Britain in Shaping Modern Australia - Essay Example

Australia and Britain are two countries, although one is a continent, which have had a long history that spans from 1788 to 1. Britain and Britons form a major part of the Australian historical landscape whose effects have trickled down to the present day Australia’s manifestation of social as well as political culture. This therefore is a fact whose importance cannot be overemphasised. Although other nationalities’ influences have also affected the modern day Australia e.g. the American and generally the European culture, the dominating force in this respect is Britain. A good and profound example is the Head of State who is the current Queen of England. The other is the Union Jack symbol in the Australian flag. Many Australians as at the WWII either descended from Britain or were actually having direct ancestral links to Britain2. This paper will therefore discuss the role played by Britain in shaping modern Australian society and political culture while shedding light on whether the term ‘Austral Briton’ still holds any relevance. Before the 1st World War Australian inhabitants especially the ones born there or had their ancestry trailing from Britain or Ireland were being termed as ‘Aussie’ colloquially. This was rather a term that denoted ability to survive through hard times and later was more defining as it distinguished those born in Australia and immigrants3. This latter distinction was coined during and after the 2nd World War. The nation was originally a British penal colony from 18th century and more precisely from 17884. The continent had been seen to be one that is full of hardships by Joseph Banks who went further to suggest that convicts should be taken there from Britain. It is in 1788 that the first batch of convicts docked at Botany Bay5. This first fleet comprised of marines, men and women convicts. The following years saw an increased movement to Australia as more convicts were being shipped and being taken further inland. The women population among the convicts was just 20 percent. This disparity between men and women convicts went a long way to shape the current mateship ideology. This transportation of convicts to Australia however came to an end officially in 1850. More and more people started to stream in from various nationalities but the biggest number was from Britain making them dominate the demographics of Australia6. Australia was a region of the earth where democracy did not exist as a formal system of ruling masses up until the colonisation by the British. Most importantly the aboriginal people did understand neither the system nor the people bringing it to them. As a result of democracy they found themselves losing their traditional land and territory as their system was becoming less and less relevant while the new one kept on disregarding theirs. It was in 1823 that The NSW Act was passed in parliament back in Britain whose aim was to have a council appointed as well as a judicial system for the territory. However, as time went by more and more non-convict people were streaming in Australia and the stigma associated with Australia was slowly but surely fading. People started owning land and keeping sheep for wool exports. Wool exports were growing making Australia a more stable region economically. At this time the convict population had declined to be around 30 percent and the region was becoming more and more prosperous. These factors had triggered the urge for self-governance for the Australians as even a good number of them were Australia-born. A notable figure in the call for this liberation was Wentworth William who was a prosperous editor, barrister-at-law and wealth7. He spearheaded political reforms since 1820s and it was a successful endeavour for him and was named the father of the New South Wales Constitution. By 1856 there was the first parliament in NSW and many new laws came in force from then on which were and still are in the best interest of Australia and its inhabitants. As much as Britain offered the first drops of democracy to Australia, Australians went ahead to establish democratic institutions that were more liberal and the continent was said to be a democracy laboratory. Voting and political party system of governance which were also borrowed from Britain have come to ensure that Australians to date give their views through the ballot. It is important to note that Australian politics took the parliamentary democratic system and this it is a system that runs to date with two houses i.e. the House of Representatives and the Senate8. These aspects of democracy, rule of law through the judiciary system and the parliamentary system clearly show how Britain has affected Australians’ way of life and more so the political inclination that follows the Westminster tradition. As mentioned earlier wool export had started making Australia a prosperous territory by 1830s. It is the British on their first fleet that came with sheep from Cape of Good Hope and spread the animals throughout Australia. Britain became one of the biggest importers of sheep products mostly wool. This prosperity in the wool industry facilitated migration and ultimate settlement in Australia. Other supporting infrastructure for example the railway was established to aid movement of wool from the interior to ports for export. These rail lines exist to date while the continent remains the largest exporter of