australian 20th century timeline.doc

7/24/2019 Australian 20th Century Timeline.doc

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Australian 20th Century TimelineThe Australian 20th century timeline follows events and developmentsin Australia from Federation through to the year 2000.This collection of events provides another means of investigating

Australia's past and trying to identify what we mean by 'ur !eritage'.

1900s

The first decade of this century brought many changes. Federationoccurred in "#0" and Australia became a nation. The flag we havetoday was chosen$ all men and women could vote e%cept for Aboriginalpeople. The streets were lit by electricity$ surf bathing in the daytime

was no longer considered illegal and Australia won &imbledon for thefirst time.

The first lifesaving club in the world was founded at ondi each in(ydney. )eters *cecream company began and$ appropriately$ theautomatic totalisator for betting on horse+races was invented by anAustralian.

The '&hite Australia' )olicy was established$ the Australian ,abor )artywas formed$ -mpire ay was inaugurated and the !igh /ourt was set

up. The two+party political system began in Australia. The ew (outh&ales Aboriginal )rotection oard was established and /anberra waschosen as a site for the federal capital.

1

The /ommonwealth of Australia is proclaimed at a ceremony in

/entennial )ar$ (ydney. ,ord !opetoun assumes office as

3overnor+3eneral$ and )rime 4inister -dmund arton and his

cabinet ministers 1-%ecutive /ouncil5 are sworn in.

aldwin (pencer and F 6 3illen mae a year+long investigation of

the Aborigines of northern /entral Australia.

&illiam Farrar releases his early+maturing$ drought+resistant

'Federation' wheat.

First wireless message between ship and shore in Australiae%changed between ! & 6envey in 7ueenscliff$ 8ictoria$ and the
http://www.teachingheritage.nsw.edu.au/section03/20thc.phphttp://www.teachingheritage.nsw.edu.au/section03/20thc.php


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9oyal :acht carrying the ue and uchess of :or when it enters

)ort )hillip.

6ohn 7uic and 9obert 3arran$ 'Annotated /onstitution of theAustralian /ommonwealth' .

The first battalion of /ommonwealth troops 1wearing the

forerunner of the 'rising sun' badge5 embar for (outh Africa.

,ieutenant !arry 'reaer' 4orant and ,ieutenant ) 6 !andcoc

e%ecuted by firing s;uad outside )retoria in the Transvaal$ for

shooting oer prisoners.

The drought begins to brea after eight terrible years.

& ! 3ocher$ owner and editor of a 4anly 1ew (outh &ales5

newspaper$ breas the law forbidding sea bathing between < am

and = pm by entering the water at noon.

!er 4a>esty's Theatre$ (ydney$ is destroyed by fire.

/ommonwealth )ublic (ervice Act establishes Australia's civil

service.

oer &ar ends with a peace treaty signed in )retoria.

The /ommonwealth Franchise Act grants the vote to all ritish

sub>ects of si% months residence aged 2" and over. 1Asians$

Africans$ and Australian Aborigines are e%cluded5.

Ada -vans becomes the first woman law graduate but she is not

allowed to practise.

Australian women receive the right to vote in Federal elections.

The world's first documentary film with sound 1of a didgeridoo5$is made by & (pencer$ of an Aboriginal ceremony at /harlotte

&aters.

*ron bar;ue 'rier !olme' is wreced on the south+west coast of

Tasmania. There is only one survivor out of the crew of 20. !e is

not rescued until February"#0?.


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The /ommonwealth /onciliation and Arbitration Act is finally

passed$ setting up the /ommonwealth /ourt of /onciliation and

Arbitration.

The First Australian 9hodes (cholars are selected.

The eain 3overnment is defeated in the !ouse of

9epresentatives on an amendment to the Arbitration ill.

eain resigns. 6 / &atson forms a minority ,abour government

1the first federal ,abour ministry5.

Five miners die in a mineshaft fall at the 3reat oulder gold

mine$ -ast /oolgardie$ &estern Australia.

(ydney streets are lit by electricity when the )yrmont )ower

(tation is officially switched on. (( 'emesis' founders off the coast of ew (outh &ales during a

storm$ with the loss of all 2" aboard.

)@ liner 'Australia' runs aground on a reef at the entrance to

)ort )hillip. o lives are lost but ship is a total lossa.

The /ommonwealth efence Act 1"#05 comes into force$

providing for conscription of men between "= and


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oard of Administration of aval Forces 1aval oard5

established$ with /apt. &. 9. /reswell as director. 1Also set up

under the efence Act are a /ouncil of efence and a 4ilitary

oard.5 )eter oard appointed first irector of -ducation in (&. 1ew

(yllabus subse;uently introduced.5

Full adult franchise 1sub>ect to racial e%clusions5 granted in 7ld$

and plural voting abolished.

6ustice 9. -. '/onnor appointed first president of the

/ommonwealth /ourt of /onciliation and Arbitration.

.

9ichard utler succeeds 6. 3. 6enins as )remier of (A. -mpire ay inaugurated 1on the late 7ueen 8ictoria's birthday5.

19oyal5 Automobile /lub of 7ueensland formed in risbane.

3eorge 9eid resigns as )rime 4inister after a defeat in the !ouse

and the refusal of his re;uest for a dissolution of parliament.

Alfred eain forms a government with ,abour support.

,abour leader Thomas )rice replaces 6enins as )remier of (A$

leading a coalition government with a ,abour ma>ority.

/. !. 9ason forms a ,iberal ministry in & A following the

resignation of !enry aglish.

8ic. (ocialist )arty founded in 4elbourne by -nglish trade union

leader Tom 4ann.

!obart 3) opened.

Australian ational efence ,eague formed in (& to press for

compulsory military training.

*ron clipper ,och 8ennachar lost off Dangaroo *s.$ (A$ with the

loss of all 2< hands.

&ireless Telegraphy Act gives the )ostmaster+3eneral control of

the operation of wireless stations.

