I dont know a lot about this topic. I assume Australian colonies took control over their own immigration policies after The Australian Colonies Government Act [1850]. I would like to delay that for as long as possible in an attempt to make Australia as Asian as possible. Perhaps delaying the gold rush until the period of Japanese emigration or perhaps instigating an early Meiji with an earlier period of Japanese emigration?
Delaying Australian colonies self-control over immigration
- Thread starter Rush Tarquin
- Start date
Admiral Matt
Gone Fishin'
Why Japanese? Wouldn't it be easier to get more immigrants from China, Java, Malaya, or even the Philippines?
It would be extremely difficult, I'm afraid- the white population in the ninteenth century was incredibly paranoid about being swamped by Asian migrants, which of course is a relic of Australian nationalism that is now safely in the past.
There's not going to be Asian immigration in large numbers without the gold rush, but the gold rush only happened after the move to self-government. About 40, 000 Chinese migrants arrived during the decades of the gold rush and that was enough to cause panic and restrictions.
I can't see it working if the gold rush happened before self-government, since the demographic boom would only cause a rush to autonomy. You might get a slightly larger population of Chinese and Japanese Australians, but it would be much the same picture.
I just can't see any scenario in a British Australia where you have a rise in Asian migration without a corresponding rise in European arrivals. Racial paranoia is absolutely, inextricably at the heart of the nascent Australian culture at this time, and any British government who was seen as making it too easy for Asians to arrive would run into serious trouble with their colonies. There'd be more Eurekas, certainly.
So- there might be more Asian-Australians, but I think they'd have an even worse time of it. It would probably drive even more violent racism, which isn't nice to think about.
There's not going to be Asian immigration in large numbers without the gold rush, but the gold rush only happened after the move to self-government. About 40, 000 Chinese migrants arrived during the decades of the gold rush and that was enough to cause panic and restrictions.
I can't see it working if the gold rush happened before self-government, since the demographic boom would only cause a rush to autonomy. You might get a slightly larger population of Chinese and Japanese Australians, but it would be much the same picture.
I just can't see any scenario in a British Australia where you have a rise in Asian migration without a corresponding rise in European arrivals. Racial paranoia is absolutely, inextricably at the heart of the nascent Australian culture at this time, and any British government who was seen as making it too easy for Asians to arrive would run into serious trouble with their colonies. There'd be more Eurekas, certainly.
So- there might be more Asian-Australians, but I think they'd have an even worse time of it. It would probably drive even more violent racism, which isn't nice to think about.
Cook
Banned
The Victorian Gold Rush started in 1850, and resulted in the population of Australia jumping from 405,000 in 1850 to 833,000 by 1858*. Eureka occurred in 1854 and, of course, was a direct result of the gold rush. Limited self government wasn’t granting in the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania until 1855, and was in large part a product of the gold rush, prior to which the colonies had barely been financial, and a direct response to Eureka.
So gold rush first, self-government second.
*The country’s population doubling in just eight years! No wonder they thought of themselves as British; most lived their entire lives there and had only been in the colonies a few years.
Cook
Banned
If you want to increase the ethnic Asian population of Australia without other significant changes to the Australian line of development, then the easiest way would be diamonds to be discovered a lot earlier in the Kimberley; there was a brief gold rush around Hall’s Creek in 1885, so miners were in the vicinity of Turkey Creek and could have discovered diamonds there at that time. Even following the introduction of the White Australia Policy in the rest of Australia following Federation in 1901, it did not apply in the north, the reason being that ‘the tropical climate is not conducive to the white man.’
Sure, if you have suggestions. Chinese did come, but as an initial trickle of coolies who moved into mining which had provoked restrictions by the 1860s in the form of immigration restrictions. Japan had state-supported emigration, which is why they had sizeable communities in South America, US and Canada in a relatively short time.
I'm hoping for a sudden rush of migrants before nativism, miner protests, and a local government with immigration powers can form.
It depends on what part of Asia you mean, it probably wouldn't take for more Indian/Ceylon people to bought in to develope Northern Australia.
In OTL the "Afghan" camel trains did much to open up central Australia so in iron ore etc was discover in the 1840s in northern WA then perhaps the Indian Mutiniers would sent there as punishment to dig in the mines.
In OTL the "Afghan" camel trains did much to open up central Australia so in iron ore etc was discover in the 1840s in northern WA then perhaps the Indian Mutiniers would sent there as punishment to dig in the mines.
Really!? What about One Nation?
And if it is gone it's manly cause people, who worry about that sort of stuff, now focus on Muslims and 'Middle Eastern' people
Ah, I see. I always wondered why so many Japanese had lived in Broome of all places.
Some South Asians were brought in as indentured labourers OTL. I'm guessing the reason more weren't brought in was they were more familiar with the kind of agriculture which occurred in Malaysia. That and I guess the Kanakas and blackbirding ended up more cost-effective.
I imagine bringing Indians into Australia in that fashion would provoke a reaction similar to the one in Vancouver when that very thing was done in Canada.
Cook
Banned
There was a time when Japanese were for the world wide pearl industry what South Africans were for diamonds.
Going to Broome was like going into the big city when I was teaching at the Curtin immigration detention centre. There were still some decent Japanese restaurants in the old Japantown and it was interesting reading about how white divers who'd been trained in the navy tried to go in and outcompete the Japanese divers, and, even with their equipment, failed.
Didn't Calbear say that he would kick anybody who used that smiley?
It turns out he was referring to the dysphemism, not the smiley itself.Didn't Calbear say that he would kick anybody who used that smiley?