White Australia Policy

The White Australia policy consisted of both official and unofficial discrimination in Australian history which created bias to favour white European migrants over other races. The origins of the policy can be traced back to mid 19th century but it wasn't until 1901 that the Immigration Restriction Act was passed by the Federal; Government as their first act. The new law created a strict control on who could immigrate to Australia and it was required that any person who identified as a 'prohibited immigrant' would need to undertake a dictation test in any European language, making it extremely hard for people of other backgrounds to immigrate. The policy was still in place when Irmtrau migrated but was completely abolished when the Racial Discrimination Act was passed in 1975.

- Assess how these policies affected

your family’s experiences (200 words) 
As my grandmother came from a European background and was born and raised in Austria; the White Australia Policy gave her an advantage when migrating to Australia.

The policy was used to stop those who didn't come from European backgrounds from coming to Australia yet the unjust migration policy assisted her with her move to Australia as she was a perfect candidate. The policy created another pull factor which brought her to Australia and the wide range of opportunities it presented her, as well as letting her start a new life. The positive affect which the policy had on her, eventually allowed her to marry ______ whom she had met in the country and lead to the birth of my father, Robert Harrison. Another scheme which affected Irmtrau was the 10 Pound Poms scheme. The scheme allowed people from Britain to migrate to Australia after World War II for ₤10 and promised them employment, housing, relaxed lifestyle and a better climate. This was an enticing scheme which eventually led to the migration of Irmtrau, in conjunction with the White Australia Policy. Without these policies advantaging her, she may have had a much harder time in starting a new

life.

This picture shows an image of a British immigrant arriving in Melbourne - much similar to my grandmother. This immigrant arrived at Melbourne Station Pier in 1954, 6 years before my grandmother migrated to Sydney. In the photo, the woman looks happy to finally arrive in Australia after spending approximately 3/4 weeks on a ship in order to reach her destination. The pull factors of having a new life and being in a new environment are what seems to make her excited at the prospects of being in Australia as well as arriving safety. This can also be reflected through my grandmother’s experience as she was relieved about starting her new life.

After being settled in Sydney, Australia for approximately 7 years, Irmtrau gave birth to her first son, Robert Harrison. Within this 7 year period, she had migrated to Melbourne for a year before coming back and settling in Sydney for the rest of her life. Her first husband had passed within a year of moving to Australia due to a work related accident and she eventually remarried to my grandfather - Insert name here - and gave birth to my father. Having her first son enabled her to settle in Sydney in order to give him a stable life with the job she had found, aswell as the income from her husband.