-lectric tramway service begins in Fremantle$ &A. 1/losed ov.

"#?2.5 ec * (team bus begins operating in 4elbourne between

)rahran and 4alvern.

*mmigration 9egistration Act amended to allow for the dictation

test to be applied in Eany prescribed languageE rather than in a-uropean language.


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4otor bus service begins in (ydney.

Flinders (treet (tation$ 4elbourne 1+"#"05.

T. ,. ancroft demonstrates that mos;uitoes carry the dengue

fever pathogen. A. 3. 4ichell of 8ic. patents his thrust bearing$ which eliminates

metallic contact of moving surfaces by oil lubrication.

/osens (pencer arrives in (ydney and begins e%hibiting films at

the ,yceum Theatre.

4rs Aeneas 3unn$ The Little Black Princess.

!enry ,awson$ When I Was King and Other Verses.

A. . )aterson$ ed.$ The ld ush (ongs.

6oseph Furphy's Rigby's Romancebegins serialiCation inthe Barrier Track1)ublished as a boo in "#2".5

arney Dieran establishes eight world swimming records in

-ngland over distances from 200 yards to * mile.

!arley Tarrant in an Argyll car wins the first reliability trial in

Australia$ between (ydney and 4elbourne 1Feb.+4a,5.

lue (pec wins the 4elbourne /up.

)opulation of Australia reaches four million.

Typhoid fever causes


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nregistered boomaer onald 4c,eod unable to meet his

financial commitments$ is illed by an angry mob at Flemington.

4ethodist minister !enry &orrall is summoned before the ar of

the 8ictorian ,egislative Assembly for impeaching the /hief(ecretary 1accusing him of being responsible for 4c,eod's death by

not legislating to stop gambling5.

4ore than G million Australian possum sins are mareted in

,ondon and ew :or.

&estern Australian )arliament proposes holding a referendum to

withdraw from the /ommonwealth. 1o action is taen until "#5.

(outh African )reference Act introduces the first /ommonwealth

preferential tariff. Free -ducation Act assented to in ew (outh &ales maing

primary education free in the state.

*ssac *saacs and ! !iggins are sworn in as 6ustices of the !igh

/ourt.

Australia assumes responsibility for the administration of ritish

ew 3uinea$ renaming it )apua 1by the )apua Act of "#0?5.

Diwi boot polish is put on the maret by 4cDellow @ 9amsay.

athing in the surf in the daytime on (ydney beaches becomes

legal.

,yster rmsby devises the surf lifesaving reel. *t is demonstrated

2 ecember.

ondi (urf athers ,ife (aving /lub$ which is Australia's 1and the

world's5 first surf lifesaving club$ is founded in (ydney.

-lection for !ouse of 9epresentatives and half (enate is held.

eain government retains office with ,abour support.

)oseidon wins the A6/ erby$ /aulfield /up$ 8ictoria erby$ and

4elbourne /up.

The 4itchell ,ibrary$ (tate ,ibrary of ew (outh &ales is

completed in "#"0.

The /ommonwealth basic wage 1set by the !arvester

6udgement5 is 2 pounds$ 2 shillings per si%+day wee.


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/arlton and nited reweries established in 4elbourne by the

amalgamation of si% breweries.

The first telephone trun line opens between (ydney and

4elbourne. *talian bar;ue '*ngeborg' sins after a collision with (( 'Arawatta'

off )ort (tephens$ ew (outh &alesH seven lives are lost.

4embers of Federal )arliament vote themselves their first pay

increase of ?0I.

Frederic )eters establishes )eters' American elicacy /ompany

,td in (ydney to mae ice+cream.

Tennis+players orman rooes 1Australia5 and Anthony &ilding

1ew Jealand5$ playing as the Australasian team$ win the avis/up.

rooes also wins the &imbledon singles$ doubles 1with &ilding5

and mi%ed doubles.

ew (outh &ales 9ugby Football ,eague formed as a breaaway

professional code.

Florence )arsons 1later Taylor5 establishes herself as the first

woman architect in Australia 1later as a structural and civil

engineer5.

Fran ottrill patents his 'pedorail'$ a caterpillar+type road wheel

used on many tractors in Australia.

3eorge 6ulius invents the automatic totaliser for racecourses$

which was to be used throughout the world.

Artist Arthur (treeton paints '(ydney !arbour'.

Films madeB /harles 4c4ahon$ '9obbery nder Arms' $ 3eorge

and Arthur /ornwall$ '-urea (tocade' .

nited (tates fleet of "< war ships and ? support vessels visit

Australia.

Federal ,abour conference adopts the name 'Australian ,abor

)arty' 1A,)5.

First surf carnival held at 4anly in (ydney.

/antilevered awnings first appear on buildings in Australia.


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oy (cout movement begins in AustraliaB groups formed in all

states.

/oat of arms granted to the /ommonwealth. 1The design is

amended in "#"25. A /ommonwealth ,iterary Fund is established to assist needy

authors.

The ship 'rion' disappears between (mithton and 4elbourneH 2K

lives are lost.

The Tariff Act increases the duty on imported goods and the

number of items liable for duty$ but allows a ?I rebate on goods

from the nited Dingdom.

The eain 3overnment is defeated in the !ouse of9epresentatives when ,abor withdraws its supportH eain resigns

1"" ovember5 and ,abor leader Andrew Fisher becomes )rime

4inister 1" ovember5.

:ass+/anberra chosen by Federal )arliament as the site for the

federal capital.

Australians T & -dgeworth avid and ouglas 4awson$ of (ir

-rnest (hacelton's ritish Antarctic e%pedition$ ascend 4ount

-rebus in Antarctica .

