Resisting Asianisation

Rarely in the history of the modern

BLAINEY OUT, world has a nation given such
preference to a tiny ethnic minority of
ASIANS IN. its population as the Australian
government has done in the past few
years.1
Geoffrey Blainey and the Great Thus declared Geoffrey Blainey,
Immigration Debate distinguished historian of Melbourne
University, on St. Patricks Day, 1984. The
remark was part of speech given in a
disused cinema to the Rotary Club of
Warrnambool. It was an unlikely place for
Australias most famous debate on
immigration to begin. In a speech that
seem to draw much of its inspiration from
Enoch Powells infamous Rives of Blood
speech, Blainey warned about the pace of
Asian immigration, and what came to be
called the Asianisation of Australia. His
comments ignited ferocious and enduring
debates on immigration and
multiculturalism which would echo
throughout the history of multicultural
Australia. But the accuracy, and perhaps
more importantly, the impact of what he
said, has yet to be fully determined.
Blainey was one of the first popular voices
to resist Australias transition from
assimilationist immigration policy to
multiculturalism. His main concern was the
pace of Asian immigration in the wake of
the Vietnam War. By the end of 1977, two
years after the fall of Saigon, the Fraser
government accepted roughly 5000 Indo-
Chinese refugees.2 Two years later, another
14,500 Asian immigrants had arrived as
Australia sought to fulfil what it saw as its
humanitarian obligation. Blainey felt the
need to warn against the dangers of this
rapid intake of Asian immigrants. The core
of his argument was simple: if the volume

Page | 1
VIETNAMESE REFUGEES ARRIVE IN DARWIN, 1977.
of Asian immigration is permitted to rise too
high, then the tolerance of many Australians
would be tested, and the need to compete
with the immigrants for jobs, in conjunction
with their impact on urban environments,
would lead to increased racial tension, and
the mistreatment of Asian immigrants.
At first, Blaineys arguments seemed to be
grounded in sympathy for both European
Australians and the Asian immigrants. There
was, for instance, the concern that the new
migrants, if unwanted, [would] remain
second-rate citizens with an inadequate share
of freedom and opportunities.3 Blainey was
at pains to stress that he did not have an issue
with incoming migrants; in fact, he welcomed
them.4 But, given the high rates of
unemployment present at the time, he also
understood the fears that many had about
the new arrivals being yet more competition
for jobs. Instead of dismissing these fears as
lacking evidence, he argued that they should
be respected as a principle of democracy.
Though Blainey initially claimed to be arguing
on behalf of others, he also appears to have
been protecting his own interests. Fellow
Historian John Lack has suggested that it was
really Blaineys nostalgia for a past Australia
that motivated his position against Asian
immigration.5 This is most clear in All for
Australia, a polemic written by Blainey in late
1984 in which he expanded on the concerns
he had so far only voiced informally. He
predicted that Australia would become
disconnected from its British heritage if
immigration was not restricted.
Page | 2

