A New Britannia
The Rise of the Australian Republic 1788-1928
Prelude
They had lost. They had fought for King, Empire, & Great Britain, & yet they had lost. They were wanted no more by the country of their birth. They were now outcasts, exiles, wandering nomads, or so it seemed to thousands upon thousands. But they had not lost their faith in Britain. Although they had lost, there was still the King & Empire. Their loyalty was as strong as ever & they would not abandon all that they fought for even now.
For the Empire Loyalists of the American Revolution, the unthinkable had happened. America had become a Republic & the Crown had been vanquished. Only Canada remained loyal to Great Britain whilst everything else in North America had been lost. But Canada was not the only land which Britain owned. A new land, said to be of wonder, had been discovered in the South Pacific. In an effort to populate this new territory, before France could, Britain offered to relocate all her Loyal Subjects, rejected by the new American Republic, to a new life in either Canada or New South Wales. Many, henceforth, went north of the American border, while even more headed for the new Crown colony.
Another continent was thus taken by Great Britain.
A new Britannia was unwittingly born.
Introduction
The exact origins for why Britain decided to colonise Australia are unknown. Historians, from the 1970s onwards, have argued to & fro over several theories, the leading two being:
(1) a cheap location to dump convicts, or;
(2) an effort in establishing a permanent trading station in the South Pacific.
Few, however, accept the argument that Britain actually wanted a new colony to replace the thirteen American ones. In fact the conspiracy theory, a favourite one among such minded people, is far more popular. It argues, somewhat successfully, that Australia was deliberately established by the British Government in order to smash the power of the British East India company due to the fact it had become a law unto itself throughout Asia.
Regardless of the original reason, even if it is in fact all of them, events in North America would, without a doubt, effect the colonisation of the Australian continent not long after the first settlement was established in 1788. Not long afterwards, immigrants, or more to the point refugees, would arrive in the thousands placing a great strain upon the early colony. But it would not end there. In the next century, two other great periods of migration would ensure that the small colony in the South Pacific, originally established with no really great importance in mind, would become a nation to rival many other “great powers” by 1901.
The Taking of a Continent 1770-1840
The original Australians, the Aboriginal People, had occupied the Australian continent for at least 40 000 years. Yet, long before the British established the first colony at Sydney, their fate had already been sealed. Captain Cook, in 1770, although not the first European to step foot on Australian soil, nevertheless wrote the report which would be acted upon in London. Thinking that there were few natives, in fact there were at least 3 million of them, Cook nonetheless suggested that Australia could easily support a large colony.
Although it took some seventeen years to act upon Cook’s report, the British government finally sent the First Fleet, which left England in 1787. Having mostly convicts on board, although some 500 free settlers were also present, these first settlers would establish a colony for future fleets of both voluntary & involuntary settlers. On the 26th January 1788, the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove. Shortly thereafter a small population of about 2 000 British souls began to call Australia home.
Not long after settlement, however, the Aboriginals began to make their presence felt. It soon became apparent that there were far more than a few thousand of them, unlike that which Cook had reported. Numbers were actually unknown, but soon any colonist who left the safety of the British settlement & surrounding farms were, more often than not, killed. Several Royal Marine patrols not long afterwards clashed with Aboriginal warriors & it soon became apparent that the colony could be overrun. Whether the Aboriginal People were capable of mounting such a military feat would remain unknown as such an attack was never mounted.
Instead, the fledgling colony was saved. But it was not due to any great military victory by the Royal Marines. Victory would come from smallpox. Within a year or so of contact with the British colonists, smallpox began to break out amongst the native populations. Due to the fact that Aboriginals were disease free for the most part, especially free from illnesses like smallpox, the adult & child Aboriginal population had no immunity from these diseases. Soon smallpox ran at plague proportions killing tens of thousands of the natives. The populations of entire villages died within days. Bodies were often found floating in creeks & rivers. As a result, the Aboriginal population lost, it is thought, well over 60% of their numbers. Needless to say, the survivors had no chance stopping the expansion of the British colony.
By 1800, hence, the British had well established themselves all along the east coast of Australia & on the island of Tasmania. Interestingly though, a great number of these colonials did not come from Britain or Ireland. Nor were they mostly convicts, even though a large number of inhabitants were indeed from this group. Most immigrants had come to Australia, then know entirely as New South Wales, from North America. And come in their tens of thousands did the Loyalists.
