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Sequence 1—Migration experiences: Post-War to the 1970s
Australia’s immigration policy before World War II and up until the early 1970s was dominated by legislation based on the White Australia policy. The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 lived up to its title — restriction.
Racial discrimination was the foundation of immigration policy and legislation. However, by the 1970s global political, economic and social forces shaped significant changes in Australia’s immigration policies and identity. In this teaching and learning sequence students have the opportunity to focus on:
- Changing immigration policies (White Australia Policy and the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, policy changes spurred by the notion and political slogan of‘Populate or Perish’)
- Why people migrate (push and pull factors; waves of migration)
- The tensions between assimilation and cultural heritage
- Australia the immigrant nation.
Changing immigration policies
In this section students have the opportunity to understand the key features of and motivation behind Australia’s immigration policy since Federation. Australia’s immigration policy was dominated by the White Australia Policy until post-war. Pressures to ‘Populate or perish’ and changing community attitudes encouraged a more inclusive policy in the 1970s. Here students will explore the role of racial discrimination and historical concepts of cause and effect, significance and continuity and change.
The timeline of key immigration events from 1944–1970s provides an overview of key events and some points of significance for Sequence 1 investigations. This could be useful for both teacher programming and student investigations of the period.
A starting point
Begin with a discussion of the following statement (where discuss means to identify issues and provide points for and/or against):
‘Australia’s Migration Program does not discriminate on the basis of race or religion. This means that anyone from any country can apply to migrate, regardless of their ethnic origin, gender or colour, provided they meet the criteria set out in law.’
Source for text above: Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Fact Sheet 1 Immigration: The Background Part One
- Review the students’ present knowledge: Was this always the case?
- Outline to students that this was not always the case and Australia’s migration policy continues to be a national political issue today over the ‘criteria issue’ for refugees, asylum seekers and working visas.
What is racism and racial discrimination?
Ask students to work in pairs or small groups to draft their own definition of racism
Display the following brief definition, ‘The belief that one race of people is superior or inferior to another, and that people of different races should not be treated equally’ and check that these aspects are covered in student definitions. Allow time for students to modify their definition.
Now have students in pairs or small groups use their final definition of racism to develop a description of racial discrimination and use this to create a mind map about the types of racial discrimination.
Some support:
- Discrimination is when a person is treated unfairly compared to someone else in the same situation because of a particular characteristic, such as his or her race, sex, age or disability
- Creating a digital mind map or a mind map sketch.
Consider using the Here Now / There Then approach to explore racial discrimination — ‘The routine encourages students to consider past perspectives and develop a better understanding of how thinking changes over time and across cultures. It helps students acknowledge that we have strong stances regarding controversial issues, and that our stances are influenced by social and historical context.’
The White Australia Policy and the Immigration Restriction Act 1901
The wording of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 set the parameters for excluding non-European migrants. The word ‘race' was not used in the criteria but the racial barrier was literacy. Any person could be excluded if they failed a Dictation test — any applicant ‘... when asked to do so by an officer fails to write out at dictation and sign in the presence of the officer, a passage of 50 words in length in a European language directed by the officer’. Some Non-Europeans already in Australia in 1901 failed the test and were deported.
Examining the Act
Ask students to step back in time over 100 years. Display a section of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 and highlight its background. Documenting democracy has the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 parchment and it’s history (use the whiteboard or print version of all, or a selection of extracts).
Pose the question: What is in a name — the ‘Immigration Restriction Act’? Using a section of the Act, have students identify the key mechanism which guaranteed immigration restrictions. Ask students in pairs or small groups to find out for whom this Act and its mechanism was directed? (Asians and Pacific Islanders)
Have students examine some of the sources (cartoons, posters and text) about the White Australia Policy from Glogster.
Here are examples of the types of passages used in the Dictation Test (National Archives of Australia) for class reading aloud and discussion. Have students attempt the Dictation Test themselves and reflect on or discuss the following questions:
- Did you fail the test? How does it feel?
- How do you think people felt when told they could not enter Australia?
- Was the dictation test fair?
Examining the The White Australia policy — origins and purpose
The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 was the legislative mechanism of the White Australia Policy. Using the following resources and their own research, have students research the connection between the Commonwealth legislation and the White Australia Policy:
- ‘the history’ section of Fact Sheet 8 from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection outlines the history and purpose of the White Australia Policy from its origins — the Immigration Restriction Act 1902 to the 1950s
- Racism. No Way! website Fact sheet: The White Australia policy
There were signs of change, questioning the White Australia policy before the early 1970s. See the booklet ‘White Australia — Reform?’, from 6 July, 1964 (A current affairs bulletin published at the University of Sydney). Is this evidence of moves to make a change?
