In the immediate post-war years, Australia was only second to Israel in the proportion of migrants accepted into the country. The Australian Minister for Immigration, Arthur Caldwell stated in 1945; “Australia wants, and will welcome, new healthy citizens who are determined to become good Australians.” (NSW Migration Heritage Centre, 2010) From 1945 to 1975 the Australian population almost doubled. It went from 7 ½ million to 13 million people. Half of the new arrivals were of European descent and approximately 1.5 million people were British. In July 1947, the Australian Government made an agreement with a new International Refugee Organisation to settle displaced people from European camps. These people came from countries such as Poland, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. They were fleeing communism and the Nazis, many of their homes had already been occupied by such groups and approximately 25,000 of these people were Jewish refugees who survived concentration camps. Up until 1953, British immigrants had blatant priority in terms of Australian settlement compared to European immigrants due to the White Australia Policy, which was only abolished in 1965. 1956 was when non-European persons were allowed to apply for Australian Citizenship and two years later the Dictation Test was eradicated. As a result of Australia’s large refugee intake, the country had millions of new employees and a large demand for labourers, farmers etc. due to the loss of so many Australian men. The growing population did not only affect Australia’s economy but through the introduction of new cultures, Australia’s architecture, fabrics, fashion, medicine, dance, music and food were all heavily influenced. For example, the American troops introduced Australia to Jazz and Soul music, while the Italian refugees presented their…
