Answers and Suggested Responses—
Chapter 3—Nations and nationalism
Opening spread
3.1 What is national identity?
1
Answer will be developed by class and teacher.
2
Work to be assessed by the classroom teacher.
3
Work to be assessed by the classroom teacher.
4
Extreme nationalism could become dangerous or harmful when a person or group of people put
their national beliefs or desires ahead of legal or moral standards or positions.
3.2 How do people show their national identity?
1
The signs and symbols that identify the team as being Australian are the flag and the use of the
national sporting colours of gold and green. The team also have the Commonwealth of Australia
emblem on their coats.
2
A lot of thought is put into the style, use of colour and other features for the Olympic uniform as
people want it to be easily and quickly identified as Australian. People want Australia identified as a
nation that is proud of its sportspeople and of its sporting reputation, particularly at a world event
such as the Olympics.
3
Work to be assessed by the classroom teacher.
3.3 How does national identity shape nations?
1
The Arthur Streeton painting, Source 3.3, features a gum tree and is painted in the pastel colours
that were used by the Heidleberg school for the Australian country-side. It reflects the wide open
spaces of Australia.
2
Work to be assessed by the classroom teacher.
3
Words that could be listed include; vast, open, colourful, wild, unconquered, distant.
4
A painting such as Source 3.3 typifies Australia at the time it was painted. It could shape a person’s
feeling as it could encourage them to love the openness or vastness of the land. The use of the
lighter pastel colours would encourage feelings of warmth.
3.1
What is national identity?
What do you know about being Australian in the first half of the 19th century?
1
a There were several obstacles to the development of national feeling. Many of those who came
here were slow to bond to the new country and felt no link to it because of its harshness and
difference. For many it was a place of exile from which they hoped finally to leave once their
‘convict’ time was completed.
b Students will produce a variety of their own responses to this. Teacher to assess.
Oxford Big Ideas Humanities 3 ISBN 978 0 19 557063 2
© Oxford University Press Australia
2
a
The sources reflect on Australian countryside as being thickly wooded and unworkable. Both
land and water are of little value to the settlers. The land was distant from the ports and
unwelcoming.
‘thickly wooded and inferior nature of the country’
‘at that time brackish’
‘too distant for occupation’
b In the painting you could select the thick ferns, the rocky and wooded land or the fact that it
appears to be hilly
c
3
The settlers would have held these attitudes because they would be making a comparison to
land or water that they had previously experienced in England.
a The miners were often working alone. Their health might have been poor due to poor or
inadequate diet. The miners were poorly prepared and had little experience of looking after
themselves.
b The illness and lack of success might make some miners feel isolated and alone. They would
want to leave and return to a place where their experiences or memories were better.
What do you know about being Australian in the late 19th century?
1
There were several ways in which people showed a growing identification with Australia:
A more relaxed lifestyle.
A lack of strict class barriers
A prosperous economy based on local produce.
A sense of identification with the environment and the nation’s vastness.
Changed living, dress and housing styles.
Changes in diet.
2
Many of the colonies realised that the colonies had much in common. Traffic between the colonies
became easier, as did communication. All these advances made it logical that, as the life-style
improved, feelings about the country would become more positive.
3
Students will develop alternative answers. Teacher to assess.
4
John McClure’s attitudes to the landscape might have influenced him to build exploration and
adventure into his boys’ education. He seems to stress the benefits of fresh air, travel and open
land. It seems that looking at everything far and near is important to him and therefore to them.
big ideas
1
Many of the early settlers viewed Australia as a place of exile. They looked forward to returning
home to Great Britain as they found Australia strange and harsh.
2
The discovery of gold helped develop the national identity. The colonies became wealthy and more
populous. Towns and cities grew. The influx of new settlers saw the breaking down of class
barriers and a growth in a relaxed lifestyle.
Oxford Big Ideas Humanities 3 ISBN 978 0 19 557063 2
© Oxford University Press Australia
3
Three factors that led to more positive feelings about Australia in the later 19th century were the
more relaxed life style, the identification with the landscape and the class less but prosperous
economy that developed.
4
People might have tried to recreate Britain in the new colony to overcome problems such as
homesickness. It gave them the ability to express their love of the old while adapting it to be
suitable for the new.
5
A small percentage of settlers were able to adapt their physical and social conditions to Australia.
They were able to do this as they realized that the climate and geography of the country meant that
they had to adapt their housing, they diet and their dress to cope with the heat and altered
conditions in the colony.
6
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
7
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
8
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
9
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
10
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
11
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
12
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
13
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
14
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
15
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
16
Separate answers supplied for worksheet.
17
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
18
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
3.2
How do people show their national identity?
What do you know about identifying with Australia?