Using the official speeches, identify and briefly explain Arthur Calwell’s ‘Populate or perish’ reasoning behind the post-war migrant recruitment program. Have students jot down the key points of his argument in the speeches. Point out that unintentionally this was the first step in ending the White Australia policy. The ‘populate or perish’ anthemconcerned the 2% population increase target, with 1% of that from immigration; combined economic and strategic/political factors guiding policy modifications (for example, Snowy Mountains scheme; the ‘Asian threat’; ‘the days of our isolation are over’ speech by Calwell).
In concluding this part of Sequence 1
Give students an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the historical significance of the White Australia policy. Have them identify and describe the role of racism in Australia's immigration policy before 1973 (in 10–15 lines), (where identify means to recognise and name, and describe means to provide characteristics and features).
Why people migrate
Teacher note: In this part of Sequence 1 students should gain an understanding of the main factors behind decisions to migrate that constitute the background to immigration from the 1970s to now. Using the concept of ‘waves of migration’ helps to explain the importance of world events in shaping immigration trends and government policies over time.
Waves of migration
Australia had an immigration program aimed at supplementing natural population increase. But historically, events cause random surges in migration which are called ‘waves of migration’. Demographers have likened it to a wave on a population graph. This theme will be developed in this sequence.
Migrants and refugees
Many thousands of people in Europe became refugees because of the devastation caused by World War II. At that time the Soviet Union refused to leave some countries it had occupied while chasing Germany’s army back to Germany. Thousands of people decided to look for a better life as ‘migrants’ to other countries. Here students need to understand the definition of ‘refugees’ and ‘migrants’. It was much harder to define the difference immediately after World War II and this would question the White Australia policy.
Activities
Use the booklet ‘Migration and the Refugee’, by the Australian Army Education Service, 12 March, 1945 as a stimulus to provide the context for the post-war refugee crisis. The instructions for the discussion leader in the booklet highlights that this is [was] a global problem in which Australia is just one part. It acknowledges that it is ‘a very complicated racial, national, economic and social problem.’
Organise students into two groups. One group should focus on defining ‘migrants’ and the other ‘refugees’. Use What is the difference between migrants and refugees? from the Refugee Council of Australia.
Use the timeline of key immigration events from 1944-1970s to explain the concept of ‘waves of migration’ and the connections with national and world events. Here you can ask students to identify and categorise some of the reasons for people becoming immigrants, such as war and racial discrimination and impacts on societies.
To provide a ‘human face’ to the events and developments, have students in groups select one or two migrant stories relevant to the time period 1940s to 1970, such as the story of Malle Juske from Estonia, 1949. Have students script a brief one-half to one page story with a heading for the class noticeboard or wall. Have each group elect a storyteller to briefly relate the migration experience of their person or people to the class, and then record the names of the person or people on the board.
Push and pull factors
Introduce and explain push factors for migration. Push factors are negative forces which make life hard to live in a country. These can be looked at as social, political and economic reasons for migrating to another country.
Allocate students to small groups and guide them to identify examples which help to explain push factors. Ask each group to choose a representative to provide feedback on their findings to the rest of the class. After listening to the student responses, highlight the role of racial discrimination as a factor in many wars and crises which causes people to flee their homeland to seek ‘refuge’.
Use the Timeline of migration to find a few examples of push factor events to help start the group work. Be sure to emphasise the 1970s to the present day and ask students to add a few post-2000 examples. As a background for the post-1970 investigations, raise the notion of ‘Reluctant exiles’ — that there is regret and often trauma in leaving a country of origin.
Use examples from after World War II up until now as evidence that the push and pull factors have applied over time (continuity) and that many immigrants have already experienced various forms of discrimination before coming to Australia.
In groups, have students jot down the ‘pull factors’ Australia seemed to offer after World War II. Use Post-WWII historical immigration posters and commentary as stimulus:
- ‘There’s a welcome “down under” for you’
- ‘Australia: land of tomorrow’
- ’Australia: A Full Healthy Life’
- ‘Australia The Lucky Country’ and other posters
- The Australian skilled migration and recruitment' site, Konnecting
Were there any negatives? The White Australia policy's racial discrimination criteria restricted the type of migrants being accepted.
