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White Australian Policy
1901 Immigration Restriction Act was aimed at excluding non-white, and did so by requiring migrants to pass a dictation test which could be set in any language chosen by a custom officer. -
Populate or Perish
In 1946s Australia needed to increase it's population in order to defend the country, the concept of "populate or perish". Skill shortages were also a key issue during this peried of immigration, and attracting skilled workers was an important immigration goal. -
The changing face of modern Australia
After the Second World War the Australian government committed to a sustained immigration program. The purpose of this ambitious program was to meet labour shortages, protect Australia from external threat and create prosperity. As a result, from 1945 to 1975 Australia's population almost doubled from 7½ million to 13 million. About 3 million migrants and refugees arrived. -
Australia opened it's arms to non-Europeans
Australian immigration policy became more open to non-European migration from around the mid 1960s onwards, but non-European migrants did not really start to arrive in large numbers until the early 1970s. -
White Australian policy was gone
In 1949 immigration Minister Harold Holt allowed 800 non-European refugees to remain in Australia and Japanese war brides to enter Australia.In 1970 the White Australian policy demolished.