Editing History of Australia (section)

==Inter-war years==

===1920s: men, money and markets===
[[File:Hughes Welcomehome Parispeaceconference.jpg|thumb|left|Australian soldiers carrying Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]], the 'little digger', down [[George Street, Sydney]] after his return from the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919]]]]
[[File:StateLibQld 1 190023 City Hall in Brisbane around ca. 1930.jpg|thumb|right|Built between 1920 and 1930, a cultural masterpiece of [[Architecture of Australia|Australian architecture]], [[Brisbane City Hall]] was one of the most expensive buildings and the second largest construction of the Inter-war period, after the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]].]]

After the war, Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] led a new conservative force, the [[Nationalist Party of Australia|Nationalist Party]], formed from the old [[Commonwealth Liberal Party|Liberal party]] and breakaway elements of Labor (of which he was the most prominent), after the deep and bitter split over [[Conscription in Australia|Conscription]]. An estimated 12,000 Australians died as a result of the [[1918 flu pandemic|Spanish flu pandemic]] of 1919, almost certainly brought home by returning soldiers.<ref>Jan Bassett (1986) p. 236</ref>

[[File:Rev John Flynn 1929.jpg|thumb|[[John Flynn (minister)|The Revd John Flynn]], founder of the [[Royal Flying Doctor Service]]]]
[[File:CEKSmith.jpg|thumb|Pioneer aviator Sir [[Charles Kingsford Smith]]]]
[[File:Edith Cowan.jpg|thumb|[[Edith Cowan]] (1861–1932) was elected to the [[West Australian Legislative Assembly]] in 1921 and was the first woman elected to any Australian Parliament.]]

The success of the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Bolshevik Revolution]] in Russia posed a threat in the eyes of many Australians, although to a small group of socialists it was an inspiration. The [[Communist Party of Australia]] was formed in 1920 and, though remaining electorally insignificant, it obtained some influence in the trade union movement and was banned during World War II for its support for the [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] and the [[Robert Menzies|Menzies Government]] unsuccessfully tried to ban it again during the [[Korean War]]. Despite splits, the party remained active until its dissolution at the end of the [[Cold War]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Murray|first=Robert|chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160470b.htm|title=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|publisher=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|access-date=14 July 2011|chapter=Thornton, Ernest (1907–1969)}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43958/Australian-Communist-Party|title=Australian Communist Party|encyclopedia=Britannica.com|access-date=14 July 2011}}</ref>

The Country Party (today's [[National Party of Australia|National Party]]) formed in 1920 to promulgate its version of [[agrarianism]], which it called "[[Countrymindedness]]". The goal was to enhance the status of the graziers (operators of big sheep ranches) and small farmers, and secure subsidies for them.<ref>Rae Wear, "Countrymindedness Revisited", (Australian Political Science Association, 1990) [http://apsa2000.anu.edu.au/confpapers/wear.rtf online edition] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723145257/http://apsa2000.anu.edu.au/confpapers/wear.rtf |date=23 July 2011}}</ref> Enduring longer than any other major party save the Labor party, it has generally operated in [[Coalition (Australia)|coalition]] with the [[Liberal Party of Australia|Liberal Party]] (since the 1940s), becoming a major party of government in Australia—particularly in Queensland.

Other significant after-effects of the war included ongoing industrial unrest, which included the [[1923 Victorian Police strike]].<ref>Lloyd Robson (1980) p. 18</ref> Industrial disputes characterised the 1920s in Australia. Other major strikes occurred on the waterfront, in the coalmining and timber industries in the late 1920s. The union movement had established the [[Australian Council of Trade Unions]] (ACTU) in 1927 in response to the Nationalist government's efforts to change working conditions and reduce the power of the unions.

The consumerism, entertainment culture, and new technologies that characterised the 1920s in the United States were also found in Australia. [[Prohibition]] was not implemented in Australia, though anti-alcohol forces were successful in having [[Australian pub|hotels]] closed after 6&nbsp;pm, and closed altogether in a few city suburbs.<ref>Lloyd Robson (1980) p. 45</ref>

The fledgling [[Cinema of Australia|film industry]] declined through the decade, despite more than 2&nbsp;million Australians attending cinemas weekly at 1250 venues. A [[Royal Commission]] in 1927 failed to assist and the industry that had begun so brightly with the release of the world's first feature film, [[The Story of the Kelly Gang]] (1906), atrophied until its [[Australian New Wave|revival in the 1970s]].<ref>Lloyd Robson (1980) p. 48</ref><ref>Also see for example – Eric Reade (1979) ''History and Heartburn; The Saga of Australian Film 1896–1978''. Harper and Row, Sydney. {{ISBN|0-06-312033-X}}</ref>

