Australian democracy and indigenous self-determination, 1901-2001

Eight major essays by leading social scientists on key elements of Australian institutional life.

Peopling of the Northern Territory part 1: a white elephant in a white Australia? The Northern Territory, 1901-1920

As a result of negative net immigration during the 1890s depression, Australians at the time of Federation were preoccupied about the slow rate of growth of the population. The non-Aboriginal population at the end of 1904 was approximately three and three-quarter million. and the publication in March 1904 of the Report of the New South Wales Royal Commission on the Decline of the Birth Rate and the Mortality of Infants did nothing to allay these concerns. Despite the perceived need for more people. the desire for racial unity was paramount. The main goals of policy makers at the time were to preserve a 'white' and essentially British Australia and create an imperial bastion in the Southern Hemisphere.

Gender blind? Australian immigration policy and practice, 1901-1930

This paper seeks to explore the nature of Australian immigration policies and practices, particularly their impact on women, from federation in 1901 to the cessation of large-scale assisted immigration to Australia brought about by the 1930s depression. The characteristics that influenced and affected female immigrants may have differentiated their experiences from those of male immigrants in the same period. Differential treatment of men and women has often been an unstated given in the formulation and implementation of immigration policies. It was as common to non-government organisations (of which there were, and still are, a great many associated with immigration and settlement), as to governments, both federal and state. Several inequities can be identified in the making and implementation of immigration and settlement policies, and in the access to government grants, concessions and services, not only in terms of race, ethnicity, class or occupation (which is well trodden ground in this field) but also in terms of gender.[1] Such differentiation is part of the broader framework of changing conceptions about the place and roles of women in Australian society and their expected contribution to the nation, but it has remained largely unexplicated in this period and field.

Description of loxocythere (novoloxocythere) pelius subgen. sp. nov. (ostracoda) from the cenozoic of S.E. Australia with comments on species of antarctiloxoconcha hartmann, 1986 and loxoreticulatum benson, 1964 from Australian and Antarctic marine waters

Loxocythere (Novoloxocythere) pelius subgen. et sp. nov. is described from Upper Miocene strata of the Port Phillip and Western Port Basins. Victoria. It has its acme in shallow open marine facies of latest Miocene (Cheltenhamian) age. This species, along with Loxocythere (Novoloxocythere) kerryswansoni Yassini and Jones, 1995, forms a discrete group of rotund Australian Loxocythere species that possess posterior extremities in both valves that are positioned well above mid carapace height (i.e. adjacent to dorsal margin). This feature along with a sub-triangular inner margin outline, defines a carapace shape that is distinct from that of rotund species of Loxocythere (loxocythere) Hornibrook, 1952 and Antarctiloxoconcha Hartmann, 1986. The type species of Antarctiloxoconcha – A.frigida (Neale. 1967), possesses internal carapace features that are very similar to the type species of Loxocythere - L. crassa Hornibrook, 1952. Both have relatively short carapaces and sub-quadrate inner margin outlines with posterior extremities in both valves positioned below mid carapace height. Species of Loxocythere (Novoloxocythere), in particular L. (N.) kerryswansoni, have a carapace shape that is transitional between Loxocythere and Loxoreticulatum Benson, 1964. Species of Loxoreticulatum generally possess a sub-parallelogram shaped carapace/inner margin and arched median hinge element. The latter feature is distinct from the mostly straight median hinge elements of Loxocythere (Loxocythere) and Loxocythere (Novoloxocythere) species. Species of Loxocythere (Novoloxocythere) are also readily distinguishable from relatively elongate species of Loxocythere, such as L. (L.) hornibrooki McKenzie, 1967, as the latter possess long (for genus), sub-rectangular shaped carapaces/inner margin outlines and posterior extremities below mid height.

Inter-annual rainfall variations and suicide in New South Wales, Australia, 1964-2001

The suicide rate in New South Wales is shown to be related to annual precipitation, supporting a widespread and long-held assumption that drought in Australia increases the likelihood of suicide. The relationship, although statistically significant, is not especially strong and is confounded by strong, long-term variations in the suicide rate not related to precipitation variations. A decrease in precipitation of about 300 mm would lead to an increase in the suicide rate of approximately 8% of the long-term mean suicide rate.

Tariff protection and politics : Castlemaine 1870-1901

This study, set within the contextual background of Victorian politics, ‘seeks to identify the economic, political and social implications of tariff protection for the Castlemaine region from 1870-1901. The introduction of the Victorian tariff in 1865 precipitated a reversal of earlier attitudes towards protection by politicians and their constituents. Reasons are sought for changes in the perceptions of the Castlemaine electorate and its political representatives towards the tariff between 1870 and Federation. An examination has been made of the role of the tariff in the creation of employment in the region’s primary and secondary industries together with its influence on politicians, primary and secondary industry leaders and workers. Also explored is the relative impact of the tariff on the economic performance of Castlemaine industries, whether producing for export or domestic markets.

'He no doubt felt insulted': the White Australia Policy and Australia's relations with India, 1944-1964

The Government of India never publicly criticised the White Australia policy. Nonetheless it was a subject of constant reporting to New Delhi by the Indian High Commission in Canberra.  The Australian High Commission in New Delhi regularly reported criticism of the policy in the Indian press and in elite opinion.  It urged the introduction of a quota for Indian immigration to Australia, but ministers remained unwilling to modify the policy in any substantial way, in the period under study.  South Africa's apartheid policy was a far more serious problem in race relations for the Indian Government.  The existence of the White Australia policy when countries such as Canada had introduced quotas for Indian immigration, suggested an Australia mired in attitudes irrelevant to a decolonising world.  The Australian High Commissioner thought that although Nehru made no public comments on the policy, he must have felt insulted by its existence.

Like a volcano waiting to erupt : The Australian Yiddish writer Pinchas Goldhar (1901-1947)

 Biographical essay outlining the tragic career of the Australian Yiddish writer Pinchas Goldhar.