1
Students could raise a variety of aspects or features that suggest a stronger identification with
Australia. These include; true colours being used, the paintings being completed in the open air,
simple everyday themes such as the beach being depicted, ordinary people being used as topics
and these people looking very ‘at home’.
2
a The central character of this painting appears to be a bushman. He seems to be comfortable
and settled in his surroundings.
b The bushman appears to be comfortable and competent. He is a rough yet tough looking
character who appears able to cope in his surroundings.
Oxford Big Ideas Humanities 3 ISBN 978 0 19 557063 2
© Oxford University Press Australia
c
3
The characteristics suggested by the painting applied to only a small number of the ‘typical’
Australians. Only a small proportion actually lived in the bush, about 25% and the female
portion of the population (50%) were not included at all.
A variety of answers could be supplied by the students. Teacher to assess.
What do you know about growing Australian awareness?
1
the first inter-colonial trade unions developed in the rural rather than urban areas because the
trades they represented were nomadic; they moved between the colonies. These trades were
things such as shearing and mining.
2
South sea Islanders were brought into the canefields to work because they were cheap labour that
could be deported at the end of the season. The work was poorly paid and labour intensive and it
was easier to use ‘captive’ labour than to pay white workers that might demand a lot more.
3
Colonists were anxious to create a ‘White Australia’ as they feared racial contamination. They
believed that non-whites would work for less and thus threaten their jobs and livelihoods.
big ideas
1
People show their identity with Australia through areas such as art and literature. Artists began to
paint Australian landscapes in realistic colours, authors wrote about Australian themes and
subjects and ‘legends’ grew up that identified particular Australian characteristics such as being a
‘rugged bushman’.
2
The aspects of the Australian landscape that were reflected in the art and literature of the late
nineteenth century were the open plains and ranges, the bush and the ordinary people that lived in
them. The beach was also a popular topic
3
The fact that Australian symbols were increasingly used to sell products shows that there was a
confidence in things being Australian .
4
Two contradictions that existed in the way that Australian people represented themselves in the
late nineteenth century were the fact that their schools were still based on a British model with a
British curriculum and that while they adopted a ‘rugged bushman’ identity the majority of
Australians, 75% lived in the cities.
5
a The message given about the bush and the city is that the bush is a friendly, pleasant and
wondrous place while the city is dingy, lacking in sunlight, dirty and foul.
b Student work to be assessed by teacher.
c
The message is conveyed through images created by the words. Readers can picture the open
sunlit country, almost feel the breeze of the wind blowing but then have the dirt, dark and foetid
air of the city office contrasted to it. Words such as wondrous, endless, murmur and breezes
are contrasted to dingy, feeble, foetid and dirty.
d Student work to be assessed by teacher.
6
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
7
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
8
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
9
a
.
The central point that Deakin is making is that a united race is one in which no mixing has
occurred. In this way people will have common character and belief.
b Student work to be assessed by teacher.
Oxford Big Ideas Humanities 3 ISBN 978 0 19 557063 2
© Oxford University Press Australia
10
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
11
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
12
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
13
Separate answers supplied for worksheet.
14
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
15
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
16
Worksheet answers provided separately.
17
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
18
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
3.3
How does national identity shape nations?
What do you know about the movement towards federation?
1
The poster ‘To The Australian Born’ appeals to nationalistic feeling; firstly by addressing itself to
the new children of Australia, the Australian born, secondly by calling on the people to become a
nation and finally by saying that the new Australia will become a power that is British by descent
but self governing..
2
There is a close tie between the defence fears of the colonies and arguments for federation. As an
united group the colonies could offer a defence against attack, they could develop strategies and
forces that as a group would offer them a power that could not be developed individually.
3
The fact that a British army representative developed the defence strategy or recommendation
suggests a close link to the mother country. The colonies are still looking to her for advice and
suggestions.
4
Economically federation offered great benefits. It meant that businesses could develop across the
colonial boundaries that would work using uniformed trade practices and policies. Progress would
occur as taxes (tariffs) between the colonies would disappear. It was felt also that the effects of
difficulties such as economic depressions could be handled more effectively by a centrally
controlled economy.
5
A variety of answers could be supplied by the students. Teacher to assess.
What do you know about the achievement of federation?
1
A variety of answers could be supplied by the students. Teacher to assess.
2
a The main argument used by W. T. White against Western Australia joining the federation is that
the eastern manufacturers will destroy the manufacturers who have up to that time been protected
by a tariff.
b Western Australia might have been concerned that the larger populations in the eastern
colonies would see them dominating decision making at the cost of the smaller colonies such
as Western Australia. They could have feared that the distance between them and the eastern
colonies would see Western Australia cut off from good markets and trade unless there was a
conscious effort to develop a ‘fair’ transport system.
