Developing a National Identity

Gabriella T. Espák, IEAS UD, 2014

Overview

A history of immigration: a series of comings

Multiculturalism: official policy + nation formation

Hungarians in Australia

Australian national identity

1st Governor-General of Australia, 1901

John Adrian Louis Hope, Earl of Hopetoun

26th Governor-General of Australia, 2014

Peter Cosgrove(Australian of the Year 2001)

A history of immigration A series of comings Aboriginal peoples, 60000 BP, from the north British convicts and settlers 1788-21, “convict society,” Irish vs.

English Increasing free population 1821-50 (“squatting”) Immigration boom 1850-60: the gold rushes (NSW, Victoria); British,

American, other European, Chinese Assisted migration 1860-1900 (unlocking the land, “selecting”);

Chinese, Pacific Islanders (“kanakas”) White Australia Policy 1901-1960s: official assimilationism 1901-1945 British, assimilation 1945-1948 DPs 1950 Colombo Plan 1956 Hungarian refugees Late 1960s: Integration; Vietnam refugees (“boat people,” “asylum

seekers”) Multiculturalism: 1972 onwards; 1989: National Agenda for a

Multicultural Australia

Yugoslav Story Susan Hampton

Miss Slattery and Her Demon Lover

Patrick White, 1964, extractJoze was born in the village of Loski Potok,In a high-cheek-boned family. I remarkedthat he had no freckles, he liked to play cards,& the women he knew were called Maria,

Malcka, Mimi;& because he was a ‘handsome stranger’I took him for a ride on my YamahaAlong the Great Western Highway& we ate apples; I had never met someoneWho ate apples by the case, whose fatherhad been shot at by Partisans in World War II,Who’d eaten frog & turnipsin the night,& knew how to make pastry so thinIt covered the table like a soft cloth.He knew how to kill & cut up a pig,& how to quickstep & polka. He lifted me up in

the air.He taught me to say ‘Jaz te ljubim, ugasni luc’(‘I love you, turn off the light’)& how to cook filana paprika, palacinka,& prazena jetra. One night in winterJoze & two friends ate 53 of these palacinke(pencakes) & went straight to the factoryfrom the last rummy game. Then he was my

husband,he called me ‘moja zena’ & and sang a dirty

songAbout Terezinka, a gril who sat on the chimneyWaiting for her lover, & got a black bum.He had four brothers & four sisters,I had five sisters.His father was a policeman under King Peter,My father was a builder in bush towns.Joze grew vegetables and he smoked MarlborosAnd he loved me. This was in 1968.

'How do you make your money, Tib?' Miss Slattery asked, picking at the mink coverlet.'I am Hoongahrian,' he said. 'It come to me over ze telephown.‘Presently Szabo Tibor announced he was on his way to inspect several properties he owned around the city. He had given her a key, at least, so that she might come and go.'And have you had keys cut,' she asked, 'for all these other women, for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, in all these other flats?‘How he laughed.'At least a real Witz! An Australian Witz!' he said on going.It seemed no time before he returned.'Faht,' he said, 'you are still here?‘'I am the passive type,' she replied.Indeed, she was so passive she had practically set in her own flesh beneath that glass conscience of a ceiling. Although a mild evening was ready to soothe, she shivered for her more than nakedness. When she stuck her head out of the window, there were the rhinestones of Sydney glittering on the neck of darkness. But it was a splendour she saw could only dissolve.'You Austrahlian girls,' observed Tibby Szabo, 'ven you are not all gickle, you are all cry.‘'Yes,' she said. 'I know,' she said, 'it makes things difficult. To be Australian.‘

Multiculturalism official policy + nation formation: multiculturalism regarded both as an

official policy to treat social issues raised by increased immigration and a means of nation formation

After Menzies retired, the Liberal Party struggles but manages to keep power intil 1972.

(Harold Holt 1966-67; John Grey Gorton 1968-71; William McMahon 1971-72) The new Labor government of Gough Whitlam (1972-75) began to change

Australian society and economy too quickly >> dismissed by the governor general >> constitutional crisis.

- withdraws troops from Vietnam - recognizes communist China - gives independence/self-government to Papua New Guinea - friendly with Japan - does not support white minority governments (eg. South Africa) Malcolm Fraser (1975-83): strong Liberal leader again, with conservative

ideas Bob Hawke (1983-91), Paul Keating (1991-96): new Labor; middle ground;

bring people together

Major ethnic groupsStatistics here: www.abs.gov.au1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 ?