As an historian of Australias colonial years,
Blainey was proud of Australias British
beginnings; he, more than most, agreed with
Sir Henry Parkes when he said, in 1890, that
the crimson thread of kinship runs through
us all.6 This crimson thread was British
blood. Blaineys vision of social unity could
not be achieved with immigrants who did not
share this genetic binding agent. Blainey
refused to accept Australias
geographic fate to become an Asian
nation. The crimson thread was too
vital to national unity, and the cult of
immigrationthe wooing of Asia and
the shunning of Britain were cutting
this thread.7
Whether Blaineys arguments were
valid will not be explored here; though
it might be said that we are not yet
able to declare him entirely right or
wrong.
Free Speech [Exit Stage Left]
On 19 May 1984, 24 members of the history
department at Melbourne University, of
which Blainey was then the dean, signed a
letter dissociating themselves from the views
he had expressed. The letter said that, while
they did not wish to inhibit important debate
around immigration, they felt that framing
debate in such racial terms can become a
potent weapon to rouse public fears and
prejudices and to direct hostility at certain
groups in our society.8 This move was highly
unusual, and one that might have been a
deliberate attempt to make Blainey feel
uncomfortable.9 Other academics joined in to
denounce Blainey. Manning Clark called his
language use a retrograde step; W. D.
Borrie labelled his comments utter rubbish.
While few went so far as to call him racist
after all, they had great respect for him as an
historianmany felt that his statements
lacked the quality of his historical writing. Dr
Lloyd Robinson, for instance, felt that a
coherent and scientific basis for the
statements appears to be lacking. Robert
Manne argued that, while Blaineys intention
may have been to defend the values of an old
Australia and prevent racial tension, he had in
Page | 3
fact done considerable damage to Nowhere, I suggest, have the fangs of the
Vietnamese communities.10 The criticisms left so visibly been on display as they were
received from his colleagues should not be in a campaign based on character
underestimated: in 1998, Blainey resigned assassination and intellectual dishonestly
from Melbourne University. through their efforts to trash the name and
reputation of that great Australian historian
His colleagues words may have stung the Geoffrey Blainey.16
most, but they did not account for the worst
Howard was not the only one to feel that the
of the reaction against Blainey. Student
response to Blainey by many of the Left was
journal Tharunka of the University of New
unfair and undemocratic. An article in the
South Wales exemplified this extreme. This is
Canberra Times called the reaction
how it started in Nazi Germany began one
disturbing and disappointing, and lamented
article, quoting Barry Cohen, then a member
the shouts of protestors to Get Blainey
of parliament.11 Another article described his
hung!17 It is clear most observers felt that
comments as an infectious outbreak of
the affair had gotten out of hand.
verbal diarrhoea, and another called him a
fascist.12 Along similar lines, J Barret, in a
letter to the Editor, suggested that Blainey
might be happier if he moved to South Africa
where there was apartheid.13 The reaction on
the Left was not constrained to angry articles.
On several occasions, protestors disrupted
Blaineys lectures and harassed him. On 19
June 1984, one such incident involved 30
demonstrators shouting Blainey out, Asians
in.14 A fight eventually broke out in the back
of the hall, and 30 police were required to put
an end to the conflict. Demonstrations were
such that Blainey had to cancel all his lectures
for the remainder of 1984, and did not lecture
again in the department of history for another
three years.15 More seriously, threats were
made towards Blainey and his family. And, in
one severe incident, a bomb was planted on
the lawn of another Blainey, mistaken for the
historian.
This sort of treatment, clear to most as
BLAINEY REQUIRING A POLICE ESCORT IN 1984
counter-productive, elicited another
response, this time in defence of Blainey. There were those, of course, that agreed with
Even those who disagreed with Blaineys Blainey, whether because they felt his
comments felt that he had a right to make arguments had weight, or because they were
them. In 2006, John Howard reflected on the thoroughly racist and saw any anti-
Blainey affair: immigration stance as a positive thing. John

