Changing relationsAustralia, Britain and the USA

The mother country

• Australia was colonised by the British in 1788.

• From here the British has had a huge impact on Australia.

• It was because of the British Europeans started to settle the land and implement government, laws and agriculture.

• The British continued with this up until the 1850s

The mother country• From the 1850s onwards the

British still had massive influence however the colonies in Australia were lead by established Australians.

• This was the trend up until the 1890’s when many Australians including colony leaders wanted to become a recognised nation

• In 1901 Australia became a nation

The mother country• However this particular

declaration of independence was only to become a recognised nation in the commonwealth.

• Australia and Britain still remained close allies.

• Between 1899 and 1902 16,000 Australians volunteered to fight with British soldiers in the Boer war.

• The Australian involvement was to show that Australia still had commitment to the mother country

The mother country

• Australian and British relations revolved around a military basis.

• Once the Australian government became independent of the British Australia became extremely close allies.

• The next time Australia was called upon for support was the first world war in 1914.

The mother country• During the first world war we

became directly involved because of British involvement in the war.

• The allies proved to strong and defeated the Germany forces in 1918.

• Between the wars Australia’s relations with the British stayed strong.

• From federation until the second world war economic and trade links were particularly strong between the two countries

The mother country• Again in 1939 when Germany

violated the treaty of Versailles, the allies had no other choice than to declare war upon Germany again.

• On the 3rd of September Robert Menzies declared it was our melancholy duty to aid Britain and stop German aggression

• This war would be unlike any other war in Australian history

The change• In August 1941 the empire of

Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and this effectively brought America into the war.

• After this the Japanese went on a mission to take control of the pacific.

• When John Curtin became prime minister in 1941 he was faced with an immanent threat of invasion.

• Singapore had just fallen to the Japanese and Australia had become faced with a major problem.

The change• Following the fall of Singapore

the Japanese directly attacked Australia in the bombing of Darwin and the midget submarine attack in Sydney.

• Along with this America had begun using Australia as a base to wage war in the pacific against the Japanese.

• It was clear that support of the war in the pacific was needed to protect our national security.

The change• In 1941 John Curtin made a

speech to the Australian public.• This speech was the turning

point for Australia during the war and also changed the future direction of the Australian economy and trade links.

• From here Australian troops were withdrawn from the middle east and North Africa to come and protect the Australian boarders.

• This meant the war in the pacific.

The change

• Britain was outraged, they wanted troops to stay and help the British cause.

• However it was of utmost importance to win the war in the pacific.

• This meant that supporting the United States.

The change

• The view that Australia was trying to sever any relations with the British is incorrect.

• It was a yearning for Australia to make its own decisions and to develop independence.

• It also allowed Australia to protect its own national security.

The change• There were also a number of

reasons why the public supported the change.

• Many Australians had developed a cynicism towards Britain.– Botched landing in Gallipoli– Poor leadership on the western

front– Bodyline ashes series

• There was a difference in imperial thinking and Australian interests

Activity

• Research the Westminster act 1942 and the Australian act 1986

• Research Australian-Us relations post WW2 until the present

• Research any alliances the two countries have, look at when it was formed, what the alliance is and how Australia has been effected by this alliance.– Military– Political– Economic