[[Stanley Bruce]] became Prime Minister in 1923, when members of the Nationalist Party Government voted to remove W.M. Hughes. Speaking in early 1925, Bruce summed up the priorities and optimism of many Australians, saying that "men, money and markets accurately defined the essential requirements of Australia" and that he was seeking such from Britain.<ref>''The Argus'', 9 April 1925, cited in Lloyd Robson (1980) p. 76</ref> The migration campaign of the 1920s, operated by the Development and Migration Commission, brought almost 300,000 Britons to Australia,<ref>Stuart MacIntyre (1986) pp. 200–201</ref> although schemes to settle migrants and [[Soldier settlement (Australia)|returned soldiers]] "on the land" were generally not a success. "The new irrigation areas in Western Australia and the Dawson Valley of [[Queensland]] proved disastrous".<ref>Josie Castle, "The 1920s" in R. Willis, et al. (eds.) (1982), p. 285</ref>

In Australia, the costs of major investment had traditionally been met by state and Federal governments and heavy borrowing from overseas was made by the governments in the 1920s. A [[Loan Council]] was set up in 1928 to co-ordinate loans, three-quarters of which came from overseas.<ref>Josie Castle, "The 1920s" in R. Willis, et al. (eds.) (1982), p. 253</ref> Despite [[Imperial Preference]], a balance of trade was not successfully achieved with Britain. "In the five years from 1924. .. to ... 1928, Australia bought 43.4% of its imports from Britain and sold 38.7% of its exports. Wheat and wool made up more than two-thirds of all Australian exports", a dangerous reliance on just two export commodities.<ref>Stuart MacIntyre (1986) p. 204</ref>

Australia embraced the new technologies of transport and communication. Coastal sailing ships were finally abandoned in favour of steam, and improvements in rail and motor transport heralded dramatic changes in work and leisure. In 1918, there were 50,000 cars and lorries in the whole of Australia. By 1929 there were 500,000.<ref>Josie Castle, "The 1920s" in R. Willis, et al. (eds.) (1982), p. 273</ref> The stage coach company [[Cobb and Co]], established in 1853, finally closed in 1924.<ref>Jan Bassett (1986) pp. 56–57</ref> In 1920, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service (to become the Australian airline [[Qantas]]) was established.<ref>Jan Bassett (1986) p. 213</ref> The Reverend John Flynn, founded the [[Royal Flying Doctor Service]], the world's first air ambulance in 1928.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bucknall|first=Graeme|chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080554b.htm?hilite=john%3Bflynn|title=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|publisher=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|access-date=14 July 2011|chapter=Flynn, John (1880–1951)}}</ref> Daredevil pilot, Sir [[Charles Kingsford Smith]] pushed the new flying machines to the limit, completing a round Australia circuit in 1927 and in 1928 traversed the Pacific Ocean, via Hawaii and Fiji from the US to Australia in the aircraft ''[[Southern Cross (aircraft)|Southern Cross]]''. He went on to global fame and a series of aviation records before vanishing on a night flight to Singapore in 1935.<ref>{{cite book|last=Howard|first=Frederick|chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090602b.htm?hilite=charles%3Bkingsford%3Bsmith|title=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|publisher=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|access-date=14 July 2011|chapter=Kingsford Smith, Sir Charles Edward (1897–1935)}}</ref>

===Dominion status===
[[File:ImperialConference.jpg|thumb|left|[[George V]] with his prime ministers. Standing (left to right): [[Walter Stanley Monroe|Monroe]] ([[Prime Minister of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]]), [[Gordon Coates|Coates]] ([[Prime Minister of New Zealand|New Zealand]]), [[Stanley Bruce|Bruce]] ([[Prime Minister of Australia|Australia]]), [[J. B. M. Hertzog|Hertzog]] ([[Prime Minister of South Africa|Union of South Africa]]), [[W. T. Cosgrave|Cosgrave]] ([[President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State|Irish Free State]]). Seated: [[Stanley Baldwin|Baldwin]] ([[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|UK]]), King George V, [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|King]] ([[Prime Minister of Canada|Canada]]).]]

