The White Australia Policy is a term that includes a set of historical racial policies aimed at preventing people of non-European ethnicity, particularly Asians and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, beginning in 1901. Later Australian governments gradually abolished these policies between 1949 and 1973.
how long did it take to abolish the white australia policy?
The competition in the gold fields between European and Asian (particularly Chinese) miners, and union opposition to bringing Pacific Islanders (particularly the South Sea Islands) to the sugar plantations of Queensland, reinforced demands to abolish low-wage immigration from Asia and the Pacific Islands or reduce them. Since the 1850s, colonial governments have imposed restrictions on family members joining Chinese miners based in Australia. The colonial authorities imposed a special tax on Chinese immigrants, excluding other immigrants. Towards the end of the 19th century, labor unions lobbied to stop Chinese immigrants working in the market garden and furniture sectors.