&allabies 9ugby nion and Dangaroos 9ugby ,eague teams both

mae their first tours of ritain. The &allabies win gold medals at

the ,ondo


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Population Characteristics: 20th century: beginning and end

During the 20th century Australia became an older, more culturally

diverse, and much more urbanised society, holding wider religiousaffiliations, placing greater value on home ownership, with more

females than males, and with a workforce more concentrated in

serviceindustry based, !white collar! occupations"

In 1900, Australia was a sparsely-populated but more characteristically

rural nation with a large proportion of workers engaged in primary

industries. The population was younger, largely hristian, withcomparati!ely limited education, and with more males than females. At that

time, Australians were as likely to be renting their home as to be owning it.

In "000, Australia is an older, more culturally di!erse, more densely

populated and much more urbanised society holding wider religious

affiliations, placing greater !alue on home ownership, with more females

than males, and with a workforce more concentrated in ser!ice-industry

based, #white collar# occupations.

.

#lder with more females

In 1901, 11$ years after the arri!al of settlers from %urope, o!er half &''()

of the population were children or youths &aged younger than "' years). In

1999 this age group constituted little more than a third &$'() of the

Australian population. In contrast, at the start of the "0th century, those

aged $' years or older formed "9( of all Australians. At the end of the

century, half of all Australians were at least $' years of age.

Australia was a male dominated society at the dawn of the "0th century.

*ales comprised '"( of the general population in 1901 and would likely


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ha!e represented a large ma+ority of !oters, gi!en that prior to 190",

women were entitled to !ote in outh Australia and estern Australia

only.1y the middle of 1999, females had formed a slight ma+ority of the

general population &'0."() and a marginally wider ma+ority of those eligibleto !ote &'0./().

The main factors that ha!e influenced the change in the age profile of the

population are lower fertility and longer life epectancy &see Australian

$ocial %rends &''', ur ageing population). 2reater female life

epectancy in concert with a proportionately larger older population has

contributed to the ecess of women o!er men in the population.

A() A*D $)+ # %-) A.$%/A1A* P#P.A%1#* 1* &'0& A*D &'''

& 3arch &'0& 0 4une &'''5a6

3ales emales Persons 3ales emales Persons

Age distribution576

7 7 7 7 7 7

0-13 years 1/.4 1/.3 $'.1 10.5 10.1 "0./

1'-"3 years 9./ 9./ 19.3 /.$ 5.9 13.""'-$3 years 4.' /.4 15.$ /.5 /.5 1'."

$'-33 years /.3 './ 1$.1 /./ /./ 1'.3

3'653 years 5.4 '.$ 1".0 11." 11.0 ""."

5' years and o!er ".$ 1./ 3.0 '.3 5.9 1"."

%otal 82"9 9"; &00"0 9'"< 80"2 &00"0

%ligible !oters n.a. n.a. n.a. 39.$ '0./ 100.0

=000 =000 =000 =000 =000 =000

Total population 1,9//.9 1,/9'.9 $,//$.4 9,330.' 9,'"5.$ 14,955.4

years years years years years >ears

*edian age "$.5 "1.' "".5 $3." $'.5 $3.9

&a) 7reliminary estimated resident population.

ource8 1911 ensus of the ommonwealth of Australia, tatistician#s report olumes I : II;7opulation by Age and e, Australian tates and Territories,


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Australians are generally li!ing in closer physical proimity to each other,and in more populous urban centres.",$

In 1905, there was on a!erage almost two s=uare kilometres of land per

inhabitant. y 1995, this had reduced to less than half a s=uare kilometreper person. hile a large increase in population density has occurred inAustralia during the "0th century, it remains one of the most sparselypopulated nations on this measure. >owe!er, population density does notgi!e the complete picture. ?arge areas of the continent &particularly inland)are !irtually uninhabited, while some coastal regions are !ery hea!ilypopulated.&less than $,000 people). Although one in three Australians li!ed in a city ofat least 100,000 people in 1905, the most populous cities, ydney and*elbourne, had populations only of little more than half a million people

&'$4,400 and '"5,300 respecti!ely).

In stark contrast, most Australians &'$() li!ed in a city of close to, or morethan, a million people in 1995. These city dwellers outnumbered almostthreefold those li!ing in small towns and rural properties, whose proportionof the total population had fallen to 14( in 1995.

./?A*1$A%1#* 1* &'0; A*D &'';

&'0; &'';

$i@e of population centre 5no" ofpeople6

no" ofcentres

7 of totalpopulation

no" ofcentres

7 of totalpopulation

?ess than $,000&a) . . 34.' . . 14."

$,000 - 9,999 '3 5.$ 191 '.4

10,000 - 99,999 19 11./ 94 1$.$

100,000 - '$9,000 3 $$.5 4 9.5

9'0,000 or more 0 0.0 ' '$.1

All population centres 5b6 &00"0 5b602 &00"0

!000 !000

Total population 3,091.' 1/,49".3

&a) Includes people li!ing in rural areas between population centres.&b) omprising at least $,000 people.

ource8 fficial @ear ook of the ommonwealth of Australia, tatistics for period 19016190/, o.11904; unpublished data, 1995 ensus of 7opulation and >ousing; 1999 @ear ook Australia &cat. no.1$01.0).

ider cultural diversityAustralia entered the "0th century as an o!erwhelmingly hristian nation


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whose inhabitants had been born almost eclusi!ely in Australia, the BnitedCingdom or Ireland. Australia ended the century with about 15( of itspeople born in countries other than these. hile still predominantlyhristian, the proportion of Australians affiliating with the hristian faith in

1995 &/4() was considerably less than it was in 1901 &94().

*uch of this change to the cultural composition of Australian society wasgenerated by large-scale post-war migration &see Australian ocial Trends199/, irthplace of o!erseas-born Australians, pp. 1"-1') and a growingtendency for Australians to not affiliate with any religion.

Indigenous Australians continue to be a relati!ely small but !ery importantpart of Australia#s rich cultural tapestry. In 1901 there were an estimated9$,000 Aboriginal and Torres trait Islanders.3y 1995, their number had

grown to $45,000.'

