Preview

Australians's Identity: Divided Society

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
348 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Australians's Identity: Divided Society
Discuss: “Despite the unifying results of WWI in relation to its identity, the overall result was a divided society.”
The experience of World War I consolidated Australians’ pride in themselves, with the emergence of the ANZAC legend bringing ideas of Australian identity into focus. The war opened up deep divisions in Australia, a main division being religious; between the Protestants and Roman Catholics. The conscription issue also deeply divided Australia, with many people both for and against it.
During the 1920s and early 1930s, the Protestants held many of the key positions in business and politics while the Catholics were predominately the working class in society. There was a considerable division between the classes in society after

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Australia's collective desire of nationalism as well as patriotism lead to its formation as a federation and this willingness to unify the divided colonies was a reflection of an ulterior, racist purpose. Federation is the act of constituting a political unity out of a number of separate colonies or states. Before Australia's eventual federation on January 1 of 1901, there had been years of debate, since the idea was first introduced in Sydney during an inter-colonial conference until its implementation almost twenty years later, on whether or not Australia should federate. Prior to 1901 the country was divided into 6 separate, self-governing colonies, each ultimately under Britain's rule and numerous politicians had been pushing for Australia to federate and after being initially rejected during a conference in Melbourne in 1899 it was later given Royal Assent on 9 July, 1900. There were a number of reasons that opposed the idea to federate. Fears of smaller colonies being overpowered, patriotic feelings towards a particular colony, the cost of running a central parliament would be too high, as well as rising hostilities between colonies. However the grounds in favour of the idea for a federal government took precedence, almost all revolving around a very prejudicial concept. Australia had a very strong sense of nationalist pride, the desire to become a unified nation. They wished to evolve from their origin as second class convicts and uphold the British way of life. This is reflected in their motives to federate: to create a unified immigration legislation to restrict the entry of non-Europeans and creating tariff barriers to protect Australian from foreign contest. Furthermore, supporters of federation reasoned that it was part of ones patriotic duty to keep the nation "snowy" white and that it was vital to maintain the purity of their race. "The Mongolian Octopus - His Grip on Australia," a cartoon published by Bulletin Magazine in 1886 was a mode of…

    • 972 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This report will be examining the impact that stereotypical contradictions have on the development of the Australian Identity. In a variety of ways stereotypical contradictions are one of the most significant topics to discuss when talking about the concept of the development of the Australian Identity. The research process of this report focused on newspaper articles written by Australian and non-Australian journalist showing their perspective on Australian identity. Also the works of major Australian pop culture icons such as Steve Irwin, Crocodile Dundee, Men at Work and Priscilla Queen of the Desert have also been analytically focused upon. The findings of the report show that there are definitely stereotypical contradictions prevalent within not only Australia but also the rest of the world who participate. These contradictions are shown to have negative and positive implications on Australia’s development of its identity.…

    • 1603 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before World War 1, Australia did not have its own identity. It had a flag and had the title of Australia but did not have a very good identity if one at all. They were known to only exist because of ‘the grace of England'. Australians were known to be inferior to the British, and lower in class (information found from source 2.44). But, world war one and the whole Gallipoli campaign changed everything.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the beginning of war, young Australia wanted to prove their loyalty and worth to their “mother country” which they mostly still relied on. At the time, other nations had more men in their army then Britain, so Australia was keen to provide them with soldiers. When enlisting soldiers, the government hid their true thoughts and only provided the public with the exaggerated truth. As the war went on and more people died, Australians finally realized the truth of war. Even though their opinions changed, they still provided Britain with needed soldiers. Even when the armistice was signed and the war ended, the impacts was still felt in Australia for years…

    • 735 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Total trade with the UK was over five times greater than the total trade with their second largest trading partner the US. Australia became a federation only 13 years earlier before the war broke out in Europe meaning Australia was still a very young nation to be getting involved in the war. Australia was geographically isolated from all the conflicts going on in many part of Europe. About 60,000 Australian soldiers were killed during World War I, because of the ultimate sacrifice for its powerful friend, Britain. In December 1941, Australia's nightmare became a reality - war with Japan.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Australia in World War I is known to be a divided society, with its people and its government constantly fighting. Many Australians believed that the war wasn’t theirs to fight in; others believed that they should all support its mother country Britain. Half of the government believed conscription was the way, the other half not so much. The onset of war brought in…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Australia grew more divided between the anti-war movement and government supporters. Australia’s anti-war movement was strongly connected to protests against conscription, or ‘National Service’ as it was called. The conscription lasted for 42 years.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fly Away Peter Identity

