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“THESE races are, in comparison with the white race – I think no one wants convincing of this fact – unequal and inferior.”
In 2017, you might find a quote like this on a neo-Nazi website like Stormfront. Or on any number of Facebook pages that litter the social media platform.
But the speaker goes on:
“The doctrine of the equality of men was never intended to apply to the equality of the Englishman and the Chinaman. There is a deep-set difference, and we see no prospect of it ever being effaced.”
These words were spoken by Sir Edmund Barton, Australia’s first prime minister.
What facts did he base these views upon? No one knows, except for opportunistically seizing on the rampant Australian nationalism – and anti-Chinese sentiment – of the time.
Looking around today, it’s impossible to imagine Australia without the contribution of the Chinese – or any other group that came to call our country home. History does not look kindly upon the regressive words spoken by Barton.
For non-whites, the federation period was a time of struggle.
In Bendigo, Chinese and Aboriginal people had to carry expensive protectorate tickets which restricted their movement and work. Discriminatory policies were commonplace.
One Bendigo mayor rode these coattails to power in the 1860s, with a view of running the Chinese out of town.
Another prominent local politician, Sir John Quick, was an architect of the White Australia Policy. Discriminatory opportunism was clear among Australia’s leaders.
It all sounds eerily familiar in 2017.
Stoking fear and anxiety of an imagined enemy continues to propel politicians to power. A common enemy has been used to justify a whole manner of unjust wars, from Vietnam to Iraq.
There was the yellow peril, communism, and now Islam, among others.
But just like before, for every politician that seeks to create divisions in the community, there are those that speak truth to power and are on the side of compassion.
In 19th century Bendigo, many did all they could to welcome the Chinese and fight back against regressive policies.
They were likely ridiculed and intimidated by some, but history has proven their cause to be just.