C.%./A D1B)/$1%> 1* &'0& A*D &'';

&'0& &'';5a6

7 7

?irthplace5b6

Australia //." //."ew Dealand 0./ 1./%urope "0.0 1".9

B.C. and Ireland 14.0 5.5ther ".0 5.3

Asia 1." '.9ther 0.4 "."%otal &00"0 &00"0

/eligious affiliation5c6

hristian 94.1 //.9Anglican 30.' "3."atholic "$." "9./ther $3.3 "3.0


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attended school. ith only ",35' uni!ersity students Australia-wide in 1911,rates of participation in education were !ery low for older teenagers &$( ofthose aged 14 or 19 years) and negligible for those aged "0 years or older&less than 1().

%tension of the compulsory school age to 1' years &15 in Tasmania) andthe need to undertake post-school education to ac=uire marketable skills tocompete in the +ob market has resulted in teenagers staying in educationfor longer, and older Australians being more likely to be studying. In 1995,o!er half of all 14-19 year olds &'$() were attending an educationalinstitution, along with 1"( of all Australians aged "0 years or older.

/A%)$ # PA/%1C1PA%1#* 1* )D.CA%1#* 1* &'&& A*D &'';

&'&& &'';Age group 5years6 7 7

' or younger 9.1 11.95-11 9".' 100.01"-1$ 4'." 100.013-1' $1." 9/.315-1/ 4./ 41.014-19 $.$ '$.3"0 and o!er 0." 1".3All ages 1/.3 "4.0

ource8 1911 ensus of the ommonwealth of Australia, tatistician#s report olume I; unpublisheddata, 1995 ensus of 7opulation and >ousing.

ith less confined gender rolesorking-age males in each ma+or age group in 1999 were less likely to bein the labour force &engaged in paid employment, or unemployed andlooking for work) than were males in corresponding age groups in 1911.?esser likelihood of being part of the labour force has been far morepronounced among teenage males and men aged 50 years or older than it

has been for "'-33 year old men.

et against this shift towards reduced male labour force participation hasbeen sharply increased female participation. Apart from women aged 5'years or older, whose low participation rate in 1911 &4() was e!en lower ino!ember 1999 &$(), the likelihood of females ha!ing, or looking for, paidemployment was considerably greater in 1999 than it was in 1911. Thelargest percentage point increases occurred for women of child bearing andchild rearing ages &"0-'3 years).

ome of the obser!ed declines in labour force participation rates since1911 may be attributable to greater participation in education &mainly


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among younger people), and the establishment and de!elopment ofincome support measures such as social security and superannuation.Increased participation by females younger than the age-pension minimumis likely to ha!e been influenced by changing attitudes towards the roles

and rights of women o!er the past forty years.

A conse=uence of the dramatically higher labour force participation ofwomen aged "'-'3 years has been the per!asi!e abandonment of thetraditional cultural norm that !iewed a man#s role primarily as #breadwinner#and a woman#s as #homemaker#. hanges o!er recent decades in post-school educational attainment &see Australian ocial Trends 199/,%ducation and employment, pp. 43-4/) also indicate a trend towards theproliferation of a wider array of options in gender roles among men andwomen.

In tandem with a longer period of education prior to +oining the workforce,earlier retirement &see Australian $ocial %rends 2000, Fetirement andretirement intentions) and longer life epectancy may also be compressingthe number of years of life in the workforce by many of today#s men. na!erage, late "0th century Australian men could epect a shorter paidworking life &in number of years, but more so as a proportion of their totallifetime). They could also epect a longer period of retirement before theirdeath than their grandparents did. Gor many men, the length of this periodwill represent a third age in their life#s span.5

A?#./ #/C) PA/%1C1PA%1#* /A%)$ 1* &'&& A*D &'''

3ales emales

April &'&& *ovember &''' April &'&& *ovember &'''

Age group 5years6 7 7 7 7

1'-19 90.0 ''.' 3$.' '9.0

"0-"3 9/./ 4'.0 30." /'./

"'-$3 94.0 91.3 "".9 5/.4$'-33 9/.$ 90.4 15./ /".3

3'-'3 9'.4 45.4 1'.' /0.3

''-'9 9"./ /$.$ 13.5 3/.3

50-53 4'.4 35.5 1$.1 19.9

5' and o!er ''.$ 9./ /.9 $.3

1' and o!er 9$.0 /1.9 "'.0 '3.3

3ore concentrated in service industrybased occupationsHespite some ma+or differences in the way in which industries were
http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/d61791951aed2000ca2570ec000e4154!OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/d61791951aed2000ca2570ec000e4154!OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/d61791951aed2000ca2570ec000e4154!OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/d61791951aed2000ca2570ec000e4154!OpenDocumenthttp://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/d61791951aed2000ca2570ec000e4154!OpenDocument


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described and classified in 1901 and 1995 &see bo describing industrycategories), comparisons of numbers of people employed in similarindustry groupings re!eal a great deal of change in the structure ofAustralias economy.

*ost e!ident has been the large shift in employment away from the primaryproduction industries such as agriculture, forestry, fishing and miningtowards employment in ser!ice industries engaged in acti!ities such asretail trade, finance, insurance, property management, health, education,administration and defence. 2reater efficiencies in production processesthrough technological and organisational ad!ances ha!e underpinnedmuch of this change.

Hespite the large decline in the contribution of primary industries to total

employment, their contribution to eport income remains disproportionatelyhigh. *erchandise eports originating from the agriculture, forestry, fishingand mining industries represented a little o!er one-=uarter of Australia#seports of goods and ser!ices during 1994-99./

1ndustry categories Primary production#embraces all persons mainly engaged in the culti!ation

or ac=uisition of food products, and in obtaining other raw materials fromnatural sources# in 1901. The 1995 column comprises the Australian and ew

Dealand tandard Industrial lassification &ADI) categories of Agriculture,forestry and fishing and *ining. $econdary production#embraces all persons, not otherwise classed, who

are principally engaged in !arious works of utility, or in specialties connectedwith the manufacture, construction, modification or alteration of materials soas to render them more a!ailable for the !arious uses of man, but ecluding,as far as possible, all who are mainly or solely engaged in the ser!ice ofcommercial interchange# in 1901. The 1995 column comprises the ADIcategories of *anufacturing, %lectricity, gas and water supply, andonstruction.

