Populate or Perish

1. In the first investigation we did, you read about Australias concerns after WW2
about being able to defend itself because of its small population, and the need to
increase the economy of the country.

2. This led to the idea that Australia had to Populate or Perish

Towards the end of the Second World War, the Prime Minister of Australia at the
time, John Curtin, created the Department of Immigration.
It was to bring British and European people, including refugees from WW2, to
Australia.
Asian migrants were not wanted.
The official attitude to possible Asian migrants was summed up by a remark made by
the Immigration Minister, Arthur Calwell, in 1947:
Two Wongs dont make a white (and Calwell was still of the same opinion when
queried about this comment in the mid-1960s).

Focus questions take notes on the following aspects as you do your investigation of
sources:
How welcome were the new immigrants?
They were welcome since they needed new soldiers and more people in
Australia.
What were their hopes and dreams, and what was the reality of their experience?
They wanted to improve the economy and the army which they did successfully.
Did Australians accept them?

They didnt want to accept them because that they will lose their culture.
Did they have any impact on Australias development as a country?
Yes, they this since it improved their economy and protection of the nation.

We will use various sources, including videos, and you will need to take notes on the
focus questions (above) as we use them.

First, watch the first 7 minutes (up to the picture of the concrete wall with the names of
places on it) of the video at
http://www.sbs.com.au/immigrationnation/videos/457/immigration-nation-episode-2-
with-closed-captions

Next Consider the following sources:

Source A LEAVING HOME FOR A NEW HOME

Why did migrants want to come to Australia after 1945?

There were many reasons, including:

The poor condition of their country

Fear of another war in Europe

Fear of communism

Having no home or possessions because of the war

Australias isolation from the rest of the world

The chance to make a fresh start

Economic opportunities

Assistance from the Australian government to immigrate (paying the cost of the fare)

After making money in Australia, some wanted to then return, rich, to their home country

Source B- Australians expectations of immigrants ASSIMILATION

Zita Antonios, in Australia in the 1960, recalls her experience at school:

In my first social studies class, our teacher wrote the word ASSIMILATION in huge
white chalk letters on the blackboard and said Assimilation, girls, assimilation. You will
know how to spell it and you will live it! She was a middle-aged Anglo womanand I
think she could sense that the school was going to change, which it did, and she felt
very uncertain about this.

Source C Immigrants experiences ARRIVING

Experiences varied; some had jobs and houses, but many did not. Migrant hostels (see
picture below) were provided as temporary accommodation until people could afford a
place to rent or buy. The government provided language classes (see picture below),
and tried to encourage Australians to accept the immigrants, but, in the end, it was up to
the migrants to do the best for themselves. That wasnt always easy, as Francesca, an
Italian immigrant, tells us about working in a factory:

When it rains water comes inside(it) makes me angry, I feel like getting the whole
factory and smashing it up. Theres no heating, so sometimes you die of cold. Ive got to
wear socks over my stockings, one or two jumpers under my uniform and another over
thatIn summer its the oppositeTheres no proper dressing room, you have to get
changed in the toilet. Theres six toilets and about 150 women.

British families generally found it easier because, unlike many from other countries, they
spoke English, had their qualifications recognised and looked similar to Australians.
Looks like fun
(not)?
Source D Immigrants experience CULTURE CLASH

Many immigrants found it difficult because they were expected to think, behave and look
like the people already here. They were meant to become New Australians. People
already in Australia thought that because they had come so far to start a new life that
the immigrants must have thought that everything about life in Australia was better, so
the immigrants wouldnt want or need to keep anything of their own culture.

Another problem for these immigrants also was the situation when they had children.
The children, growing up in Australia, did not have the same experiences as their
parents, and the values and attitudes they adopted in Australia meant they thought and
acted differently to their parents. This culture clash disappointed the parents, making
the parents feel less connected to Australia and regretful of their decision to come to
Australia.

TASK: Now complete the table below with a few comments about each of the focus
questions, using the information from the video and four documents above:

How welcome were the new immigrants?
What were their hopes and dreams, and
what was the reality of their experience?
Did Australians accept them?
It depends some people were very welcoming by
teaching Australian languages to accept migrants
and that they would provide them shelter until
they could pay rent. Source B
They wanted to start over or migrant from war
but it was very hard for them to do so since after
they got a job the government didnt care for
them.
Most of them did accept them as people since
 they felt sympathy towards them but some of
them wanted Australia to be 99% Britain.
Did they have any impact on Australias They did economy wise but they didnt improve
development as a country? the army since they didnt need them.