Australia 1901–1914: Core Exam Notes

Federation and the “New” Nation

• Six colonies united on 1\,\text{January}\,1901 ➜ Commonwealth of Australia.
• Mixed continuity & change: British ties + emerging national distinctiveness.
• Historians ask: How “new” was the nation? What sources reveal everyday life?

Demographics & Urbanisation (Census 1901)

• First federal census: records gender, age, birthplace, residence.
• Population mostly Australian-born; strong British ancestry.
• Urban pattern (sample): NSW pop \approx 1{,}359\,000; Vic 1{,}200\,000.
  • Metropolitan concentration highest in NSW & Vic.
• Workforce share (NSW): Primary \approx20\%, Manufacturing \approx18\%, Services >40\%.
• Critical questions: reliability, under-counting, purpose of census.

Imagining / Inventing Australia

• Cultural outputs (press, art, ads) promoted youth, vitality, egalitarianism.
• Symbols: wattle, “Little Boy from Manly”, feminine personification of nation.
• “Crimson thread of kinship” → emotional loyalty to Britain alongside local pride.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Peoples

• Era of Segregation/Protection (late 19^{\text{th}} – early 20^{\text{th}} C).
  • Reserves, white managers, heavy controls (income, movement, family).
• Influenced by Social Darwinism → belief Indigenous peoples would “die out”.
• Constitution: states’ responsibility; excluded from census; voting rights removed by 1922.

Social Laboratory & Reform

• Reputation for progressive democracy: “fair go” for white working men.
• Key innovations:
  • Industrial arbitration & conciliation.
  • Basic/Family wage – Harvester Judgement 1907 (women paid \approx54\text{–}75\% of men).
  • Female suffrage: SA 1894, WA 1899, federal 1902, all states by 1908.
• Paul Kelly’s “Australian Settlement”: White Australia, Industry Protection, Wage Arbitration, State Paternalism, Imperial Benevolence.

Events & Issues (c.1901\text{–}1914)

• External: Boer War, fear of Japan, German New Guinea, US “Great White Fleet” 1908.
• Internal: Federation debates, sectarianism, public vs private education, health, leisure growth, urban vs rural economies.

White Australia Policy

• Early acts: Immigration Restriction Act & Pacific Island Labourers Act (both 1901).
• Dictation Test used to exclude non-Europeans.
• Motivations: racial ideology + labor protection against low-wage competition.
• Minimal domestic opposition; caused friction with Britain & Japan.

Using Individual Lives

• Case studies (Macintyre) illuminate era-wide themes (class, gender, ethnicity, location).
• Photographs & personal papers reveal housing, attire, leisure, environment.

Quick Review Questions

• How did British loyalty coexist with rising “Australianness”?
• In what ways did progressive labor policies reinforce gender & racial hierarchies?
• How reliable & representative is the 1901 census data?
• Which factors sustained popular support for the White Australia Policy?