Commerce#embraces all persons directly connected with the hire, sale,transfer, distribution, storage, and security of property and materials# in 1901.The 1995 column comprises the ADI categories of holesale trade,Fetail trade, Ginance and insurance, 7roperty and business ser!ices.

-ospitality#embraces all persons engaged in the supply of board andlodging, and in rendering personal ser!ices for which remuneration is usuallypaid# in 1901. The 1995 column comprises the ADI categories ofAccommodation, cafes and restaurants, and 7ersonal and other ser!ices.

%ransport and communication#embraces all persons engaged in the

transport of persons or goods, or in effecting communication# in 1901. The1995 column comprises the ADI categories of Transport and storage and


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ommunication ser!ices.

#ther service industries#embraces all persons, not otherwise classed,mainly engaged in the go!ernment and defence of the country, and insatisfying the moral, intellectual and social wants of its inhabitants# in 1901.

The 1995 column comprises the ADI categories of 2o!ernmentadministration and defence, %ducation, >ealth and community ser!ices, andultural and recreational ser!ices.

)3P#>3)*% ?> 1*D.$%/>, &'0& A*D &'';

ource8 ensus of the ommonwealth of Australia, 1911, tatistician#s report, olume I; 1995 ensus

of 7opulation and >ousing8 elected family : labour force characteristics, Australia &cat. no. "01/.0).

(reater value placed on home ownershipear the end of the century, Australia was largely a nation of home ownersand home buyers. In 199/-94, /1( of households had bought or werebuying their homes. This contrasted with earlier in the century when, in1911, Australians were almost as likely to be renting their homes &34() asthey were to be owning or buying them &'"().

Throughout the "0th century, Australian go!ernment policies ha!eencouraged home ownership. The ommonwealth 2o!ernment assistedsoldiers returning from the Girst orld ar to purchase homes, bypro!iding them with loans under the ar er!ice >omes Act 1919&ommonwealth). In the 19"0s, housing policy emphasised impro!edopportunities for home ownership among low to moderate incomehouseholds by pro!iding financial assistance for home ownership !ia the>ousing Act 19"/-"4 &ommonwealth).

After orld ar II, home ownership was !iewed as essential in re-

establishing the stability shattered by depression and war. The perceptionthat home ownership created stability continued to be cherished by public


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opinion during the 19'0s and 1950s. Bnder pressure from the tates, theommonwealth 2o!ernment encouraged the sale of public rental dwellingsin 19'3. Also, young people were encouraged to sa!e to buy or build theirhome through ta free grants pro!ided under the >omes a!ings 2rant Act

195365' &ommonwealth).4 arious go!ernment schemes &tate andommonwealth) to assist first home buyers to purchase a home duringmore recent decades ha!e continued to support the ideal of homeownership.

-#3) #*)/$-1P, &'&& A*D &'''ouseholds who owned their homes with or without a mortgage as a percentage of households

who owned their homes with or without a mortgage or rented their homes &199/-94).

ource8 ensus of the ommonwealth of Australia, 1911, tatistician#s report, olume I; >ousing

ccupancy and osts, Australia, 199/-94 &cat. no. 31$0.0)

/eflecting on change

*ost of the following articles in this edition of Australian ocial Trends

eamine change o!er the more recent past. hile the magnitude of changetends to be considerably less o!er a decade than o!er a century, taken

together they indicate the broad direction in which our society is headed


18/36

In 19'3 the '0,000th Hutch migrantarri!ed; *aria cholte is to the right of the

picture

After orld ar II, Australia belie!ed that Australia must increase its

population to a!oid the threat of another in!asion and launched an

immigration program whose goal was to increase Australia#s population

with the slogan Jpopulate or perishJ. >undreds of thousands displaced

%uropeans immigrated to Australia with more than three million people

immigrating from %urope during the late 1930s till the 1950s.

The Immigration *inister,Arthur alwell, introduced theAssisted

7assage *igration chemein 193'. The go!ernment was still trying to

increase Australia#s population, especially with people who ha!e skills in

the secondary industry sector. As the world was transforming into a more

industrial and technological world, Australia needed to keep up.

Australia looked first to ritain for migrants. In the beginning the assisted

immigration scheme was popular among young married couples and

single people. It was inepensi!e, an ad!enture and an opportunity. After

only a year, howe!er, there was a shortage of ships and numbers

dropped. The immigration targets were not being met. Gor the first time,

in a re!olutionary step for both Australian society and international

relations, Australia looked outside ritain for migrants. In 193/, alwell

agreed to bring 1",000 people e!ery year from%stonia, ?at!ia, ?ithuania,

and 7oland. *any of these people were refugeeswho were being cared

for by the International Fefugee rganisation&IF). They were accepted

on humanitariangrounds with the condition that they would remain in

Australia for two years and work in go!ernment selected +obs. 14",1'9

people were sponsored by the IF from the end of orld ar II up to

the end of 19'3 to resettle in Australia from %urope.

!er the net twenty years, patterns of immigration continued to change.

The go!ernment encouraged more people to come to Australia and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Australianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_for_Immigration_and_Citizenship_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Calwellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_Passage_Migration_Schemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_Passage_Migration_Schemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estoniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latviahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuaniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugeehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Refugee_Organisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Australianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_for_Immigration_and_Citizenship_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Calwellhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_Passage_Migration_Schemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_Passage_Migration_Schemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estoniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latviahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuaniahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugeehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Refugee_Organisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian


19/36

many more assisted agreements were made with countries. In the late

19'0s, more immigrants began to be accepted from the *iddle %ast. In

19'4, under the Migration Act 1958, the dictation test was remo!ed and

a new uni!ersal !isa scheme or entry permits introduced. This allowed

non-%uropeans to immigrate. Their entry was now based on what they

could contribute to Australia and if it could be shown that they could

integrate into Australian society. This attracted many professionals and

highly =ualified people who added to Australia#s relati!ely smalltertiary

industry.

The Australian go!ernment assisted many of the refugees, such ashelping them find work &due to an epanding economy and ma+or

infrastructure pro+ects, the nowy *ountains chemebeing the most

famous). This growth of immigration greatly changed the national image

regarding the Australian way of life which, before the war, had been

dominated by Anglo-aons. Immigration was still strict in allowing non-

%uropeans to immigrate into the country due to the hite Australia

7olicy.

The hite Australia 7olicy began to be abandoned in 19/", under 7rime

*inister 2ough hitlam. Huring the 19/0s and 1940s around 1"0,000

southernAsianrefugees migrated to Australia. Huring that twenty years,

Australia first began to adopt a policy of what *inister of ImmigrationAl

2rassbytermed JmulticulturalismJ. The de!elopment of Australia#s

multicultural policy was hea!ily influenced by the 2albally Feport of19/4, which addressed issues with li!ing in and planning for a

multicultural Australian socie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Easthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_Act_1958https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_industryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_industryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_Mountains_Schemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_peoplehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Grassbyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Grassbyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Easthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_Act_1958https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_industryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_industryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_Mountains_Schemehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlamhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_peoplehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Grassbyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Grassbyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiculturalism


20/36

who were the people who came to australiaK why did they come.

the people who came to australia were mainly con!icts, at this point in time

noyone really wanted to come to australia, but also famous people who

disco!ered australia settled in and they then later formed fedaration, whichthen later led onto the white australia policy and the other ma+or e!ents that

australia was in!ol!ed in. probably the main people were the leadors of

each state. the leaders came to claim australia before anyone else did.but

the con!icts came to impro!e the land and build buildings and de!elop

what we call today australia and europeen settlers were also people who

came, but the con!icts came for a reason, and that was because the prison

cells in britian were o!erflowing with the amount of people inside.

*igration to Australia in the 19'0s and1950sorld ar " was in 19$9-193'. efore that time most migrants to

Australia were from ritain and Ireland. After the war many stillcame from there. Australia charged them L10 per family for a ticketto come to Australia by boat&children were free). At that time thea!erage wage was about L300 per year. The a!erage wage isM55,000 per year in Australia today. o, how much would L10 be intodays Australian dollarsK &eed a hintK Hi!ide by 30.)

9orld ar " was a terrible time, especially in %urope, wheremillions of soldiers and ci!ilians were killed, whole cities were

destroyed by bombs, and millions of people became homelessrefugees. The film calls them NH7s. hat does NH7 meanK

8hy would some of these people want to come to AustraliaK

;hy would Australia want to take some of these people asmigrantsK


21/36

The nowy *ountains >ydro-%lectricitycheme

*any of the migrants of the 1950s and 19/0s worked on thenowy *ountains >ydro-%lectricity cheme. This was the greatpro+ect that took water from one side of the mountains o!er to theother to create electricity, and to help farmers with water for theircrops. >eres how it worked8

A*ost of the rain fell on the east side of the nowy*ountains, and flowed into the sea through the nowy Fi!er.

? The go!ernment wanted to trap this water, and send it to thewest. To do that they had to build dams,

Cthen drill through the mountains

Dand build pipelines

Dwhere the water would be pumped through,

)collected in dams on the other side,

then run down more pipelines where the force of the waterwould create electricity,

(and also then pro!ide water for farmers to grow crops. Thisis called irrigation.

7eople ha!e li!ed inAustraliafor about 30,000650,000 years..Aborigines in!ented tools like the boomerangand spear, but did not

farm. Tradition was !ery important in their li!es. Their religion is called

the Hreaming, which has lots of stories about the creation of the world by

spirits.Aboriginal artstarted at least $0,000 years ago and there are lots

of Hreaming stories painted on walls and cut in rocks all around

Australia.Aboriginal musichas songs about the Hreamtime, sometimes

with special instruments like the didgeridoo.
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australiahttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomeranghttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreaminghttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_arthttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_musichttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoohttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australiahttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomeranghttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreaminghttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_arthttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Aboriginal_musichttps://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didgeridoo


22/36

The Australian Aborigines have a history which is much like that of

theAmerican Indians. When Britishsettlerslanded on the continent at

the beginning of the 19th century many Aborigines were killed or they

had to leave their homes. The English took away their land. The white

peopledevelopedAustralia and left the Aborigineslocked out.

Today, some Aborigines live in cities and big towns, but they cant always

get jobs there. Many have stayed on theirtraditionalland. There they

live in smallcommunitiesin the same way that they did hundreds of

years ago. Theypreservetheir culture, draw paintings and

sellhandicraftsto tourists who pass by and visit them.

But most of the countrys 300,000 Aborigines cannot live like the

whitepopulation. They dont have houses andmedical careand most

of them dont earn as much money as white people.

Recently, thegovernmentsfeelings about their native people have

changed. Over the last fewdecadesthe government has created many

programmes toimprovethe life of Aborigines. They send them to better

schools and help them get better jobs. The Australians are also starting

to give them back the land that they took away from them 200 years ago.
http://www.english-online.at/people/native-americans/native-americans-introduction.htmhttp://www.english-online.at/people/native-americans/native-americans-introduction.htm


23/36

The changing face of

early Australia

A lady holding a small child [Quarantine Station], Tom Gray

Collection, 3. Image courtesy of Manly Quarantine Station.

!entually, the arri!al of "eo"le from di!erse societiescreated a cultural di!ersity that is no# an integral "art

of Australian society and identity.