The North American immigrants were, wholeheartedly, the Americans who had remained loyal to the British Crown during the Revolutionary War. After the United States gained her independence, well over 400 000 people left the United States. Most headed for Canada whilst some went to the Crown colonies of the West Indies. But most of those who went to Canada were not overly happy with the living conditions there, & after being offered free land in the new Colony of New South Wales, some 300 000 left Canada for the new colony down under. Thus, combining this number with other free immigrants & convicts coming in from Europe, Australia’s population by 1810 soon numbered one million.
Although a population of one million was impressive, especially when considering the colony had only been established for merely twenty-two years, what was more important was that the North American loyalists were mostly families. This ensured that, in the years ahead, population growth would slowly continue. Those settlers coming from convict origin, however, mostly numbered males, so there was some imbalance between the sexes during the early years of the country. By 1840, though, this sexual imbalance had more or less been corrected. But then came the Great Australian Gold Rush(es)
Gold! 1841-1864
The event that put Australia on the map in a hundred different countries was the discovery of gold at a town called Bathurst in 1845. Located some 200km west of Sydney, Bathurst was a quiet albeit busy country service town looking after the farms throughout a large region. Then one James Hargraves, in 1845, discovered the most richest of metals whilst casually panning on a riverbed outside of the sleepy town. Soon afterwards, once news had spread, hundreds of would-be gold seekers arrived from Sydney & elsewhere throughout Australia. They too found gold & news spread even further afield.
Within two years of the discovery of gold at Bathurst, close to 200 000 people immigrated to Australia chasing gold. Needless to say, gold was also discovered elsewhere, not only in the colony of New South Wales, but also in the new colony of Victoria in 1850. More people immigrated to Australia, so by 1855, some 600 000 more people called Australia home. This, of course, made a major impact upon the population, to the point that almost 2.5 million people now lived in a country not even 100 years old.
Furthermore, by 1860, the families of those who first ventured for gold had caught up with them adding a further 600 000 people within five years. Of course, when one says “families”, it should be noted that some of these people, who were all mostly women, were more like mail order brides rather than families in the true sense of the word. But, far more importantly, the imbalance between the sexes, which was most evident in the early 1800s, had more or less corrected itself by the end of the Gold Rush era.
Yet, if the large influx of people was an important effect of the Gold Rush(es), then a far more important one was the huge amount of wealth the main Australian colonies now had. Only the lesser ones, that being South & Western Australia, lagged behind, but not for long. Opals & gold would soon be discovered in South Australia, whilst in the western colony, not only had gold been discovered, but far more importantly, diamonds were also found in abundance.
Unlike in the east, however, neither of these two colonies would attract the massive immigrants that the older eastern colonies would. There are several reasons for this, but they did, nevertheless, attract population movement from the east. As a result, both colonies gained 200 000 people. Yet 60% of these people, as said, came from within Australia itself. A few came from Europe, whilst a similar number came from North America. But there is a reason why immigration was so limited, at least from the American angle. America was preoccupied with its own concerns - a civil war.
The New Australians 1865-1899
The American Civil War would have great consequences for the world. Not only had the industrial North defeated the agricultural South, but the United States had grown in overall power as a result. It could be also said that the war also “modernised” the country. Now with a strong central government, one without indefinite state powers to limited it, the federal government could now coordinate national efforts at every level, whether it be in the military, societal or industrial sectors.
Having said that, the internal political machinations had little initially to do with Australia in many respects, apart from gaining refugees from the losing side. Although a large number of Southerners had no where other than home to go, many others thought otherwise. Believing all was lost to them, thanks to the Southern defeat, many of the better off simply packed up & left. Thus, with their families, they went looking elsewhere for a better life. Some went west to California; others went to Mexico or somewhere else in South America; whilst a further 500 000 left for Australia.
Yet if these new immigrants to Australia, these Southern refugees, thought that they could simply rebuild their old lives, they were in for one rude shock. Slavery, for one, was banned from the outset since the first British colony in Sydney. Even the Aboriginals had Crown rights just like any other citizen in the colony. Although this was often ignored at first, as Australia grew, with more & more free settlers & local born far outnumbering the convicts & so forth, even Aboriginals could no longer be ignored even if still considered a second class.
So the Southern refugees soon discovered that Australia, although offering much, would not permit them to rebuild a “new South”. As a result, there were clashes at first, yet most would settle down to a new life, albeit not a perfect one in their minds. Ironically, it would be these Southern refugees who would greatly influence the political agenda in a few decades time, but at first they had to become Australian. Nonetheless, these “New Australians”, as they had become christened in somewhat insultive fashion, not only soon established vast agricultural interests, but got into railroads & heavy industry. It was thus thanks to these “New Australians” that industrial expansion, beyond the already well established resource & agricultural sectors, soon started & ensured that Australia would become a newly born power in a newly born Twentieth Century.
