A Research Study On The 24 August 1958

I argue that the ideologies behind The Assimilation Policy were evident since the first white settlers had arrived in 1788. Since first contact, Aboriginal people’s values, customs, beliefs and traditional way of life began to erode. From the 1850s onwards, Aboriginal people were forced onto reserves, and then into towns and cities in the mid 20th century . Many people feared that the ‘Australian’ culture was being affected by immigrants. Since the early 1900s, there had been a ‘White Australia’ policy and assimilation was expected upon arrival. However, Aboriginal people did not immigrate, so their policy, dictated by the Australian States and Commonwealth Government was known as The Policy of Assimilation. Assimilation policies were supported by racist assumptions and represented by settler nationalist imperatives . In the 1950s, assimilation policies for Aboriginal people were supported by the

Along with the American presence, Australia’s treatment of aliens also had the potential to cause considerable divisions. When war broke out, many foreigners, mostly Germans, and other ‘dangerous persons were made to prove their identity and placed under strict rules which they had to adhere to in order to live in Australia. However it was not the government, but the

The concept of being a ‘nation of immigrants’ is at the center of Australian identity.

The topic that I have chosen to research for the duration of this assignment is Urban living and Working conditions. Foreigners migrated to Australia because of the term ‘ the working mans paradise’. But that was only because of the eight-hour day, which was commonly inconceivable as well as other benefits that were un-available in foreign countries such as Europe.

For many years Asian Migrants were restricted from entering Australia and found it difficult to migrate due to discriminatory political policies. The main policies were the ‘dictation test’, the policy of ‘Assimilation’ and the ‘White Australia’ policy. The main Asian Migration wave occurred in 1976 after the Vietnam War forced many people to leave there homes and come here to Australia. These Asian Migrants arrived in Australia by boat which was usually very over crowded. The cause of

It is thought by many that part of the Australian identity is being a very tolerant country that accepts and includes all cultures and people from all walks of life; however, after coming across the poems No More Boomerang by Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Be Good, Little Migrants by Uyen Loewald, the experiences felt by two Australians prove that this idea is... questionable.

After WW2, the Labour Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, launched Australia’s largest immigration program ever. Along with the program, the catchphrase ‘Populate or Perish’ was widely used to imply that more immigrants, preferably white, were necessary to fight of the steady stream of Asian immigration. As part of Immigration policy, these immigrants were expected to assimilate – meaning that they had to give up their preceding culture and embody Australian customs. This was simple for those who come from Britain but was very much a difficult task for those few immigrants who were not of British descent.

Australia in terms of immigration, has had a poor history of dealing with people travelling into the country, shown in the beginning of hand picking the majority of Australia 's population. However as the decades have rolled on, whether it be forced or by choice, Australia has become looser and more free in access and treatment within the country and importantly, less discriminatory. In order to see these improvements, the start must be shown, in which is generally summarised by the White Australia Policy.

“Nobody knew what was awaiting us in Australia.” This statement by an interviewed person by Jerzy Zubrzycki, named Lydia, suggests Australia was simply not well known in the DP camps of Europe. Thus Australian officials advertised Australia as a “…country of salvation and new beginnings, and an escape route from the wartime devastation and postwar Communist perils of Europe.” This subversion directly appeals to DPs, however with “new beginnings”, there were many differences between Australia and Europe that were often unexpected by migrants. Chub presents this stark contrast between reality and the highly publicised version of Australia, including “…the trees and birds [which] were different…even the frogs croaked differently to those in Ukraine…” These representations suggest Australia was a homeland that was also pastoral and nostalgic in a European sense. On the other hand, these representations suggest attention was more towards representing Australia as a desirable resettlement destination, rather than successfully integrating immigrants into the Australian community. The features of the Australian immigration policy, and other factors including distance made it an unattractive resettlement destination. For these reasons, Australian officials may have felt the need to ‘sell’ Australia.

The immigration policy of Australia has been in a constant state of flux ever since Federation in 1901, when the first legislative piece, the Immigration Restriction Act, was introduced. The Immigration Restriction Act has become infamous in Australian history and throughout the world, more nefariously as the ‘White Australia Policy’. The White Australia Policy was Australia’s seemingly indestructible way of ensuring a White Australia. However, the immigration of European refugees after World War II, which aimed to defend the nation from Japanese invasion, challenged this policy. From 1901, Australia held a strong belief that coloured people, specifically Asians, were inferior and detrimental to the Australian way of life, and did all in it’s

The author’s first argument highlight’s his contention with its message of the values immigrants bring to Australia regardless of their education. Karapanagiotidis utilises emotive language very heavily when relaying the ‘sacrifices’ and ‘grief’ his grandma and parents endured when immigrating and settling in Australia to evoke a sense of sympathy for them specifically from the audience. The use of a personal story is used almost as evidence to support his contention, and the audience takes it as so. To then evoke respect for his relatives, Karapanagiotidis talks of how his parents were viewed as ‘uneducated’, yet insists they had ‘resilience, love of community, principles, sacrifice, entrepreneurship, selflessness and courage’, which the

1901 was the turning point for Australian immigrants trying to come into Australia. It was during this time that Edmund Barton was trying to have an all white population. Edmund had gotten the idea for an all white population from R.Dixon. Edmund wanted to have an all white population because he thought it would be very patriotic to have a British outpost of all white people. Another reason is that Australians thought that the immigrants were taking their jobs and making Australians go broke from having no work. This law affected the immigrants because they were trying to escape from their country’s problems including: war, poor economy, poor health care and opportunity and Australia is their safe haven. The White Australia Policy not only denied them access to this safe haven but sent them back to where they would most likely be poor and end up dead

Culture is always changing. Beliefs, behaviours and presentation, religion and language all form part of what is an individual’s or community’s culture. (Bowes, Grace, & Hodge, 2012, p.75 & 77). Due to its intrinsic nature, when people migrate to Australia, they bring their culture with them. As migrants come from all over the world, and not the one place, their

Identity changed significantly in Australia during the Second World War, and this was mainly due to America’s presence within Australia during the time. American troops began arriving in Australia in December 1941, and they arrived in a large sum of 250,000, and became a continuous presence in Australian life from 1941-1945. When the Americans first arrived, the Australian people treated them like saviors, however they also bought their culture with them, which caused great change within Australian society due to being influenced by the ‘superior’ Americans. For young people in particular, American’s represented wealth, glamour and modernity. American service men and women set up enclaves of American culture with soda fountains, their own clubs where they could eat American style meals and exquisite ballrooms.. The American’s troops presence in Australia caused a major change in Australian society culturally.

The 27th of March 1952, approved the admission of some Japanese war brides and ex-servicemen into Australia. This was a significant turning point for Australian Immigration as previously, because of the, “White Australia” policy, immigration policy had been racially discriminatory and not let any other nation into Australia other than Europeans.