Understanding Australia's Neighbours Chapter Summary

Divisions in Australian society virtually disappeared during the crisis of World War I. All were united in a common cause. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Australia became known as a workingman’s paradise at the turn of the twentieth century, however, for a large majority of the population Australia was far from a paradise. Due to their rejection of the British class system, and the instalment of the eight hour working day and a basic wage Australians believed themselves to be an egalitarian society with equal opportunities. And this much was true, for the working class, white male. For the rest of the population, the women, children and non-Europeans life was a different story. For them, Australia was not the workingman’s paradise it claimed to be.

As the world grew more populated, to many Australians it seemed that Great Britain was both a physically long way and also very different to Australia. The Australia of pre World War II was now very different to the Australia colonised by the British so many years earlier. In 1919, Australia had, for the very first time, been considered a fully self-governing nation and was asked independently of Great Britain to be a part of the Treaty of Versailles (Carrodus, Delany and McArthur, 2012). Prior to this, Britain was responsible for all political agreements for Australia (Museum of Australian Democracy). During the next 20 years’ Australian citizens grew to consider themselves separate from ‘Mother Country’ making Australia a nation in its own right. This line of thought lead to people questioning if it was still acceptable to give everything they had for Britain. In particular, was it sensible to join a war no matter what the cost to

One of the main points is that the indigenous Australians are often excluded and disregarded as non-Australians simply due to their race and skin colour. Grant pointed out the incident where AFL player Adam Goodes was publicly jeered and told that he did not belong to his country as he was not an Australian despite the fact that Australia indeed is the land of his ancestors. The constant booing and jeering of the crowds were what Stan Grant referred to as ‘’howls of humiliation’’. It was an unmistakable act of shaming and discrimination towards indigenous people; it was an implication that they are not meant to be a part of the great Australian Dream.

We, as a nation, believe that we are compassionate, resilient, accepting and that in times of need we will come together and unite as one. This is the true Australian identity. However, from other countries perspectives, Us, Australians are conveyed as being racist, disrespectable and that we are not accepting. This false accusation is due to the representation of Australians in many films such as Paper Plane and strictly ballroom.

During World War 2 (1939 – 1945), Australia had a variety of impacts on both its government and its people. The war had a great effect on the place of indigenous people in Australia as indigenous men and women joined services throughout the country. The Aboriginal Australians, both the men and the women had contributed in the second Great War. Meanwhile, when the Aboriginals of Australia had jobs during World War 2, Australia’s economy boomed with the help of the war as many Australian troops had gone out to fight for the British. The economy had boomed during the period of the Second World War as Australian products could be produced as well.

When we think of nationalism we often associate a sense of identity with stare and nation, for some the idea of there identity being connected to their nation is a positive notion, but for others this association to nation raises worry of alienation and violence.1 Nationalism can be seen as a network where individuals of a nation can have shared values, expectations and sense of self. These negative associations of nationalism “occurs when, in the process of seeing ourselves as uniquely Australian others suffer.”2

The Ngunnawal People have been living within the borders and surrounding mountains of the Australian Capital Territory for over 25,000 years. The way the Indigenous people used the land to live off was extremely efficient and sustainable. They had a bounty of knowledge about the land surrounding them, and over generations, devised resourced management skills to ensure maintenance of the animals and plants, and most importantly, the land in which provided these things. Aboriginal culture existed long before Captain Cook arrived in Australia in 1770. He claimed the land to be "Terra-Nullius", meaning that the land did not belong to any person. This claim obviously seemed ludicrous and crazy to the Indigenous people whom already lived on the land.

Australian identity and what constitutes Australian culture are prominent ideas explored by Peter Goldsworthy’s Maestro. Throughout the novel, there is a strong sense of cynicism towards Australian culture as it is painted as ambiguous and indefinite. This is established through the analogy of Paul representing Australian society and his parents representing the British influence on Australian culture. Goldsworthy also explores the European influence on Australia through Kellar’s character. Goldsworthy’s broader message is that Australian identity is in fact quite complex and open to interpretation due how culturally diverse it is.

Australians supported the decision to go to war very enthusiastically in 1914 mainly because they were very loyal to England but of course, there are other reasons which influenced their decision. Because Australia was extremely loyal to their ‘mother country’, they of course did not hesitate in following Britain’s declaration on war. Australians had very little experience before World War 1 which started on the 28th of July, 1914 and continued until the 11th of November, 1918. It was said that the cause of World War 1 was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife, Sophie who was the Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo, Bosnia. World War 1 was also known as ‘The Great War’, it was supposedly the war to end all

Shocked and shaken by the Japanese Empire’s plans and attempts to seize control of the continent in WWII, Australians understood and feared their close proximity to Communism’s spread throughout Asia. Many Australians felt that the situation was a grave matter for the future prospects of Australia’s geopolitical standing and felt that a need to ‘draw the line’ as to how far Communism clutches could spread through the Asia-Pacific region. This doctrine of ‘Forward Defence’ (dealing with the enemy before the got too close for comfort) was highly perpetuated by anti-communist, Liberal Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

The 1960 's was an extremely dull period for numerous individuals whose race was recognizably unique - different to that of the “white” population. Indigenous Australians, in many states, were denied full citizenship on grounds of their race. Migration laws were set up at every opportunity to support "white" European outsiders to Australia. However, gradual change in people’s perceptions began in the late 1960 's.

Australia’s international relationships had a significant impact in World War 2, and this was because of Australian’s security was threatened by Japan, because Australia was sacred of Britain not doing a great job helping us against Japan, so there was one chance to save them and that was to call America for help.

We’ve all heard the Australian stereotypes. But where do the stereotypes come from? Australia’s identity encompasses many widespread stereotypes, some of which are used advantageously to promote Australia on a global scale. Globally, Australia’s main stream identity is that of a baron outback. Adding to the collective stereotype; bogans and yobbos have played a developmental role in the Australians characteristic identity. Australia has developed an alcoholic culture that has been celebrated and generalized by many others.

Britain was the biggest colony power in the world. Even the fall of the First Empire did not discourage the British from further colonization of ‘’unknown lands’’. In 1770, Captain James Cook claimed a portion of the Australian continent in the name of King George III. On his journey from Botany Bay to Cape York, Cook recorded several interactions with the indigenous population of Australia. Despite knowing about the continent being inhabited by one of the Earth’s oldest civilizations, Great Britain considered Australia terra nullius - land belonging to no one. With that said, the British went through with the plan of establishing a penal colony in New South Wales and in 1788, the First Fleet led by Captain Arthur Phillip arrived in Sydney Cove. This essay will focus on the effects of racism towards the Aboriginal population of Australia in the past and today.