Teaching note: Update the glossary, word bank or jargon buster and review terms and concepts, for example, forced migration — the forced movement of a person or group away from their home or home region; voluntary migration — the voluntary or free movement of a person or group away from their home or home region.
In concluding this part of Sequence 1
Find and analyse historical sources and evidence: Using the timeline 1940s: after the war, ask students to locate photographic sources which are ‘evidence’ of immigration: recruitment in London (Image 7) and Displaced Persons (Images 8,9 and 11). Have students briefly explain why these images would be useful to an historian studying Australian immigration and how they could use them.
Alternatives
- Using 1950s — a million post-war immigrants: Image 7– Assisted passage migrants arriving; Image 8–Poster: Promoting 10 pound assisted passage; Image 4–Certificate of Identity, John Neamonitis, Egypt.
- Using 1960s — the end of White Australia looms: Poster: Image 7–Promoting Australia's climate to migrants 1963; Image 8– Immigration Minister Hubert Oppermann signs migration agreement with Germany 1965; Image 9–Chinese New Year Melbourne 1965.
Video overview
The video clip Our Century: through new eyes examines the change over time in Australia’s immigration polic, from preference for Anglo-Celtic and White Australian policy criteria to a diverse population of immigrants.
The tensions between assimilation and cultural heritage
The focus of Australia’s immigration programs has been immigrant assimilation. There has been a constant tension between assimilation and cultural heritage. Students need to understand the meaning and significance of both terms before understanding Australia's changing identity. Full assimilation by immigrants to Australia would mean that they would integrate into society, absorb Australian culture and lose aspects of their own cultural heritage.
Assimilation
Focus: What are the key features of assimilation in an immigration policy?
Definition: When people of differing ethnic heritage acquire or are urged to acquire the basic attitudes, habits and mode of life of another national culture.
Have students discuss why and how Australia governments wanted immigrants to assimilate. Compose a list of positives and negative on the board during the discussion. Here features such as learning the ‘common language’ and ‘common laws’ could be examined as a positive, while banning meetings of racial or ethnic groups would not.
Next pose the question: how far should assimilation go? Introduce the concept of ‘forced assimilation’ and what that might involve, such as suppression of ‘foreign’ languages.
Cultural heritage
Focus: What are the key features of cultural heritage — tangible and intangible features; tensions between assimilation and cultural heritage.
Have students use Culture in Development: What is Cultural Heritage? or another definition might be used. Ask students to identify examples of tangible cultural heritage.
Compare the following definitions with student findings:
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Cultural heritage includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural heritage (including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity).
Source for text above: Wikipedia
Consider displaying and reading the following definition of intangible cultural heritage to the class. Help students identify some examples to support the definition as it is being read aloud:
Intangible cultural heritage is the practices, expressions, knowledge and skills that communities, groups and sometimes individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. Also called living cultural heritage, it is usually expressed in one of the following forms: oral traditions; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and traditional craftsmanship.
Source for text above: UNESCO
Have students draw up a two-column table and identify and record tangible and intangible features of cultural heritage.
In concluding this part of Sequence 1
Guide a class discussion on one or more of the following questions: Which examples of cultural heritage would a migrant bring with them as part of their identity? Should they have to delete these from their identity? To which aspects of Australian culture should immigrants conform?
Australia the immigrant nation
The Australian identity has changed since 1947 because of migration. But how do you measure the success of the mix of assimilated features and all parties maintaining pride in their cultural heritage.
Consider ‘intermarriage’ of cultures as a measure of social cohesion and more than just tolerance. In a society dominated by racial discrimination this change would not have been possible. Ask students — What is a significant aspect of this change over time? Here the concept of different 'generations' accepting and pursuing intermarriage needs discussion.
Provide an economic perspective of the ‘immigrant nation’ by reading and answering the inquiry questions from the contribution of migrants — Post war to 1973, based on statistical analysis from the Australian government. Highlight how this measure of the impact of immigration must also change Australian society then and now.
In concluding this part of Sequence 1
Australia’s approach to immigration and the migration experiences of ‘New Australians’ came a long way between 1944 and 1970.
Review the key historical forces and events by viewing and discussing the accuracy of one or both of the following documentaries.
Documentary 1: Excerpt from the documentary Admission Impossible
Documentary 2: Immigration Nation, Episode 1 ‘White Australia Policy’
Assessment for Sequence 1
Find two options for rich assessment tasks for this sequence —the creation of a human rights poster, or an advocacy project in school.
Resources in Sequence 1
Find a summary list of resources used for each sequence in this unit, including additional teacher resources suggested for each sequence.
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