Arrival at the coloniesThe doc$lands of Sydney, Mel%ourne and &remantle

#ere the main arri!al "oints for "eo"le arri!ing in thecolonies from the early '())s. *o#e!er, *o%art and

the "ort to#ns along the South Australian coast such

as +o%e, #ere also signicant arri!al "oints. *o%art

#as a signicant commercial shi""ing de"ot for the

early maritime industries. +o%e and neigh%ouring "ort

to#ns along the Coorong "eninsular in South

Australian #ere "o"ular "laces to disem%ar$ as they

#ere the last "orts %efore the notorious section of the

coastline $no#n as the shi"#rec$ coast.

The de!elo"ment of the "ort to#ns of the far north -

ris%ane, To#ns!ille and Cairns, from the mid-'())s

o#ed much to the commercial shi""ing and trading

com"anies, such as *o#ard Smith and urns /hil".


24/36

Australia0s trade across the /acic and #ith China for

incense, s"ices and tea #as characterised %y the use

of /acic Island la%our.

1orth *ead Quarantine Station

In the '(2)s to '()s #hen the #orld economy slo#ed

do#n, immigration slo#ed and there #as such a lac$

of maintenance that #hen Small"o4 surfaced in

Sydney in '((', it %ecame an e"idemic. This resulted

in a +oyal Commission.

In '5)5 the Common#ealth go!ernment too$ o!er

res"onsi%ility for the Manly Quarantine Station and

introduced the %iggest u"grade the Quarantine Station

had e!er seen. This resulted in the Station reaching its

ma4imum ca"acity of accommodation - ',6)) "eo"le.

Australia's population atFederation

South Australian Germans interned on Torrens Island. Image

courtesy of the Migration Museum, *istory Trust of South Australia.


25/36

ritish and uro"ean settlersIn the '())s, ritish and Irish settlers dominated the

com"le4 and di!erse societies in the colonies. This

e4tended %eyond the legal, ci!il and "olitical systems.

ritish "astimes, cultural acti!ities and religious

"ractices dominated. *o#e!er, di7erent attitudes

a%out class, the roles of men and #omen, #or$ers, the

"oor and racial mi4ing contri%uted to a society that

#as di7erent to the ones that #ere left %ehind in

ritain and Ireland. This #as e!ident in thein!ol!ement, arguments and e4"erience of the miners

at the ure$a Stoc$ade during the gold rushes in the

'(8)s.

9es"ite the large in:u4 of Chinese "eo"le during the

gold rushes - #hen Chinese "eo"le com"rised u" to

one third of some goldelds "o"ulations - settlers fromAsia and the uro"ean Continent only made u" 6; of

the "o"ulation in '5)'. The largest grou" of uro"ean

settlers #ere Germans, some of them li!ing in closealsh, The Changing &ace of Australia? a Century of

Immigration '5)'


26/36

Chinese- arri!ing mostly from southern China after ritain had

forced China to o"en its "orts to foreign trade in '(@6.

After the gold rushes of the '(8)s, most returned to

China.

Man carrying "roduce, *er%erton. Image courtesy of the Migration

Museum, *istory Trust of South Australia.

It is 54 miles from Cairns to Herberton, and I wellremember a Chinaman tramping the whole distance

with two large baskets fll of apples, which were for

sale in Herberton.

ohn /otts, '((. Atherton Chinato#n history

Bn the gold elds, there #ere accom"anying racial

tensions %ased on the di7erent a""roaches to miningthe allu!ial gold. The Chinese #ere distincti!e in

a""earance, language and dress and they %ecame

targets of resentment, #hich sometimes led to riots

such as those at endigo in '(8@, uc$land +i!er in

'(8 and the antiF. These "ro%lems

resulted in the rst restrictions on immigration in

ictoria '(88 and 1e# South >ales '(2'. Colonial

go!ernments di7ered on the "olicy in accordance #ith

the "ro"ortion of Chinese in the total "o"ulation - high

in ictoria, lo# in Tasmania and also #ith the need for

man"o#er.


27/36

The large Chinese cele%rations as "art of the o"ening

of the rst &ederal /arliament and the !isit of the 9u$e

of Eor$ to /erth, in '5)' suggests a !ery acti!e grou"

in society. There #ere 3),))) Chinese in Australia at

the time.

0Afghans0, Indians and /acic Islanders

Afghan Cameleers, eltana, '(5. Image courtesy of the State

i%rary of South Australia.

. They #ere loosely referred to as 0Afghans0 largely

%ecause of their similar dress and common religious

%eliefs in Islam.

in addition to the 2))) /acic Islanders, referred to as

0=ana$as0, #ho #or$ed as contract la%ourers.

&rom the '(()s,. e%anese families came to o#n the

%ul$ of the dra"eries in regional Australia - a tradition

that continues today.

Indigenous Australiansy its !ery nature, immigration had a critical e7ect on

the li!es of Indigenous Australians. The arri!al of

ritish colonists from '(( e7ected !ast changes u"on

A%original culture and society.

1orth *ead, the site of Sydney0s Quarantine station, is

the site of some of the earliest contact and formati!e

interaction %et#een A%origines and the ritish

colonists.


28/36

!n "# $anar% 1&88 Captain Hnter and 'ietenant

(radle% landed on )arantine (each dring an initial

sr*e% of S%dne% Harbor following the arri*al of the

+irst +leet in ort $ackson three da%s

earlier....-o*ernor hillip was speared at anl% Co*e

the following %ear b% /illemering, a friend of

(ennelong. S%dne%2s )arantine station3

The local A%original communities #ere the earliest

!ictims of introduced diseases in the colony. 9iseases

such as small"o4 s#e"t through the local Cadigalcommunities. This disaster could ha!e %een "re!ented

or minimised had Huarantine "rocesses %een in "lace

from the time of the colony0s esta%lishment.

9uring the '())s, A%origines and Torres Strait

Islanders e4"erienced dislocation from ritish areas of

settlement, #ith disru"tion to their social andeconomic li!es. Butside of $ey settlement areas

ho#e!er, A%originals and Torres Strait Islanders

remained as the dominant "o"ulation grou". Mutual

relationshi"s de!elo"ed in trading s$ins, food and

artefacts for cash, rum, gold, horses, to%acco,

%lan$ets, hats, %oots and clothes. Across south


29/36

>.S. Smith, *orsemen including %lac$trac$ers. Image courtesy of

the State i%rary of 1e# South >ales.

