Brill’s Encyclopedia of China

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Australia
(1,138 words)

As a non-threatening, rich and large, but not very populous country, Australia is fairly important for China. But at all times China has been very much more important for Australia than the other way around, because of its size and immense population.­ The fear of China was a dominant theme in Australia's attitude to China from the early period of the relationship until the early 1970s.

Chinese immigration to Australia began in 1848; mostly miners for gold during the gold-rush decade of 1851 to 1861. In 1888 all Australian colonies restricted further Chinese i…

Cite this page
Mackerras, Colin, “Australia”, in: Brill’s Encyclopedia of China, Managing Editor English Edition: Daniel Leese. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1877-0339_bec_SIM_00020>
First published online: 2008
First print edition: ISBN: 9789004168633, 20121018



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