White Australia Policy

Essay by karenstHigh School, 10th gradeA, June 2014

download word file, 3 pages 0.0

'The White Australia Policy' - from beginning to end

People from many different parts of the world came to Australia in the 1800's, all in search of better lives for their families and themselves, and also in the hope of creating wealth. With the influx of people from different parts of the world, this challenged many Australians' sense of national identity, just as it was beginning to form.

Because of this, new laws were implemented which were aimed at protecting white Australians. It became difficult for people who were not from a white European background to settle in Australia, and restricted the lives of people who were non white and were already living in Australia. This became known as the 'White Australia Policy' and would become one of the primary reasons for the push towards federation.

The 'White Australia Policy' was put in place in order to maintain a racial and cultural pure society.

The Europeans felt as though they were a superior race. In the 1850's Chinese men specifically arrived in Australia because of the gold rush. This lead to anti-Chinese riots in New South Wales, and at the Buckland River diggings in Victoria. Over time, states and territories began to pass laws that restricted Chinese people from arriving in their area. In December 1901 the newly formed federal government also passed an act ending the employment of people from the Pacific Islands. It also restricted all forms of Immigration. This was known as the Immigration Restriction Act and it remained in place until 1958. This Act consisted of a 50-word dictation test where applicants had to correctly write a passage read to them in any European language prescribed by the immigration officer. This allowed immigration officials to literally hand pick suitable migrants to...