A New Country for a New Century 1900-1910
The year 1901 would usher in a new century. It would also witness the establishment of a new country; one which was also, incidentally, a republic. The Federal Commonwealth of the Republic of Australia would witness the first time a country had gained independence from Great Britain without having to resort to war. Unlike the United States, Britain gave her blessing to Australia becoming an independent republic. Like the United States, though, Australia would have a federal governmental system, involving a President, a House of Representatives, a Senate, & a High Court, whilst being overseen by a written Constitution.
Although it would be fair to say that the Australian Republic came about by the People’s efforts in making a nation, the true force behind the Republic were the New Australians. Few of this group had any trust in any monarchal system of government, let alone the British Crown, & had, since their arrival in the late 1860s onwards, always advocated a republic. The rest of the population rejected such political ideas, even though this same group gave little support for nationhood either. Over the proceeding years, however, along with immigrants coming from all over Europe, the pro-Crown anti-nationhood majority was slowly reduced in numbers. Eventually, many locals, especially the “Cornstalks” or multi-generational Australians, began to change their minds about the future of the six Crown colonies. There was now the possibly that a new nation could be born.
Thus, by 1890, thoughts of nationhood eventually became popular. It would, though, take a further ten years of debate. At first, no one could agree upon what Australia should be like, especially the West Australian colony. But, slowly & surly, the discussions came around to having a republic. This was, in part, thanks to the fact that the New Australians were prominent in many political circles, plus they had the money & industrial power to back their ideas. By 1898, it was merely a matter of taking the republic form of government to the people in a continent wide referendum. Although there was still some political games going on, such as the West Australian government arguing against the republic outright, not to mention even the referendum process itself, or the Queensland government wanting different a Senate arrangement, the referendum was nevertheless successful in all six colonies.
As a result of nationhood, Australia, now that it had gained total independence & thus a nation responsible to no one else but itself, never looked back until the Great Depression. But for twenty-eight years it would outgrow every other nation beyond precedent. This was partly due to population grown, as Australia’s population had risen to 20 million in 1903 (when the first national census was taken). But other factors also came into play. The most important of which was its industrial sector.
As mentioned above, the New Australians brought with them to Australia the urge to industrialise. At the time, Australia had already a well established rural & resource sector, but little else. This changed rapidly & by 1901, Australia had a heavy industrial sector akin to most Europan countries. But thanks to distance, as much as anything, Australia had no competitors within its region, unlike Europe. As a result, Australian industry would be somewhat protected ensuring that it could find new markets & continue to expand. By the time any serious competition was eventually met, whether it be from Britain, Germany, USA or even Japan, Australian industries were more than up to the task of challenging all comers. In doing so, it was recognised that, taking into account a number of factors including monetary & gold reserves, its industrial strength, military strength & so forth, Australia was the sixth most powerful country in the world in 1910.
Nevertheless, along with all this early success came problems. These were not, however, major social problems, although such things did exist, especially between labour unions & management, but also geographical as well. The labour relation problems were easily fixed by the introduction, at a federal level, of a series arbitration courts designed to permit unions & managers to sit down, in a neutral setting, & to argue their respective cases before a judge. The judge would then decided upon a settlement which, although may not have been acceptable to all the parties involved, was nonetheless adhered to as it was law. Even though this appeared to both sides an infringement upon their political rights, it was usually successful in the great majority of industrial disputes. The geographic problems, however, were a different story.
To put it simple, Australia is mostly a desert. It has one of the lowest rain fall rates in the world. Having said that, the continent can support a few million people with little hassle. Even a population of over 10 million can be supported with little infrastructure, but in 1910 the population was heading towards 30 million. Dams had already been built around the major cities, such as Sydney & Melbourne, yet these were barely coping with demand, especially when water from these dams were also supplying other cities such as Newcastle & Wollongong (to the north & south of Sydney respectively) and Ballarat & Bendigo (to the north west of Melbourne). Other major cities, such as Adelaide & Brisbane were also running low on water, not to mention the rest of the population which mostly lived in the south-east region of the continent.
Then, added to this problem, were two other factors. The first was arable farmlands - a growing population needs more food & that means more farmland The second was electrical power. Both were, like drinking water, quickly becoming a problem. The electricity situation was soon solved by the construction of a large number of power stations, all over the extensive coal fields throughout Victoria & New South Wales, but a large hydro-electric power station was also considered important for future needs. Combined with this was a need for drinking water as well as water for new farmlands. In 1910, a solution to all these problems was solved in one decision.