Page | 4
Bennet, in a letter to an Editor, argued that
Blainey had made important points about the
lack of popular support for immigration, and
contended that he, and those who support
him, are not racist because most people
objecting to the Asianisation of Australia are
not claiming that Asians are inferior but
merely that racial groups prefer their own
kind.18 Many others joined him in such
sentiments.
Blainey had evidently struck a nerve. Australia
was alive with debate.
Historian as Historical Actor
We all interpret the present using judgements
made about the past. That is human nature.
The basis for Blaineys diagnoses of Asian
immigration was no different. As an
historiana master of the pastit likely he
felt more equipped than most to comment on
the dangers of the immigration policies at the
time. The trouble was that by entering into a
discussion of policy, Blainey was leaving his
role as historian and more than ever assuming
the role of historical actor. In all of Blaineys
work, he had been the collector, the
interpreter, and documenter of the past, but
he had never been part of the story. Now his
THE FACEBOOK BANNER OF PAULINE HANSON'S ONE NATION PARTY.
diagnosis had to include the influence of the
diagnosis itself. This was no longer historical
analysis; it was prophecy. But Blainey could
not have seen how his arguments would have
influenced the shape of multicultural
Australia. The effects of his comments have
been many and various, and we still feel them
today.
One of the most notable results of Blaineys
anti-immigration arguments has been to
rouse the real racists who, unlike Blainey,
hold genuinely prejudicial and discriminatory
attitudes.19 The extent to which this has
occurred is impossible to calculate, but it is
clear that those who held inflammatory views
on race were provided some legitimacy by
having such a well-known historian appearing
to take their side.
The more demonstrable impact was Blaineys
influence on later political campaigns,
particularly John Howards One Australia
position of 1988. Howard insisted that while
he respected the many cultures that made up
Australia, national unity requires from all of
us a loyalty to Australia at all timeswhich
transcends loyalty to any other sets of
values.20 The emphasis was again on social
cohesion, and centred on fears that diversity,
if not managed, would lead to division and
Page | 5
conflict. The movement was not very popular
even among those in his own party, and
Howard soon found himself removed as party
leader. But the ideas simmered. In 1996,
Howard was elected as Prime Minister partly
because of his tough stance on immigration.
In addition to Howard, the idea that
homogeneity is necessary for social cohesion
is best represented in the increasing
popularity of Pauline Hanson and her One
Nation party. But now, instead of the
Vietnamese, it is Muslims who present a
danger to Australia.
There are two more notable effects of
Blaineys comments, both on the Left. Firstly,
it has been argued that Blaineys speech
encouraged many to take an interest in
defending the Vietnamese who would have
otherwise been ignored. Robert Manne
argues that it was guilt over our involvement
in the Vietnam War that motivated our
humanitarian attitudes towards the plight of
the refugees.21 Blaineys unapologetic
position help increase this feeling of guilt.
The Blainey affair also changed the way
academics would write about
multiculturalism.22 To address the detractors
of ethnic immigration, Academics have felt
the need to stress the success of
multiculturalism in Australia. Any possible
critique of multiculturalism has been deftly
avoided so that no ammunition is provided to
racists. The result has been the development
of an implicit ideology that multiculturalism
was the only moral and rational alternative to
flawed assimilationism in the annals of
multicultural history.23
One thing is certain, Blaineys speech in
Warrnambool stands as a turning point in
Australias history of multiculturalism. Ever
since, multiculturalism has had to justify its
existence. Whether it will succeed in this will
be a matter for future historians to decide.
Bibliography
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1 12
Geoffrey Blainey cited in Tim Soutphommasane, The
Asianisation of Australia?, Australian Human Rights
Commission [website], (2014) <
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/asia
nisation-australia>, accessed 7 Oct. 2017.
2
David Hollinsworth, Race and Racism in Australia (2nd
edn., Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Press, 1998), 239.
3
Geoffrey Blainey, Australias Untouchable Ideas on
Immigration, Canberra Times, 10 May 1984, 2, in Trove
[online database], accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
4 15
Keith Windschuttle, Stuart Macintyre and the Blainey
Affair, Quadrant, 52/10 (2008), 32.
5 16
John Lack, John Lack About the ControversyAsian
Immigration, [video], (Making Multicultural
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6
Henry Parkes, The Crimson Thread Speech,
Foundation 1901 [website], (1890)
<http://foundation1901.org.au/the-crimson-thread-
speech/>, accessed 2 Oct. 2017.
7 20
Robert Manne, The Blainey affair: All for Australia?,
Quadrant, 29/3, (1985), 20.
8 21
Keith Windschuttle, Stuart Macintyre and the Blainey
Affair, Quadrant, 52/10 (2008), 31.
9 22
Ibid. 34.
10
Robert Manne, The Blainey affair: All for Australia?,
20.
11
Terence Chan, This is How it Started in Nazi
Germany, Tharunka, 5 Jun. 1984, 18, in Trove
[online database], accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
Ellis, Rennie, Professor Geoffrey Blainey,
Melbourne, 1981, 1981, in Trove [online
database], accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Jensen, Michael, Vietnamese Boat People
Disembarking From the Boats With Their
Luggage, Darwin, 1977, in Trove [online
database], accessed 10 Oct. 2017.
Sue, Pauline, and Rahim, Lily Professor Blainey on
the Whipping Board, 1984, in Trove
[online database], accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
Lily Rahim, Professor Blainey on the Whipping
Board, Tharunka, 3 Apr. 1984, 17, in Trove [online
database], accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
13
J Barret, Attitudes Toward Immigration, Canberra
Times, Letters to the Editor, 23 Apr. 1984, 8, in Trove
[online database], accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
14
Blainey Calls for Freedom of Speech: Rowdy Sydney
Protests at Anti-Asian Views, Canberra Times, 20 Jun.
1984, 7, in Trove [online database], accessed 26 Sept.
2017.
Keith Windschuttle, Stuart Macintyre and the
Blainey Affair, 31.
Ibid. 34.
17
A Matter of Free Speech, Canberra Times, 23 Jun.
1984, 2, in Trove [online database], accessed 26 Sept.
2017.
18
John Bennet, Immigration Policy, Canberra Times,
Letters to the Editor, 31 Oct 1984, 30, in Trove [online
database], accessed 25 Sept. 2017.
19
Kathy Laster, The Historian as Prophet: Geoffrey
Blainey and the Asianisation of Australia, Meanjin,
43/2, (1984), 310.
John Howard, cited in David Hollinsworth, Race and
Racism in Australia, 269.
Robert Manne, The Blainey affair: All for Australia?,
19.
Mark Lopez, The Origins of Multiculturalism in
Australian Politics 1945-1975 (Carlton South, VIC:
Melbourne University Press, 2000), 24.
23
Ibid. 25.
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