Oxford Big Ideas Humanities 3 ISBN 978 0 19 557063 2
© Oxford University Press Australia
c
3
Western Australia probably supported federation at the last minute because being excluded
would have been economically worse and the isolation that was feared would have been even
greater.
Students will develop their answers based on their findings after research. Teacher to assess.
What do you know about national identity after federation?
1
There were several aspects of Australian identity that influenced Australian society in the early 20 th
century. Many viewed Australia as a country of opportunity, people were not born to positions but
had opportunities to advance. Education was available freely from the 1870s and the vote or
franchise was available to the majority of males and soon females in the years following federation.
It seemed that Australia was an egalitarian nation, possibly a working mans’ paradise in which all
had equal opportunity. The passing of a basic wage Act in 1908 added further to this view
2
Australia was a new nation. It did not have ties to old prejudices or beliefs. It was far enough away
from Europe to develop some of the new liberal idealogies that developed during that time without
repression. These were encouraged by the diversity of views and peoples that traveled to Australia
because of the Gold Rushes.
3
The federal Constitution and early laws developed soon after federation strengthened the idea of
White Australia as they were some of the initial laws passed. The commonwealth electoral laws
removed the right of Aborigines to vote which that had held in some colonies and federal law under
the Constitution over-ruled State law.
4
Australia could have been seen as a working man’s paradise as it had laws regarding basic wages,
opportunities for workers to progress socially and equal political rights for the majority of citizens,
this was uncommon in many other countries.
5
Lawson, in his poem ‘Faces in the Street’, written in 1888, is trying to point out that poverty and
loss of hope by the poor is seen in the colonies as it was in the mother land and that if people say
otherwise they are lying. The legislation passed in 1902, 04, 07 and 08 might have changed his
opinion as it created the opportunity for workers to seek fair wages, to have the vote, to settle
industrial disputes via a union and finally to retire on a pension. After 1908 I feel his poem would
have been quite contrary to that written in 1888.
6
A variety of answers could be supplied by the students. Teacher to assess.
Big ideas
1
The overall vision that Australians had for their nation as they approached Federation was that in a
unified country ordinary people would be able to create a new society based on the best qualities
of British heritage but with opportunities for all rather than few.
2
The three factors that helped to lead to Federation apart from national identity were defence
concerns, economic influences such as trade and a realization that all the colonies had a
‘sameness’ about them.
3
Sir Henry Parkes was known as the Father of Federation because of the support that he gained
for it through his Tenterfield Oration and because he had raised the issue in 1967 and was the
Chairman of the National Australian Convention in 1891.
4
Most Australians accepted the idea of Australian society being egalitarian even though there was
evidence that refuted this because it seemed that if you worked hard, were willing to take risks and
had ability you could take advantage of any opportunity offered to you. Relationships between the
social classes in Australia were also a lot less formal.
5
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
6
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
Oxford Big Ideas Humanities 3 ISBN 978 0 19 557063 2
© Oxford University Press Australia
7
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
8
a Free Trade is a term used to describe the idea that goods can be exported or imported without
a tax being imposed on them. Protection, on the other hand, was when a colony, such as
Victoria put taxes or tariffs on goods so that locally produced goods would be the same price
or cheaper.
b Student work to be assessed by teacher.
9
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
10
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
11
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
12
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
13
Separate answers supplied for worksheet.
14
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
15
Student work to be assessed by teacher.
Transferring ideas: Ireland
3.1 What is national identity?
1
The Book of Kells would be seen as a national treasure by the Irish as it reflects the high level of
learning and achievement that continued in Ireland at a time when it is thought that such things
went backward.
2
The attempts by the English to control Ireland would have raised national awareness as people
would have realised that they had to fight to retain their land, property and freedom. They would
have wanted to defend their culture, beliefs and traditions from being replaced by English beliefs
and practices.
3
The Irish identity has continued to flourish even when people moved from Ireland because it is so
inherent in their life. It is based on lengthy traditions of learning, religion and culture going back to
Roman times.
3.2 How do people show their national identity?
1
The main sign or symbol seen in Source 3.55 is the shamrock, a symbol of Ireland. The use of
green is also related to St Patrick and his tie to Ireland..
2
Work to be assessed by the classroom teacher.
3
The fact that Ireland’s national day is linked to a Christian saint’s day indicates Irelands’ tie to
Christianity, particularly through the Roman Catholic denomination of Christianity.
3.3 How does national identity shape nations?
1
The desire for Irish unity and freedom drove Bobby Sands to fight, as part of the Irish Republican
Army, for the liberation of Northern Ireland from English control. This caused him to be imprisoned
and later to die from starvation as he refused to eat while in the English prison.
2
Work to be assessed by the classroom teacher.
3
Work to be assessed by the classroom teacher.
Oxford Big Ideas Humanities 3 ISBN 978 0 19 557063 2
© Oxford University Press Australia