In response, Chinese miners started entering Victoria via Robe in South Australia, and from 1855 - 1857, 17500 Chinese people walked 400 km to reach the goldfields.
Soon, South Australia and New South Wales also excluded Chinese miners.
As gold diggings ran out, some European miners wanted to drive out the Chinese people.
In January 1861, 1500 miners and traders, some armed with clubs, held an anti-Chinese meeting at Lambing Flat in New South Wales.
The government sent police, soldiers and Special Commissioners to establish peace and to protect the Chinese miners.
However, once the authorities left, tensions rose again and on 30 June, between 2000 and 3000 miners attacked the Chinese camp, burning tents and possessions, hitting and whipping the Chinese and cutting off their hair.
Relatively few Chinese women came to Australia, perhaps because of certain hostilities towards Chinese people that occurred from time to time.
The late nineteenth century saw more anti-Chinese feeling and more laws to restrict immigration.
White workers waged campaigns to force Chinese people from their Occupation.
Chinese people were heavily impacted by the White Australia Policy, which denied them entrance to Australia.
Living and working conditions in Australia:
1860 - 1890.
Working and living conditions improved for many Australian working class people.
Factors involved in this increased prosperity:
Increased wealth as a result of the gold rushes.
Investment in property and industries.
Greater demand for food and goods due to population growth.
Living and working conditions in Australia:
1890 - 1900.
The economic depression:
Property prices rose to extremely high levels and then dropped suddenly → people who had borrowed money to invest in properties suffered extreme financial losses.
Many regions of the country experienced a terrible drought from 1895 to 1903, greatly reducing agricultural productivity and increasing costs for employers.
Employers tried to reduce costs by lowering wages → in response, workers built strong unions and organised widespread strikes
Strikes often failed (wielded little results) → this created an increased support for a political party that would achieve their goals.
Workers believed that having workers’ representatives in government would mean that their interests were heard, which later became the Labour Party.
Living and working conditions in Australia:
1900 <
Following 1901, the situation for workers began to improve.
New immigrants from Britain led to the population rising from 3.8 million in 1901, to 4.9 million by 1913.
Following the end of the drought, agricultural conditions improved, and exports (mainly agricultural products) doubled.
The invention of large-scale refrigeration also meant that exports could now include meat.
Describe working conditions at the time.
Unsafe and extremely crowded industrial working conditions.
Manual labour workers (working class) were mainly men, as women were expected to complete domestic work such as caring for the house and children.
Most children (working class) graduated at the end of primary school and entered the workforce directly after, and some children left school earlier in order to work and support their family financially.
Girls were taught domestic crafts, such as cooking and needlework, in school to prepare them for life working at home. Boys were taught subjects such as woodwork to prepare them for life in the workforce.
Describe social classes at the time.
The social class you were in mainly depended on your income, your occupation and whether you lived in the city or country.
The upper class consisted of members of the governor’s family, wealthy professionals such as judges and surgeons, and the owners of large pastoral properties.
The middle class consisted of other professionals, such as lawyers and bank managers.
The vast majority of people were considered to be members of the working class.
There were strong tensions between members of the upper/middle class (employers) and the working class (employees).
Employers wanted to get as much work out of labourers for as little money as possible, while labourers wanted to get as much money as possible for as little work as possible – fundamentally different interests.
Describe the growth of cities at the time.
A rapid increase in the population of Australian cities took place in the second half of the nineteenth century, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, as a result of the gold rushes.
Australia’s population of 405 000 in 1850 more than doubled to over one million by 1858 and most of these new people settled in the cities.
Living conditions in the cities were poor (impromptu and built with limited resources) particularly for the working class, while middle and upper class people lived in terraced medium density housing.
Australian Federation: Identify some arguments for self government.
Economic advantages:
Free trade between states would lower the costs of production and open up new markets (particularly internationally).
Military advantages:
A united Australian military and defence force meant that Australia would no longer rely on the British navy for protection.
“White Australia”:
Each state had their own anti-Chinese laws which was seen as a major reason for many people’s support for federation.
Rise of Nationalism:
Transition from British support to Australian Nationalism through literature, political cartoons, and art (such as paintings of the Australian landscape).
Transport technologies:
The development of communication and transport technologies (e.g. telegraph and railroads) led to an increasing sense of connectedness that catered towards the push for federation.
Prior to federation, people often needed to change trains to travel from state to state, as different states had different railway systems.
Describe the role of the federal government.
The federal government has broad national powers – it administers laws in relation to defence, immigration, foreign affairs, trade, postal services, and taxation.