The Great Snowy Mountains Scheme, started in 1910, was to be the largest public infrastructure program ever to be undertaken by any government at that time. Still today, it ranks among the top three. The scheme involved the construction of 14 dams & ten tunnels all within the region known as the Snowy Mountains in the south of New South Wales. It would cost billions of dollars (pounds had been dropped in favour of dollars in 1901), be interrupted by the First World War, & take twenty years to be completed. By the First World War started, a third of the dams, the smaller ones, were completed. Furthermore, & probably far more importantly, drinking water began being pumped from the Snowy Mountains dam system, through pipes hundreds of kilometres long, by early 1914. As said, the delay caused by the First World War put the project back some five years, but the immediate problem at hand was solved. Just as importantly, the completion of the project would see Australia through the rest of the century. It was, indeed, money well spent.
A New World Power 1911-1919
The Snowy River Scheme was not, of course, the only government project under way. As the republican government took over the responsibility for the defence of the country from the British, the Australian government had already established an Australian Army & Navy in 1901. The army was not all that hard to flesh out & train, besides the fact that by 1911 it was only 50 000 strong albeit fully professional. The Navy, by the very nature of the requirement to build ships, took a lot longer to be finally established.
In fact the Australian Navy did not resemble anything of substance until 1913. Up until that time, the only ships which it had were twelve destroyers. Four of these were bought from Britain in 1901, whilst the remainder were built locally albeit based upon the same design as those bought from Britain. The rest of the fleet, which again was built in Britain, sailed through the heads of Sydney Harbour in 1913, after a long affair over design changes, the introduction of the battle cruiser classes &, above all, money. Nonetheless, on a sunny afternoon, about one million Sydney residents saw Australia’s fleet arrive.
It was indeed an impressive sight indeed. Australia had just received a real fleet as against the twelve destroyers that it had for the last ten years. Now, added to these, were four battleships, two battle cruisers, four heavy & four light cruisers & finally ten more destroyers. There were also six support ships for the capital ships. But if Australians thought that this fleet was to ensure the peace, they were sadly mistaken. Within a year of the fleet’s arrival, Australia would be at war. The First World War, which by treaty with Britain, would drag Australia, even though many citizens were unwilling, into a war not of her making. It would, however, change Australia forever.
The first steps that Australia took in World War One was the invasion of all German territory within reach of the country. The new Navy, along with the well established Army, did this with ease. Then came the destruction of the German raider the Emden by the Australian Navy. This came as a great victory for the Australian Navy & greater things were thus expected. Alas for the Navy, it was never to really achieve much more, even though it was involved, along with the Royal Navy, in the great naval battle at Jutland. But conservative strategy by the Royal Navy, not only ensured that the German Fleet got away, but the Australian Navy was held back from any pursuit. The Australian officers were livid & refused to operate under the authority of the Royal Navy ever again. What this schism may have meant, if another major engagement ever took place, is something we will never, thankfully, know as the Germans never ventured out into the North Sea ever again.
If the Australian Navy thought they got a rough deal from the British, though, then the Army was in an even worse situation. The great attack upon Gallipoli, argued as the most important operation in 1915, saw two divisions of the Australian Army totally wasted in what turned out to be one of the greatest military blunders of all time. Australian lives were thrown away in careless fashion. Like their Navy counterparts, senior Army officers refused to operate under British commanders. This gained much weight when, not only did four more Australian divisions, all volunteers, arrive in Egypt not long after the Gallipoli debacle, who soon supported the actions of their fellow countrymen, but the government back in Australia, horrified by the stories of Gallipoli, likewise issued orders stating that the Australian Army would operate independently & only under Australian commanding officers.
This defiant stance was, ironically, a blessing for the Allies. The Australian Army now built up twenty divisions in Egypt, which ensured the safety of the Suez Cannel, whilst making the Turks suffer several defeats, in revenge for Gallipoli, during the following two years, including the devastating Battle of Megiddo where the 1st Australian Army (along with two British & two Indian divisions) eventually knocked Turkey out of the war. But the “pool” of Australian troops in Egypt also ensured that a ready supply of troops were available for the war in France. Thus, by late 1916, the ANZAC Army of ten Australian & two New Zealand divisions would fight it out in France in some of the most horrific battles even known. Then in 1918, along with the other Allies, the ANZAC Army would lead the battle, during the Hundred Days Offensive, which would see victory over Germany.
