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I come from Canada. I share the same British cultural heritage as many Australians. I speak the same language and grew up with many of the same traditions, stories and influences. I was brought up on The Wind in the Willows, A Christmas Carol, Shakespeare, and a steady diet of American and British television. Yet making the move to a new country was difficult. It took many months before I felt at home.
Consequently, I have a great deal of empathy for immigrants, especially those from non-English-speaking countries who have left their entire world behind. For them, moving to Australia can be an immense challenge. On the surface, it may seem they have little in common with the people of their new country, apart from our shared humanity.
And that is the essence of Australia's immigrant story. We are all human, and we strive for the same things: to live in peace, raise our families, and enjoy the opportunities that come with living in one of the best countries on earth. We come in many shapes, sizes and colours, but beneath the surface we are all the same.
I first came to Australia in 1956, when immigration from post-war Europe was at its height and 90 per cent of the population was of British or Irish ancestry. The White Australia Policy was a major determinant of immigration, and Indigenous peoples were not yet considered worthy of inclusion in the national census.
I had no difficulty entering Australia. In fact, when I arrived at Customs and Immigration, I was taken aback by the officer's question: “Are you a tourist or an immigrant?” It was that simple. Because I was white and from another British Commonwealth country, I was offered a choice that was unavailable to anyone who did not meet those two criteria. I had not given it any thought before arriving, so I replied, “Immigrant.”
Apart from a certificate stating I had received a smallpox vaccination, no documents were required and no money changed hands. Within minutes of arriving—without preparation, applications, months of waiting or any cost to me—I was an Australian resident.
I soon found work and stayed for three years before returning to Canada in June 1959.
But that was not the end of the story.
In October 1974, I found myself in New Zealand with a 60-day visa and an Australian partner. New Zealand had recently passed legislation requiring anyone applying for permanent residency to do so from their own country. Australia, though now rid of the White Australia Policy, had retained the regulations that had enabled me to enter the country so easily in 1956. However, those regulations were due to tighten on 1 January 1975.
Unsure of my Australian immigration status after 15 years out of the country, I thought I had better cement my position. In November, after a month in New Zealand, I flew to Australia.
In those days, one could travel between Australia and New Zealand almost as easily as taking a domestic flight, except for one thing: Australia required an X-ray to prove your lungs were clear of tuberculosis. Ignorant of that requirement, I turned up at Immigration without the necessary documentation.
Once again, my status as a white person proved beneficial. A helpful immigration officer hinted, “You must have had an X-ray of your lungs in the past six months.”
“Yes, of course I have,” I responded.
Without further ceremony, I once again became an Australian permanent resident.
After a weekend in Australia, I returned to New Zealand, my Canadian passport now stamped to show my Australian permanent resident status. I lived in New Zealand without restriction for the next six years and, when I finally returned to Australia in 1980, it was as a permanent resident.
Since my first arrival in 1956, I have watched Melbourne grow from a rather dull backwater of one million people into a great multicultural city of more than five million. In a recent survey of 24,000 people conducted by Time Out, a British travel magazine, Melbourne was voted “The Best City in the World”. That achievement is due in no small measure to the 40 per cent of Melbourne's residents who were born overseas.
