White Australia Policy

Introduction

During the 1800s to early 1900s there were many of laws realised to prevent many cultures from entering Australia. The most famous law set during this time period was the immigration restriction act which was general start of the white Australian policy.

Context

The white Australia policy is Australia’s attempt to keep immigration into its country stable, by restricting non Europeans especially Asians from immigrating into Australia. The beginning of the white Australia policy could have started around the 1850s, when white miners would treat the Chinese miners unfairly. In 1851 the gold rush starts in New South Wales and Victoria which results in big migration from the South Sea Islands, British, Europe, china and America. In 1855 Victoria announces the first Immigration Restriction Act in Australia to lower the Chinese migration into Australia. The Buckland valley in Victoria was a home to many Chinese minors during the Victorian gold rush. But on the 4th of July 1857 one-hundred European miners violently removed the Chinese miners from this area this

The kanakas were brought in as non-white labour and were cheaply employed as appose to the other white European workers. The South Sea Islander were employed black birding, a foul way of recruiting people through kidnapping and dishonesty. This would get the South Sea Islands to work for the Europeans at plantations and practically sugar cane plantations. In the 1870s to 1880s there were a series of protests against foreign labor. The arguments for the protest were that Asians and Chinese took jobs away from white men. The reason why Australia brought in the white Australia was for this reason exactly the Chinese and the kanakas were taking away the jobs of the white Australians, this brought the beginning of the white Australia