Australian history - Populate or Perish

On the forming of the Federation of Australia, on 1 January 1901, one of the first priorities of the new Federal Government was to increase Australia's population. One way was to encourage an increase in the birth rate, which had been falling. A second way was to encourage immigration, not only from Great Britain, but also from other European countries. The main requirement was that immigrants be white skinned. Although this policy became known as the White …

…people started to accept the migrants, turning towards multiculturalism instead of integration. Migrants have made Australia today a blend of cultures. Four of every ten residents of Australia were born overseas or have at least one overseas born parent. More than half of the twenty-one per cent of our population who were born overseas are from non-English speaking countries. While English is the language of everyday use, more than 300 languages are spoken in Australia today.