Alas after the victory, even a great one such as that over Germany in World War One, friends & Allies soon had a falling out. Although Australia had no territorial interests in Europe, she did have them in the Middle East, South East Asia & the Pacific. During the period when the world was thus being carved up by the victors, Australia got almost nothing for its efforts. Instead Britain & France shared the spoils, whilst Italy gobbled up the crumbs. Australia was even ordered to vacate the German territories in the Pacific & Asia regions, which it had occupied, & make way for a British administration.
This was far too much for the Australian government & it refused the demands of the British in a very outright fashion. As such, Australia warned both France & Britain that any attempt to remove Australian troops, from the German territories occupied by Australia, would lead to war. As things tumbled out of control, Australia furthermore refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles, claiming it was too harsh on Germany whilst Australia got nothing for its war efforts. And just as importantly, Australia, claiming that the Washington Treaty would rob the nation of its right to protect herself, refused to sign the naval reduction treaty as well. If need be, Australia would go it alone without the help of so-called Allies. Thankfully, no war followed upon Australia’s reactions to these treaties.
Coming of Age 1920-1928
Even with the falling out over the spoils of World War One, if there was ever a “golden age” in Australia’s history, then the period from 1920 until the Great Depression was probably it. It was thanks to this short period which ultimately set the stage for the future of Australia’s rise to power. Having accepted isolationism, due to its post-World War One treatment, Australia nonetheless strove ahead thanks to the momentum which carried over from the Great War. But instead of vast amounts of money being spent on the military, which still got its fair share nevertheless, a massive public works program was in the offering instead. And this was besides the construction taking place on the Snowy Mountains Scheme which was declared completed in 1930 (construction actually continued into the late 1940s, although this construction was due to additional schemes added onto the original plans at later dates).
So in 1920 a whole range of programs, both ordered at State & Federal levels, were authorised. The most prominent among these was the Sydney Harbour Bridge, underground railways in both Sydney & Melbourne, increased assistance to secondary industries, especially to steal smelters & manufacturing sectors, whilst the first workers began the construction of Canberra, the future capital city of Australia. But these were not the only programs. Others included the introduction of a massive sewer programs for all major cities throughout the country. Interstate railways were either began or completed. Likewise, roads were recognised as a fundamental means of transport as had been readily shown during the First World War. And finally, aircraft, again thanks to the experience of the Great War, became an important focus in government circles for both civil & military sectors.
If all this civilian activity was impressive, then likewise was that of the military. As mentioned, aircraft began to be noticed & much serious evaluation & development took place. Soon an actual Air Force was established as a separate identity to the Army. It, needless to say, would oversee any aircraft requirements. The Army, too, would evolve thanks to its lessons from the Great War. Soon tanks were introduced great numbers as were armoured cars & motorised transport. By 1929, the new Australian Army looked nothing like its Great War predecessor, other than the fact that riflemen still used the Lithgow .303 rifle (a direct copy of the Lee-Enfield original).
Finally came the Navy. Considering Australia is an island continent, the requirement for a Navy has always been important, even if sometimes neglected. But ever since the post-Great War experiences, the Australian government support for the Navy went from strength to strength. This, as well as a result of the Great War, witnessed Australia, by 1929, enjoy a fleet strength of ten battleships as well as numerous cruisers & destroyers. This may not seem all that radical than the fleet of 1913, except for two changes. The first was the lack of the battle cruiser class & the introduction of the aircraft carrier. In 1929, thanks to the conversions of four battle cruisers from 1917 onwards, Australia found itself with four aircraft carriers of an impressive size & ability. Although the naval aircraft of the time were much left to be desired by later standards (especially by Australian standards a decade later), the four ships would, far more importantly, see the country through tough times ahead during the Second World War.
In closing, on the eve of the Great Depression, one can conclude that Australia, albeit with little awareness of it at the time, was one of the great powers of the world. Enjoying an economy far greater than anyone else in the Asia-Pacific region save Japan, & only behind that of the USA & Britain, the Australian Republic was stronger than any of the European powers including France. Furthermore, by not signing the Washington Treaty, her Navy matched that of Japan’s & was, again, only behind the navies of America & Britain. Of course, it would be the isolationism of Australia, slightly self imposed whilst slightly enforced by Britain, France, & to a lessor degree by America, which would see Australia miss much of the hardship of the Great Depression. Thus, somewhat ironically, on the eve of the Second World War in 1939, Australia alone, out of all the democracies, was in the best shape to face the onslaught of tyranny. For the likes of Britain, France & several other countries in peril, however, they would have to wait until 1941.
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