THE EMERGENCE OF OUR REPUBLIC: THE ANTI-TRANSPORTATION LEAGUE OF THE LATE 1840s AS THE FIRST STIRRINGS OF AUSTRALIAN NATIONALISM

Although most people would associate the Eureka rebellion of 1854 with the origins of Australian nationalism, the activities of the Anti-Transportation League during the late 1840s actually represent a more accurate starting point.

As early as 1838, however, a British parliamentary Select Committee had wholeheartedly condemned transportation, stating it had led to NSW becoming a “den of thieves” composed of “the very dregs of society”.

As a result, in November of 1840, the convict transport ship Eden unloaded the last cargo of convicts to NSW. But in 1846, word got around the colonies that Britain was considering re-introducing transportation.

The issue came to a head when angry settlers in Launceston formed the Anti-Transportation League. Soon there were meetings of the league also taking place in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane — making it the first-ever “federal” organisation.

So in October of 1846, the league held its first public protest, leading to the Colonial Secretary, Earl Grey, announcing in 1847 — to jubilation in NSW — that transportation to the colony would be ended.

Not long after this announcement, however, the British started to transport exiles to NSW. These were simply convicted criminals who, unlike the convicts sent previously, had already served their prison sentences. This policy led to massive protests in both Sydney and Melbourne, with the protestors even threatening to arm themselves for a rebellion against the “mother” country, as had already happened in America.

Another feature of the incipient nationalism of the Anti-Transportation League is shown in the flag it adopted, which is virtually identical to the current Australian flag. Furthermore, speakers at its public meetings declared the colonists should become “a free and independent people. Let us have a council of our own, and a Senate of our own.” And amidst the cheers, voices in the crowd even called out, “Yes, and an army of our own.”

The issue continued to dog imperial-colonial relations for the next couple of years until, in 1851, gold was discovered in both NSW and Victoria. Because the ensuing gold-rush gave criminals an incentive to be transported to eastern Australia, the policy quickly came to be seen as self-defeating. So no British politician ever again spoke seriously in support of transporting convicts to the east coast of Australia.

But convicts continued to be sent to Van Diemen’s Land until 1854 and Western Australia until 1868. However, despite Australia’s long-held reputation as having been founded as a penal colony, between 1788 and 1868 only about 164,000 convicts were transported on 806 ships.

AUSTRALIA’S FEDERATION: NOTHING MORE THAN THE STORY OF HOW SIX BRITISH COLONIES BECAME ONE

Almost all Australians believe they achieved their national independence upon Federation in 1901.  But in reality, all that happened then was that six British colonies located in Australia were merged to become a single, albeit enlarged British colony.

These days, even banana republics take their national independence for granted and proudly display their own post-colonial constitutions, parliaments and flags to demonstrate it not just to their citizens but also to the rest of the world. Here in Australia, however, our own numerous but hesitant steps since 1901 towards full independence have left us bereft of even a constitution or flag worthy of the name — yet these are simply the most modest of all post-colonial underwear.

THE ORIGINS OF AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL IDENTITY

Slowly but surely, Australia has been gaining in national identity ever since the name “Australia” was chosen by the noted navigator, Matthew Flinders, to refer to the combined area of New South Wales — the eastern two-thirds of the continent — and New Holland — the western third — after Flinders was the first person to circum-navigate the country in 1803.

But the new name “Australia” gathered popularity only slowly until 1817, when the Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, who happened to like it himself, asked the British Colonial Office to start officially using it. So, much to our benefit, they did.