Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

A Continent Divided

The Four Nations of Terra Australis

By David Atwell

Introduction

Although the Australian Association may give some hint that the continent of Australia is actually one country, in truth it is anything but a single nation. In fact it is safe to say that it is as divided today as over a century ago, when the various Crown colonies at the time decided to go their own separate ways. Only in 1900 did it appear, with the establishment of the Association, that somewhere in the near future the Australian continent could soon become one country.

This seemed to be even more so the case when World War I came began. Taking the advice from Britain, the Australian nations united their various armed forces, along with those of New Zealand, under the organisation known as the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). The history of ANZAC is well known & did much to bring the continent together, but once the Great War was over, each nation then went their own separate way. The same would be repeated during & after World War II.

There is no particular overall reason why the Australian nations have never combined to form one country. Rather there are various reasons based upon each region’s characteristics & the ethos of each nation. For Victoria & Tasmania it basically came down to having a “Protectionist” economy, whilst New South Wales & Queensland had “Free Trade” economies. Furthermore, New South Wales & Queensland feared an Asian invasion from the north, which Victoria & Tasmania thought ludicrous & refused to join a union which wasted money on paranoia.

South Australia (Süd Australien) had very different reasons for staying independent. Having a large German population (about 50%), albeit with a large British populous, most South Australians felt that their uniqueness would be lost to the much larger colonies with solely British populations. This uniqueness can be clearly seen when South Australia adopted a bilingual society which recognised its Anglo-German society. When serious unification talks took place in 1920 between Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland & South Australia, the former four refused South Australia’s demand that the new nation become bilingual based on the South Australian model. Needless to say, the 1920 effort to form an Australian Union fell apart.

For Western Australia (Austrália Ocidental), rejecting unification in 1900 was basically for practical reasons. Being physically isolated from the rest of Australia, the West relied more on international contacts via the trade routes of the Indian Ocean than with the rest of the continent. Thus having very little in common with the East, they could expect little or no help if the West came under external threat. Although they were similar to invasion paranoia to both Queensland & New South Wales, they believed that they would have to rely on themselves rather than others. Even though this belief is totally unfounded these days, the same attitude of self reliance, nevertheless, influences all Western Australian attitudes.

(Click for larger image)

The Commonwealth of Eastern Australia

The nation which dominates the Australian continent is also its oldest one. Consisting of New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory & Norfolk Island, it can be said that the Commonwealth of Eastern Australia is directly linked back to the First Fleet of 1788. Both Sydney & Norfolk Island were both established that year. Queensland was part of New South Wales until it was separated to form its own colony in 1859.The nation’s capital of Armadale, however, is a relatively new town compared to others such as Sydney, Brisbane & Newcastle. It is also these three latter cities where the bulk of the population lives.

Eastern Australia is also the most powerful of the Australian nations in the economic & military sense. Having the largest economy, this is accomplished by having the largest rural sector, the largest natural resource sector & the largest industrial sector. No other country comes close to Eastern Australia, which also has the largest population out of the four nations with 14 million calling East Australia home. It is thanks to this population base that it thus enjoys a large & strong economy. In fact the combined populations & economies of the other three Australian nations merely equals that of Eastern Australia.

Being the most powerful nation has both its benefits & negatives. On the benefits side, whatever Eastern Australia does, it inevitably effects what happens on the rest of the continent. It also means that the East is the leader when it comes to issues, not only in Australia, but also within the region. In this regards it has cooperated & coordinated with the other nations, the most notable of whom is Western Australia. On the down side, however, Eastern Australia is often viewed with suspicion by the other nations, albeit for different reasons.

On cultural aspects, let alone economic ones, differences between Eastern & South Australia have often seen relations sour between the two countries. Although it has never come to war, South Australia has often seen the power of Eastern Australia threatening. In regards to Victoria & Tasmania, differences over trade policies have also seen the occasional rift occur in relations between these two countries. Eastern Australia has a “free-trade” attitude whilst the southern republic has protectionist policies.

To further these suspicions of the intentions of Eastern Australia, it has by far the largest military of the four Australian nations. Although it is mostly based to the north of the country, its army of three mechanised divisions, a modest air force of 100 F/A 18s & 30 F-111 aircraft & an impressive navy which includes an Invincible class aircraft carrier along with several destroyers & frigates, far out does any other nation in the region. Then there is a small nuclear weapons arsenal which is often criticised by all of Eastern Australia’s neighbours.

Backing this military power up, is, as stated, the strongest economy & industry on the continent. This covers just about everything, from the rural sector, including the wine industry of the Hunter Valley, to two nuclear reactors, a research reactor in Sydney & a power reactor not far from Darwin. Eastern Australia also has an enormous mining industry which covers coal (by far the largest sector bar none in the southern hemisphere), bauxite, silver, iron ore & uranium to name but a few. Oil & gas, however, has to be imported from elsewhere, most notably from West & South Australia.

The Victorian & Tasmanian Republic

Like Eastern Australia, the Victorian & Tasmanian Republic can claim a history back to 1788, when, not long after Sydney was established, a small British fleet established a penal colony near Hobart in Tasmania. Victoria, on the other hand, did not receive any settlers until 1803, making it the fifth colony of the Australian continent. Unlike all previous colonies, though, Victoria was a “free” colony. In other words, it never received any convicts.

The Republic, as it is commonly referred to, was a forced marriage made in 1948. When South Australia decided to become independent, so too did Victoria. But any unification with South Australia was soon dropped when Victoria would be forced to become bilingual like their neighbour. Tasmania, at the same time, feared being left out & thoroughly isolated from the continent. In many respects it was logical thus for Tasmania to unify with someone, but at first it did not want to become independent from the British Crown. Nonetheless, after several promisees & assurances, Tasmania joined up with Victoria.

Since then, few of the promises which the Victorians made in 1948 have eventuated. But then again, massive development in Tasmania was never going to happen. As it is, Tasmania has kept to its rural industries & has done very well as a result. These industries have further enjoyed the “protectionist” policies of the Republic & the large Victorian market has kept Tasmanian farmers in profits for years. On the Victorian side, its industries have always struggled to perform to the same standards as Eastern Australia even with the protection of tariffs.

Victoria’s only strong industry, being oil & gas, has always done well, but Eastern Australia refuses to import this product because of the refusal of the Republic to drop its trade protection. Nonetheless, the 6 million citizens of Victoria & Tasmania enjoy cheap gas & oil products whilst their neighbours in Eastern Australia do not.

Military wise, the Republic has virtually none to speak of. Unlike Eastern Australia, the Republic has a small cadre force that is kept at peak efficiency, but in truth could do little in the way of warfare. Rather it is seen as a force which will train & lead a much larger citizen raised force should war commence. This same policy was successful in the First & Second World Wars & is seen as the ideal way for the Republic to conduct such military affairs in the future. The Republic is also nuclear free. It has no nuclear industry or weapons.

Republik Süd Australien - The Republic of South Australia

The Republic of South Australia was established as a single “free” colony in 1834. Originally its main purpose was to act as a deliberate social experiment with the support from the likes of J. S. Mill, Charles Buller & Sir Williams Molesworth to name but a few. Only free settlers of a certain type were to be admitted into the colony. Many were either well educated or skilled in some form of art or trade. As there were not many of this type willing to immigrate from Britain or Ireland to an unknown land, the British Crown turned to their old holdings in Germany. In Hanover & other German states, many people were willing to immigrate due to the recent & unwanted political developments in Germany at the time. The result was that by 1900, about half of the population of South Australia was German. This is still the case with the current population of 3 million.

South Australia today is clearly the most different of all the Australian nations. Speaking German first before English, the country is officially bilingual. Having said that, a strong German influence is self evident in all things South Australian, from town names to its strong industrial base. In the case of the economy, South Australia is akin to a scaled down Eastern Australia, in that it has a strong mining industry, not to mention a strong manufacturing sector. Unlike Eastern Australia, however, its rural sector, although important, is not as dominant as in the East. Its wine industry, though, is a close second behind the Hunter Valley of Eastern Australia.

Nonetheless, industries such as car manufacturing, enjoy a healthy export status as cars made in South Australia are considered to be of the highest quality. Thus both BMW, VW & Mitsubishi have large factories based around Adelaide the nation’s capital city. Other manufacturers have also established themselves in South Australia including international corporations like IBM & Microsoft. Furthermore, South Australia has a significant nuclear industry which includes all aspects of this sector. Thus uranium mining & enrichment plants provide fuel for both export & local use. The large nuclear reactor at Woomera provides power for half of the country.

A fascinating component to South Australia is its history. Due to the fact that it was a British dependant, until its independence in 1948, this German orientated & speaking colony went to war nonetheless against Germany in both the First & Second World Wars. In doing so, South Australians soon found themselves fighting fellow Germans in the two conflicts. The British generals at first did not know what to do with the South Australian forces, but they soon showed they were as loyal to the British Throne as any other territory in the Empire. As their loyalty became obvious, South Australians were soon sought for by the British intelligence agencies during both wars. As such, there were more South Australians serving in the British Secret Service in 1945 than any other nationality. Today, South Australia maintains a small military cadre akin to their neighbours in Victoria & Tasmania. It has no nuclear weapons, although the acquisition of them is occasionally debated in parliament from time to time.

O Domínio de Austrália Ocidental - The Domain of Western Australia

The fourth nation of the Australian continent began life as another convict settlement in 1789 albeit as a Portuguese one. It did not, however, remain Portuguese for long, as Britain decided to occupy Austrália Ocidental in 1810 in response to Portugal being in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars. Not knowing what fate was in store for Portugal, Britain decided it was important to secure the Australian continent from any threat. Thus the possibility arose that a hostile Western Australia could threaten the British colonies along the east coast of Australia, even though they were some distance away.

Another reason for the British takeover of the settlement was to act as a counter to any direct French moves in the region. It could also act as base for the Royal Navy. Thus from its humble origins, Western Australia has always had a militaristic & somewhat paranoid ethos. Isolation too has always influenced its political attitudes towards others, regardless whether they be foreigners of far off lands or their local Australian neighbours. Although no wars have ever been fought between the four Australian nations, nonetheless Western Australia has always entertained its own individual destiny often in opposition to the other nations which share the same continent.

Apart from its first twenty years as a Portuguese colony, Western Australia has been British ever since. The fact is, unlike Victoria, Tasmania & Süd Australien, Western Australia has remained, like Eastern Australia, loyal to the Throne of Britain. Like South Australia, however, Western Australia decided to re-embrace its historical past & become more “Portuguese” in nature. This has been done with a lot of government gusto, even though the fact remains that only 20% of the population has any Portuguese background. Nonetheless, in 1970, Western Australia became officially bilingual with both English & Portuguese. Unlike South Australia, however, most people only speak English. Hardly anyone knows Portuguese let alone speaks it.

The most important industry in Western Australia is mining. Having some of the world’s largest iron ore reserves, vast areas of the countryside is mined for iron. In a similar fashion, gold mining is another important industry & Western Australia has the largest gold mines on the continent. To the north, Australia’s largest offshore gas & oil platforms provide another important industry for the country. Petroleum exports to China are worth well over $2 billion every year.

Although Western Australia is very wealthy, the country has not been without its problems. With a population of only 3 million, the country is limited in its expansion plans. There have also been the constant problem of international tension over the years with Indonesia. Although there has never been any war, Western Australia has had to keep an active military on the ready just in case. But with such a small population, Western Australia has always had to rely on cooperation with the military of Eastern Australia since 1945. Having said that, Western Australia has a mechanised force of 15 000 troops, 26 F/A-18 fighters, four frigates & several patrol boats acting as its military. It has no nuclear industry or arsenal.

Even though Western Australia has always maintained its independence, the country has nevertheless had to coordinate its military & foreign policy with the much more powerful Eastern Australia. In this respect it has become dependant over the years on its eastern ally & has had to take a second chair on such matters. Having said that, Eastern Australia, when dealing with the politics of South East Asia, has always ensured that the concerns of Western Australia have never been ignored.

Concluding Remarks

The future for the Australian continent is, as always, uncertain. In 2000 discussions on unification were once again in vouge across the continent, but, even with the demands of South Australia for any unified country to be bilingual dropped, a referendum held in all four nations resulted in a no vote. Only in Eastern Australia was the result close to a yes. Elsewhere, in the three other nations, there was a firm no vote with South Australians most vehemently rejecting the idea of unification.

As such, it seems highly unlikely that the dream of a united Australia will ever eventuate, this is besides that fact that several unified bodies exist which coordinate various activities between the four nations. But as each country continues to develop its own uniqueness, even more so since Western Australia has become bilingual following a path similar to South Australia, it will be clear that the differences between the nations will only increase thus ensuring unification to be impossible. This, however, may change as recent unification talks between Eastern Australia & the Republic appear promising.

Bibliography

Alomes, S. A Nation At Last, North Ryde, 1988

Browning, H. O. 1975 Crisis, Sydney, 1985

Clarke, M. A Short History of Australia, Ringwood, 1995

Deakin, A. The Federal Story, Melbourne, 1963

Emy, H. V. & Hughes, O. E. Australian Politics: Realities In Conflict, South Melbourne, 198

Hanks, P. J. Australian Constitutional Law, Sydney, 1980

Horne, D. The Lucky Country, Ringwood, 1964

McQueen, H, A New Britannia, Ringwood, 1970

Molony, J. History of Australia, Ringwood, 1987

Smith, R. & Watson, L. Politics in Australia, Sydney, 1989

Ward, R. A Nation for a Continent, Richmond, 1977

White, R. Inventing Australia, Sydney, 1985

FeedBack Form

Hit Counter