A%original s$ills in station #or$, animal hus%andry,

mid#ifery, medicine, trac$ing, "olicing, shing,

na!igating, dro!ing, s$inning and tanning #ere in

demand for the rst ')) years of the colony. The gold

rushes #ere an o""ortunity to gain em"loyment on

"astoral runs, engage in trade es"ecially s$ins, sh

and %as$ets, and #or$ as "art of the 1ati!e /olice

Cor"s. Miners relied on A%original $no#ledge to

%uildmia miasor gn%ahsas #ell as their $no#ledge

of %ush tuc$er.

The #ides"read introduction of gal!anised iron fencing

in the '()s sa# many "astoral leases fenced, gated

and "atrolled. This greatly reduced the ca"acity of

A%original "eo"le from accessing their traditional land

and food sources e7ecting great dislocation and

disru"tion. DSee e4am"le in 1S> 9e"artment ofn!ironment and Climate Change, Euraygir 1ational

/ar$ Conte4tual *istory , ". '5F

The enormous in:u4 of "eo"le to rural areas in the

late '(()s #hich follo#ed the 1e# South >ales Cro#n

ands Act of '((@, the e4odus of "eo"le from the

ictorian goldelds and the dis"ersal of "eo"le from


30/36

the cities in the 9e"ression years of the '(5)s caused

further dislocation from land areas for many A%original

"eo"le. This coincided #ith the introduction of intense

measures for 0"rotection0 of the A%origines on

go!ernment mission stations, in 1e# South >ales and

ictoria, #hich attem"ted to se"arate families %ased

on their racial mi4.

Attri%uted Charles Mountford. Image courtesy of Ara IrititJa /roJect

and the South Australian Museum.

In '(5(, the /ri!y Council held in Coo"er ! Stuart, that

1e# South >ales #as a colony #hich consisted of atract of territory "ractically unoccu"ied, #ithout

settled inha%itants or settled la#...0, doctrine ofterra

nllis- a land em"ty of "eo"le. This decision made a

ction the A%original "resence, their li!es, culture and

la#. It #as also in direct contradiction of the

ac$no#ledgement of A%origines in the "ream%les to

the Acts creating the other Australian colonies, and

ho# the ritish had ac$no#ledged other Indigenous

"eo"les, such as in 1e# Kealand and Canada.

&ederation of the si4 colonies in '5)' reinforced the

ritish claim o!er the continent and s"ecically

e4cluded A%origines from the census and the la#hite

Australia /olicy came into la# #hen he Immigration

estriction 6ct 1#01#as "assed in 9ecem%er,

restricting immigrants from #or$ing in Australia and

restricting migration of non


32/36

The Immigration Restriction Act1901

Anyone #ith a nonhite Australia /olicy.

The non


33/36

+estrictions on !oting and citienshi" rights a""lied

!ariously to Indigenous Australians. efore '5)',

A%origines had the right to !ote in all the colonies

e4ce"t >estern Australia and Queensland, although

this #as rarely e4ercised. After '5)', there #as much

de%ate a%out #hether A%origines could !ote in

Common#ealth elections %ecause of the "re!ious

state rights. egal o"inion !aried and o!er time

A%origines #ere disHualied from !oting.

Man [magaine], 9ay of Mourning and /rotest Conference at

Australian *all on 62 anuary '53(. The organisation leaders>illiam &erguson is on the far left and ohn /atten is on the far

right. Courtesy of Mitchell i%rary, State i%rary of 1e# South

>ales.

Indigenous Australians #ere denied ci!il rights under

the '5)' Common#ealth Constitution. These rights

are not granted until the Constitution Alteration

DA%originalsF Act ['52 +eferendum]. The '5)'

Common#ealth Constitution mentions Indigenous

"eo"le t#ice? once to e4clude Indigenous "eo"le from

the census, and once to e4clude Indigenous "eo"le

from the la#ma$ing "o#ers of the Common#ealth

"arliament.


34/36

The &ranchise Act '5)6 DC#lthF disenfranchised

Indigenous Australians from !oting in Common#ealth

elections, unless already on a state electoral roll? 0no

a%original nati!e ... shall %e entitled to ha!e his name

"laced on an lectoral +oll0 unless there #as already

an entitlement to !ote under a State la#.

The A%origines /rogressi!e Association DA/AF, an allales A%origines0 /rotection oard.

It #as '5@5 %efore A%origines "re!iously entitled to!ote in state elections #ere entitled to !ote in

Common#ealth elections. It #as '526 %efore this #as

e4tended to all Indigenous Australians.

&emale su7rage


35/36

oters outside a "olling "lace, ris%ane, Queensland, '5).

Courtesy of the State i%rary of Queensland? "icHld


36/36

colonies and outnum%ered the ritish on the /almer

+i!er goldelds and in 9ar#in. >hile the #or$ of the

Chinese, Afghans, Indians and /acic Islanders, #hose

"o"ulations had more than hal!ed, #as largely

re"laced %y southern uro"eans, in the federated

Australia, follo#ing the enactment of the >hite

Australia /olicy in '5)', their contri%utions came to %e

"art of Australian social identity.

N ThOnh 1hPn N ThOnh 1hPn :ed ietnam in '58, lea!ing %ehind many years

of artistic achie!ement. *e too$ Jo%s as a s"ray "ainter and tram conductor in

Mel%ourne. !entually he returned to his art. Ns life has turned full circle. To use

his o#n #ords, he scul"ts the sorro# of %ro$en li!es. ar%ara /orritt Australia

cele%rated the arri!al of the millionth "ost#ar migrant, ar%ara /orritt, a 6'

australian 20th century timeline.doc

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