HW: Find the number of first-generation Hungarians in Australia in 2006

Historical demographic data:Australian Historical Population Statistics (cat.

no 3105.0.65.001), country by birth .xls

20165

Hungarians in Australia- 1848/49 >> Gold rush (aristocrats & upper

middle class emigrants)- late 19th c >> Jewish tradesmen- pre-War >> chain migration (with trade),

antisemitism- post-War (‘45) >> Jewish, DPs (displaced

persons)- 1948 >> DPs- 56-ers >> political refugees- 70s >> mostly for economic reasons

National identityThe Australian legendThe ANZAC-legendWW2: Australia’s position in relation to

Britain and the United StatesThe Lucky Country (Donald Horne, 1964)RepublicanismReferendum 1999

a “lucky country” The Lucky Country

terra australis incognita: rich and fertile land to be taken by a superior white/British race

need to accept the challenges of Asia-Pacific location: not fertile land, not superior race (not even British any longer)

pioneer and bushman legend: practical simplicity and survival skills in the bush

need for a revolution in economic priorities to meet new technologies: invest in education for a highly urbanized country

ANZAC legend: courage, mateship and loyalty for the Empire

need to become a republic: the Empire ceased to exist, the monarchy is irrelevant; trading, strategic and demographic links with Asia

Freedom on the WallabyWritten for the “Worker.” Henry Lawson, Brisbane, May, 1891.Australia’s a big country,An’ Freedom’s humping bluey,And Freedom’s on the wallaby;Oh don’t you hear ’er cooey?She’s just begun to boomerang.She’ll knock the tyrants silly,She’s going to light another fireAnd boil another billy.

Our fathers toiled for bitter breadWhile loafers thrived beside ’em,But food to eat and clothes to wear,Their native land denied ’em.An’ so they left that native land,In spite of their devotion,An’ so they come, or if they stole,Were sent across the ocean.

Then Freedom couldn’t stand the glareOf Royalty’s regalia.She left the loafers where they wereAn’ come out to Australia.

But now across the mighty mainThe chains have come ter bind her,She little thought to see againThe wrongs she left behind her.

Our parents toiled to make a home,Hard grubbin’ ’twas and clearin’,They wasn’t crowded much with lordsWhen they was pioneerin’.But now that we have made the landA garden full of promise.Old Greed must crook ’is dirty handAn’ come ter take it from us.

So we must fly a rebel flag,As others did before us,And we must sing a rebel songAnd join in rebel chorus.We’ll make the tyrants feel the stingO’ those that they would throttle;They needn’t say the fault is ours,If blood should stain the wattle.

Referendum, 1999Question 1: Republic

Question 2: Preamble

Do you approve…? A proposed law: To alter the Constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with the Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Commonwealth Parliament

proud that our national unity has been forged by Australians from many ancestries;

never forgetting the sacrifices of all who defended our country and our liberty in time of war;

upholding freedom, tolerance, individual dignity and the rule of law;

honouring Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, the nation's first people, for their deep kinship with their lands and for their ancient and continuing cultures which enrich the life of our country;

recognising the nation-building contribution of generations of immigrants;

mindful of our responsibility to protect our unique natural environment;

supportive of achievement as well as equality of opportunity for all;

and valuing independence as dearly as the national spirit which binds us together in both adversity and success.

Do you approve…? A proposed law: To alter the Constitution to insert a preamble. The preamble would then readWith hope in God, the Commonwealth of Australia is constituted as a democracy with a federal system of government to serve the common good.We the Australian people commit ourselves to this Constitution:

White backlashThe Pauline Hanson phenomenon, One Nation Party:rightwing populism: anti-immigration, anti-multiculturalism, anti-

welfare to Aboriginals, anti-PC, pro-high-tariff protectionism.“Immigration and multiculturalism are issues that this government is trying to

address, but for far too long ordinary Australians have been kept out of any debate by the major parties. I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. Between 1984 and 1995, 40% of all migrants coming into this country were of Asian origin. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate. Of course, I will be called racist but, if I can invite whom I want into my home, then I should have the right to have a say in who comes into my country. A truly multicultural country can never be strong or united. The world is full of failed and tragic examples, ranging from Ireland to Bosnia to Africa and, closer to home, Papua New Guinea. America and Great Britain are currently paying the price. Arthur Calwell was a great Australian and Labor leader, and it is a pity that there are not men of his stature sitting on the opposition benches today. Arthur Calwell said: Japan, India, Burma, Ceylon and every new African nation are fiercely anti-white and anti one another. Do we want or need any of these people here? I am one red-blooded Australian who says no and who speaks for 90% of Australians. I have no hesitation in echoing the words of Arthur Calwell.” (Maiden speech)

Where today?Republic 2020?Retirement at 70?1 in 4 first generation migrantReconciliation as a people’s movement

ReadingsBurnley, Ian H. The Impact of Immigration on

Australia: A Demographic Approach (South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford UP, 2001): Chapter 11: Review and Prospect. 336-349.

Kunz, Egon. Magyarok Ausztráliában (Budapest: Teleki László Alapítvány, 1997), 213-225.

McKenna, Marc. “A History of the Inevitable Republic,” in Australia, Republic or Monarchy? Legal and Constitutional Issues. Ed. M.A. Stephenson and Clive Turner (St Lucia, Qld: U of Queensland P, 1994), 50-71.