wool and other sheep products. Gold rush in Australia is another significant time in the history that Australia and Britain share where the influence of the latter was much felt. Immigrants from Britain increased drastically in the mid 19th century after gold was discovered in various regions in Australia. The discoveries saw the Australian population swell to almost 2 million from slightly less than half a million in the mid 19th century mainly from Britain and other European territories and USA. A notable phenomenon was the Chinese contingent of forty thousand people who joined in the digging. Gold was reducing in quantity as well as ease in finding it and this led to a competitive mood among the diggers. The first victims were the Chinese who other diggers wished away. The issue was therefore racially centred and there were actually intensified campaigns aiming at ousting the Chinese from the fields. In respect to the actual digging the Chinese had proven to be untiring making them reap more than the rest within the same time frame. They were also being viewed as odd as their way of life seemed different, their dressing code as well as their customs. The Chinese found their lives becoming harder and harder as even laws were enacted that targeted their entry into Australia9. The Chinese were required to pay tax amounting to 11 pounds for entry and protection fee. They were notably law abiding, had huge respect for other people and above all they were hard working. These traits made them to be disliked by other diggers who found them to threaten their gold mining success. The Asian population in Australia grew drastically where Japanese followed the Chinese followed by south Asians and so on which was largely termed as the yellow tide. These people still hold huge numbers of immigrants in Australia. However, after the World War II there was the need to have the country to be more multicultural10. The mass immigration programme that was set on course then has seen the number of multiethnic people immigrate to Australia. It is even argued that Australia is as peaceful as it is today as a result of this programme. In the contemporary Australia there is notable discrimination on the basis of race in institutions of governance and even education. In the sports arena it is clear to see that fewer people of other races appear despite their ability to sport. This means that the vice still exists and its roots are connected to the British colonisation since 1788. Anti-racism legislations have been enacted to try to curb the vice although scattered incidences are still evident e.g. the 2009 high profile case of assault of an Indian student that saw many personalities and bodies like the UN raise a disappointing voice11. The Australian flag is the other contemporary connection that is quite imminent between Britain and Australia. The flag has a Union Flag that is just a smaller version of the British flag at the canton. This potion shows the history that the two countries share especially the British influence in the making of Australia12. It is one part of the connection between the two that has attracted huge debate as many argue for and against having the Union Flag13. Those against propose that it still connotes Australia as a British colony and that a national flag should not carry another country’s flag in it and more so at such a prominent spot as the canton. Those for it argue that the symbol does not necessarily treat Australian as a subordinate force to Britain and its historic importance cannot be overlooked14. Australia and Britain in no doubt share quite a huge history and the British influence on the contemporary Australian culture, politically and socially is profound. The biggest influence still evident today is Australia being a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth (II) as the head of state. The other is the Australian flag bearing the Union Flag at the prominent spot i.e. the canton. Since the entry of the British in 1788 as convicts Australia was changed never to be what it was and this begun with legislations that went further to instil a form of government. Agriculture and infrastructure are the other areas where huge influence can be seen to date in Australia. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the term Astral Briton holds much relevant to the current day Australia as the present is so much dictated by the past which Britain took a huge role in shaping. Bibliography 1. Borowski, A. "Creating a virtuous society: Immigration and Australias policies of multiculturalism," Journal of Social Policy 29, (July 2000): 459–475. 2. Burgmann Verity and Lee Jenny, Constructing a culture: A peoples history of Australia since 1788, McPhee Gribble, (1988), 23-138. 3. Curthoys Ann and Docker John, Is History Fiction? UNSW Press, (2010), 115-193. 4. Damousi, Joy, Freud in the Antipodes: A cultural history of psychoanalysis in Australia, UNSW Press, (2005), 58-91. 5. Grimshaw, Patricia, Creating a nation, McPhee Gribble Publishers, (1994), 131-196. 6. Patapan Haig, Wanna John and Weller Patrick, Moray Westminster legacies: Democracy and responsible government in Asia and the Pacific UNSW Press, (2005), 65-156. 7. Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. “Gold!” 25 August 2010, http://www.kidcyber.com.au. 8. Poster, Mark, Cultural history and postmodernity: Disciplinary readings and challenges, Columbia University Press, (1997), 47-82. Read More