The essential elements of Australian history

Associate Professor of History and Politics GREG MELLEUISH was invited to submit a paper to the National History Summit in August. This is an edited summary of Professor Melleuish’s 17-page document which can be read in full on the Department of Education, Science and Training website www.dest.gov.au

There should be three elements in any attempt to convey what may be termed the essentials of Australian history.

First, there should be a knowledge of the significant public events and developments that have taken place in Australia or that concern Australians. Second, there should be a basic knowledge of the global environment in which the development of Australia has taken place. Third, there should be some appreciation of what may be termed the texture of the life, the everyday experience, of people living in Australia 50 or 100 or 200 years ago.

There are episodes of great drama in the history of Australia that can excite the imagination even if they did not result in wars and revolution.

I suggest that Australian history be taught over two years: Year 9 dealing with the 19th century and Year 10 with the 20th century.

The beginning of the European presence: 1788

A considerable time would need to be spent here exploring the various elements that went into the making of Australian culture. A good starting point would be the battle among the forces of the Enlightenment, Protestantism and Catholicism with the essential addition of Indigenous Australia.

Pre-contact indigenous society would be examined, with a focus on how Aborigines adapted to the Australian environment, their material culture, their spiritual life and customs.

Emphasis would be placed on development of science. The voyages of James Cook would be placed in the context of the scientific spirit of the Enlightenment.

The First Fleet and the English context for its sending would need to be examined.
Cultural contact between the early settlement and the indigenous inhabitants would be a central topic for the narrative of the First Fleet and the ensuing settlement.

Australia as a penal colony

As with any period of Australian history, there are multiple stories going on during the early years of European occupation. The main ones, I believe, are:

• The story of the penal colony, its highly unusual nature, and the emergence of a free society composed of emancipists, free settlers and the children of convicts.

• The struggle for free and representative institutions and normality as the colony moved towards becoming a free society.

• The economic development of Australia as the wool industry developed and Australia was linked into the economic expansion of Britain and Europe.

• The exploration and the scientific conquest of Australia.

• The effect of settlers on indigenous Australia and the story of the human tragedy of indigenous Australians as they faced new diseases, competition for resources and the loss of land.

Australia as a free society:

This would begin with a snapshot of the world in 1851, including the growing dominance of the West.

The development of free settlement would include the stories of the foundation of South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria … and … the decolonisation of the settler colonies and development of free institutions, responsible government and democracy.

The story of economic development as expressed in the development of rural industry and of the mining industry, especially goldmining, would be told.

Colonial democracy and its relationship to economic progress would be the next story. Students should consider what colonial governments did to aid development, through such things as building railways.  The meaning of democracy in colonial Australia would need to be explored along with the evolution of commercial and voluntary institutions, from building societies to trade unions, and the consequences of democracy for both indigenous Australians and the Chinese.

Federated Australia:

The snapshot would be of the world in 1901. This was the highpoint for the European empires and European domination of the world but Britain was facing powerful competitors such as Germany.

The context for Federation would include the 1890s depression and the growth of nationalist sentiment. This would provide the opportunity to look at late 19th-century art and literature in Australia and the idea that the 1890s was a decade of cultural vitality.

Students would examine some of the basic features of our system of government including the fusion of the Westminster system with the US practice of federalism.

Other areas to be covered would include the development of the Labor Party and the two party system and the consequences of Federation for indigenous Australians and other minorities.

Australian democracy in an age of international insecurity:

The snapshot would be the world in 1941. The focus would be on the struggle between the totalitarian regimes of Nazi Germany and communist Russia, Japanese expansionism in Asia, how the US came to enter World War II and the fragility of democracy in Europe. It would look at how World War I destabilised the world.

Australia's role in World War I and, in particular, at Gallipoli would be examined, as would the effect of the war on the home front with particular emphasis on the conscription debate. The consequences of World War I for Australia would be the next topic.

The Great Depression: how and why it affected Australia … would be followed by the story of how Australian democracy responded to the challenge. One focus would be the development of Australian culture, including the contributions to international science and learning of people like Howard Florey and Macfarlane Burnet … and popular culture from the comedian Mo to cricket and Don Bradman.

The effect of World War II would include the involvement of Australia in the war against Germany and Italy, the fall of Singapore and its consequences, and the Kokoda Track.

The everyday life section could look at what life was like during the wars. This could focus on the role and place of women.

Australia since World War II:

The snapshot would be the world in 1990. This would involve a discussion of the collapse of extremism and the apparent triumph of democracy. Other areas to be covered would be the decolonisation of the European empires, the rise of Japan and East Asia and the end of the tyranny of distance.

The first story would focus on the quest for stability in post-war Australia, then on the way in which this quest helped open the door for reform.

This would come in two instalments - the “Light on the Hill" of the Labor Party and the story of the Menzies years building on Robert Menzies' idea of the “forgotten people”.

There is a common emphasis on nation building and economic development. Things to be considered would include the encouragement of migrants, the establishment of secondary industry including the Holden story and the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

Economic developments to be considered would include advances in primary industry, the increase in home ownership, the growth of mining and the establishment of economic ties with Asia and the decline of links with Europe.

The quest for security would focus on Indonesia and Australia, the Korean War, Malaya, confrontation and the Vietnam War as well as relationships with Britain and the US.

Students would then be able to look at the consequences of the change unleashed by the quest for stability. These would include the growth of suburban affluence, the expansion of the educated and professional middle class, the emancipation of women and their increased presence in the work force and the growing ethnic diversity of Australia.

Out of this change would come the story of reforming Australia, from Holt to Hawke:  the end of the White Australia Policy, the 1967 referendum on indigenous Australians and the economic reforms of the 1980s. The story of Australia's place in the world could also be continued with an emphasis on Australia's relationships with Indonesia and China.  The everyday life section would focus on the migrant experience.