Describe the role of state/territory governments.
State/territory governments look after laws not covered by the federal government – for example hospitals, schools, police, and housing services.
Describe the role of local councils.
Local councils are responsible for building regulations, rubbish collection, local roads, pet control, and more.
What is a constitution?
A set of fundamental ideas and principles that dictate how a country is governed and what kind of policies and laws it passes.
Essentially, a constitution is a sort of foundational guide for how a country is run.
What are some issues with Australia’s constitution?
Australia’s constitution was written when Australia federated in 1901, over 120 years ago.
When Australia was federated, it was extremely racist (“White Australia” policy). Especially considering how multicultural Australia is now, and the importance of Indigenous authority in Australia, many of the fundamental ideas and principles present in the Constitution are inappropriate.
Ideas regarding feminism have also changed dramatically since Australia federated in 1901.
Discuss Section 51 and Section 127 of Australia’s Constitution.
Section 51 (Legislative powers of the Parliament):
“The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: (xxvi) the people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws.”
Section 51 was amended by the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967
Section 127 (Aborigines not to be counted in reckoning population):
“In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted.”
Section 127 was repealed by the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) 1967
These laws discriminated against Aboriginal peoples, placing a distinct barrier between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. This exclusion suggests that Aboriginals were viewed as inferior and sub-human, and doesn’t acknowledge their role in Australian history, society, and identity.
These laws were amended/repealed in 1967, however many aspects of the Australian Constitution continue to discriminate and exclude Aboriginal Australians.
Describe the introduction of some legislations between 1901 and 1914 in Australia.
The Commonwealth Government introduced some of the most progressive industrial and social legislation in the world at that time.
e.g. The Harvester Judgement, The Conciliation & Arbitration Act, The Invalid & Old Age Pension Act, The Worker’s Compensation Act, The Maternity Allowances Act.
The reforms were of great benefit to ordinary working-class Australian men and women, although Indigenous Australians were generally excluded from most of these reforms.
Describe the 1904 Conciliation and Arbitration Act.
The Conciliation and Arbitration Court was established in 1904, and its aim was to settle disagreements between employers and trade unions by acting as a ‘referee’ and coming up with an agreement on work issues and conditions that would be fair to both sides.
Because only unions could represent the interests of workers in the Arbitration Court, this resulted in a strong increase in union membership.
Australia was now becoming a very attractive place for a worker (referred to as a “working man’s paradise) because of these unions – this encouraged many working class people to immigrate to Australia (boosted immigration to Australia)
Describe the 1907 The Harvester Judgement – Fair and reasonable wages.
First country to establish a fair and reasonable minimum wage – further boosts immigration to Australia.
The fair and reasonable minimum wage was based on the cost of living for an average family of five to enable families to support themselves.
Every worker that was male and white was entitled to this minimum wage.
Describe the 1908 Invalid and Old Age Pension Act.
Before Federation, some states had old age pensions but it was not until 1908 that a federal Invalid and Old Age Pension Act 1908 was passed.
A pension of ten shillings ($1) a week was to be paid to those over 65 or who were too disabled to work.
A person had to have lived in Australia for 20 years to be eligible for the pension and some people were specifically excluded from receiving it.
These included Indigenous Australians, indigenous people from Africa and the Pacific Islands, and Asian people.
Describe the 1912 Workers Compensation Act.
Under the Workers Compensation Act 1912, workers compensation was paid to Commonwealth employees who suffered a work-related accident or illness.
Although it did not apply to most workers under state awards, it provided a model that could be introduced by states.
Describe the 1912 Maternity Allowances Act.
Under the Maternity Allowances Act 1912, a “baby bonus” was introduced that gave every mother £5 (equivalent to around $10, or more than two weeks’ pay at that time) on the birth of a child in order for the family to be able to support the child.
Describe The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 – The “White Australia” Policy.
Its aim was to limit non-white immigration to Australia, particularly Asian immigration, and preserve the predominance of the British within Australia.
Immigration officers could refuse an immigrant entry to Australia based on many factors:
Officers could administer dictation tests, which were complex 50-word passages, to refuse the entry of an immigrant. The test could be in any European language, so even if a foreigner could speak English the government could use an obscure European language instead. The process of completing a dictation test was therefore quite corrupt.
Officers who did not like the (racial) appearance of a person could deny that person entry to Australia, as they could be considered “likely… to become a charge upon the public.”
Officers could refuse the entry of any person under a contract or agreement to perform manual labour, as the government wanted employment opportunities and money to go to white Australians, not foreigners.