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Australia is a relatively young country compared to the rest of the world and places such as Europe. Before the First World War Australia struggled to give itself a lasting identity, the war united the Australian people together for the first time as a nation, and created the ‘ANZAC legacy' and the Australian way we know today. The years surrounding World War One helped build our identity, and David Malouf expresses this issue in the novella Fly Away Peter.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Due to involvement in World War 2, 1942-1943 were times of considerable social changes in Australia. With the men all off fighting in the war, women's roles changed to fill the places left by men. Wartime controls as well as the American Forces arriving in Australia and the introduction of the National Security Act by the Menzies Government also had an impact on life in Australian society.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gallipoli Anzac Legend

    • 1041 Words
    • 3 Pages

    World War 1 was important in shaping Australia's identity because it helped establish Australia as our own country, with our own spirit, culture, and beliefs. Although Australia was not required to fight in World War 1 they did so anyway due to their faith in helping the ‘mother country’, Britain. When Australia went to war they saw it as an opportunity to make their mark in the world considering they did not have greatly major history. Gallipoli was essential to the Anzac legend because it was the first real chance to come together as one nation and forge a proper identity. When the Anzac’s arrived at Gallipoli for the first time they expected to learn from the British and follow in their footsteps but soon grew tired of this. They became resistant to orders but gained many attributes in doing so. They were disliked by many other soldiers but that quickly changed when the Anzacs started to do things in a more efficient way revealing many attributes that we define them with today like courage and ingenuity. “Right from the beginning, English officers complained about the…

    • 1041 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great War Effects

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The effect of The Great War on Australian society was one of the most challenging impacts on Australia. During the great war 60,000 men were killed and 156,000 men were wounded, the grief and sorrow felt from the loss of the men during the great war impacted for generations. Not only were our losses one of the greatest conflict in Australian history but The Great War also began the Anzac tradition, which gradually became a part of Australian identity. Given the appalling conditions of the trenches experienced by soldiers it is not surprising they suffered numerous diseases, illnesses and mental torment from the threat of being bodily harmed or wounded. The mental anguish suffered by returning soldiers would have impacted on the men who fought…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    1917 The First World War

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The First World War, known to many as ‘The Great War’ was a war of vast proportions. Its origins were extremely complex, its impact on military operations was revolutionary and its extent of destruction was horrifying. In Australia, around 416,809 men enlisted , of whom more than 61,532 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner . A nation that had been meticulously built over 176 years was torn apart by a single war. But, as horrifying as ‘The Great War’ was, is it possible to select a single year of profound tragedy?…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Gift Man Ray Meaning

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages

    With the end of World War I in 1919 came a cloud of confusion and disorientation that settled over the Western world. The war as a whole was a bitter statement of irony, as it fell short of all preconceived expectations set by Western society. The prediction of just a few months of war extended into five years, and the expectations of glory and fame returned broken by the harsh actuality of war. The expectations created for the war were not consistent with reality; thus, as the war ended, a state of confused anxiety settled in. The long-rooted values and beliefs in culture and intellect that had previously guided the Western world were being questioned and abandoned. This confusion led to revolutionary developments in the arts and in philosophy;…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This photograph has been extracted from an article on the news website: “The Australian”. Taken in January 2011, it shows Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the Gabba Sporting ground in Queensland at their first major sporting event since the floods of December 2010. This Image is intended to promote Julia Gillard’s image as a caring and community minded Australian. The reason this is being promoted is to gain more support for her and her party. Knowing this, it is evident that the intended audience is those citizens who are of voting age (over 18).…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Vatican

    • 2522 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Society has been subject to constant change throughout the years especially post World War 2. An internal issue that Frequently faced the catholic denomination of the Christian church was the ability to keep up with the social political and economic upheavals post World War 2. After world war two there was mass production, society boost in technology, machines took over humn taks and there was great economic properity. The sexual revolution. In the political sector divorce was legalized, new liberation of women there were civil rights, feminist movement.…

    • 2522 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays