Australia is a country of immigrants. The theme of Settlers and Settlers Society explores how the settlement of people and immigrant communities were paramount in establishing Australia as a country, and the Irish played a huge role in this. From the outset when Australia was discovered by white settlers, and Britain began its policy of Transportation of convicts, Irish convicts made up a large proportion of those who arrived.
During the end of the eighteenth century, the British government had an issue of transporting its convicts onto the American colonies due to the outbreak of the American War of Independence. Given the situation, the British government would end up selecting Australia as their new destiny for the convict transportation. That having been said, convicts would encounter the deplorable conditions as well as the treatment they have received. It was important however, to reflect on the number of convicts that were transported and how many convicts were in different states in Australia. Although much has been written about convict transportation to Australia, from the end of the eighteenth century until the mid- nineteenth century, the Irish community as well as other communities have selected Australia as their main destination for creating a new identity, home as well as for seeking fortunes and opportunities.
This experience continued into the early twentieth century and magnified through the life of Michael Patrick Considine, an Irish union militant and politician. Considine was arrested in Australia in 1918, partly because of his association to Sinn Fein. Irish people may have been ideal candidates for immigration in Australia, but at the start of the 1910s and the 1920s they were still being discriminated against. The introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, commonly known as the White Australia policy, discriminated not only against ‘coloured’ people entering Australia, particularly from China, but also against ‘Undesirable’ Irish. Irish who were ‘Sinn Feiners’, or associated with the party began to be thought of amongst officials as ‘disloyal’ to the British Empire. Eric Richards book ‘Destination Australia: migration to Australia since 1901’ discusses the White Australia policy among other immigration acts.
In addition, attention has to be given to a much less written about group – the free settlers. Irish free settlers could be found in all colonies, however, in South Australia, there was a smaller population and were hence considered the minority. As such, it is interesting to analyse the way these Irish free settlers were seen and how they portrayed themselves. Through analysing nine newspaper publications about St. Patrick’s Society, formed by Irish Settlers for new Irish emigrants, the perspective of their role in society and identity is revealed. These nine publications were printed in two newspapers, the Adelaide Observer and the South Australian Gazette and Mining Journal. They were the only known source of information for St. Patrick’s Society. Additionally, the publications spanned from 1849 to 1850, the peak of the Great Famine in Ireland.
A good example of free settlers and their experience is seen through Daniel Mannix, Archbishop of Melbourne, who had a major impact on Irish immigrants in Australia, primarily in Melbourne in the early twentieth century as did his role as a catholic leader, and his representation in the press. The St. Patrick’s Day festivities in 1918 show the extent of Mannix’s influence and how he was revered by Irish Catholics, and perhaps, hated by other factions in society. There is an abundant number of primary sources available, as Mannix is mentioned regularly in newspapers in Australia and in Ireland. Secondary sources used in this essay give context of the time and place Mannix lived in as well as expressing alternative opinions such as that of the Billy Hughes in Carl Bridges ‘William Hughes: Australia’.
Irish Aussies: historical perspectives 