Migration In 19th Century Australia

In the 19th century Australia was a migration hotspot for the world but mostly Europeans and
Chinese immigrants. According to many reliable sources such as jacaranda plus similar and different challenges emerged for both groups including racial propaganda, culture and racial segregation. It is evident that although migration was a challenge for both groups, the racially driven white European attitudes made the gold field a setting of prejudice and exclusion.
Racial propaganda was evident in the gold fields according to our class notes in 2017. This made it very hard for the Chinese as they felt excluded, unwanted and racially vilified. The racial propaganda was created by the Europeans to belittle the Chinese and to try and push them away
from
Australia. This was exemplified through the publication company known as the Bulletin which would include Anti-Chinese images in their text such as the octopus. The octopus foreshadowed the Chinese as criminals, breaking laws and the laws that had been broken were listed on the tentacles of the octopus which included immorality, opium, pak ah-pu (gambling), cheap labor customs, robbery, fan tan . The octopus was also holding the European woman exhibiting that the
Chinese are taking away the woman from the Europeans. In contrast the Europeans were welcomed to Australia as they were white and English speaking it is evident that there is an advantage being white and English speaking rather that speaking a foreign language and not being white. Additionally the white Australia policy was set in to place to create an easier life for
Europeans according to the national museum of Australia the policy "effectively barred people of non-European descent from immigrating to Australia".
Differences in experience emerged for both the Chinese and Europeans on the goldfields due to the clashes of culture. The cultural clashes greatly emerged in such things as customs, looks and languages. Customs such as religion according to the fact vs fiction hand out the Europeans believed that Chinese " were evil heathens because they worked in Sunday's and worship idols".
The Europeans also believed that the Chinese " were a smaller, inferior race with strange hairstyles" also according to the fact vs fiction hand out.
This hand out also states that the Chinese
"were ignorant because they did not understand instructions (as they did not understand English ) and rules, and clustered together rather than mixing with others". It is evident that there were many cultural differences between the Europeans and the Chinese and this was another reason for the hate of the Chinese.
Radical segregation was extremely evident within the goldfields especially with the acts of apartheid which occurred due to the separation of camps - which isolated the Chinese from the
Europeans. The apartheid outcasted the Chinese from the Europeans as the Europeans were the
'superior race' and they believed that the Chinese were " a smaller, inferior race with strange hairstyles— not like the taller, ‘manlier’ Europeans" according to the fact vs fiction hand out. In contrast the white Europeans were accepted and not pushed away, It is evident that race was the motive for the apartheid. Per the white Australia policy both the government and the existing colonists prioritised maintaining " living standards" and giving them selfs the best chance
of prospering. This would occur at the cost of grace relations.
It is evident both the Chinese and Europeans have similar and different experiences in migrating to
Australia in the 19th century. But the Chinese had a harder time settling due to racial propaganda, culture, racial segregation and many more factors. In my finding I have not discovered many similarities between the Chinese and the Europeans as the Europeans had been expected however the Chinese were not wanted by the Europeans and were not accepted causing racial feud between them.