Australia achieved independent Sovereign Nation status after World War I, under the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]]. This formalised the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]], a report resulting from the [[1926 Imperial Conference]] of [[British Empire]] leaders in London, which defined [[Dominion]]s of the British empire in the following way: "They are autonomous Communities within the [[British Empire]], equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to [[the Crown]], and freely associated as members of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] of Nations."; however, Australia did not ratify the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]] until 1942.<ref>Cited in Jan Bassett (1986) p. 271. It has also been argued that the signing of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] by Australia shows de facto recognition of sovereign nation status. See Sir Geoffrey Butler KBE, MA and Fellow, Librarian and Lecturer in International Law and Diplomacy of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge author of ''A Handbook to the League of Nations''.</ref> According to historian [[Frank Crowley (historian)|Frank Crowley]], this was because Australians had little interest in redefining their relationship with Britain until the crisis of World War II.<ref>Frank Crowley (1973) p. 417</ref>

The [[Australia Act 1986]] removed any remaining links between the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British Parliament]] and the Australian states.

From 1 February 1927 until 12 June 1931, the Northern Territory was divided up as [[North Australia (territory)|North Australia]] and [[Central Australia (territory)|Central Australia]] at [[20th parallel south|latitude 20°S]]. New South Wales has had one further territory surrendered, namely [[Jervis Bay Territory]] comprising 6,677 hectares, in 1915. The external territories were added: [[Norfolk Island]] (1914); [[Ashmore Island]], [[Cartier Islands]] (1931); the [[Australian Antarctic Territory]] transferred from Britain (1933); [[Heard Island]], [[McDonald Islands]], and [[Macquarie Island]] transferred to Australia from Britain (1947).

The [[Capital districts and territories|Federal Capital Territory]] (FCT) was formed from New South Wales in 1911 to provide a location for the proposed new federal capital of [[Canberra]] ([[Melbourne]] was the seat of government from 1901 to 1927). The FCT was renamed the [[Australian Capital Territory]] (ACT) in 1938. The [[Northern Territory]] was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the Commonwealth in 1911.

===Great Depression===
{{Main|Great Depression in Australia}}
[[File:Sydney Harbour Bridge opening.jpg|thumb|Ribbon ceremony to open the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] on 20 March 1932. Breaking protocol, the soon to be dismissed Premier [[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang]] cuts the ribbon while Governor [[Philip Game]] looks on.]]

Australia was deeply affected by the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s, particularly due to its heavy dependence on exports, especially primary products such as [[wool]] and wheat.<ref name=Giblin>{{cite web|url=http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/~econ/ugcm/3ll3/giblin/australi.htm|title=Australia, 1930: An inaugural lecture|author=L.F. Giblin|date=28 April 1930|access-date=21 October 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604220109/http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/%7Eecon/ugcm/3ll3/giblin/australi.htm|archive-date=4 June 2012}}</ref> Exposed by continuous borrowing to fund capital works in the 1920s, the Australian and state governments were "already far from secure in 1927, when most economic indicators took a turn for the worse. Australia's dependence of exports left her extraordinarily vulnerable to world market fluctuations", according to economic historian Geoff Spenceley.<ref>Geoff Spenceley (1981) ''The Depression Decade.'' p. 14, Thomas Nelson, Australia. {{ISBN|0-17-006048-9}}</ref> Debt by the state of [[New South Wales]] accounted for almost half of Australia's accumulated debt by December 1927. The situation caused alarm amongst a few politicians and economists, notably [[Edward Shann]] of the [[University of Western Australia]], but most political, union and business leaders were reluctant to admit to serious problems.<ref>Geoff Spenceley (1981) pp. 15–17</ref> In 1926, ''Australian Finance'' magazine described loans as occurring with a "disconcerting frequency" unrivalled in the British Empire: "It may be a loan to pay off maturing loans or a loan to pay the interest on existing loans, or a loan to repay temporary loans from the bankers..."<ref>''Australian Finance'', London, 1926, cited in Geoff Spenceley (1981) p. 14</ref> Thus, well before the [[Wall Street crash of 1929]], the [[Australian economy]] was already facing significant difficulties. As the economy slowed in 1927, so did manufacturing and the country slipped into recession as profits slumped and unemployment rose.<ref>Henry Pook (1993) ''Windows on our Past; Constructing Australian History''. p. 195 Oxford University Press, Melbourne. {{ISBN|0-19-553544-8}}</ref>

[[File:Unemployed marching to see Mitchell, 1931.jpg|thumb|left|In 1931, more than 1,000 unemployed men marched from the Esplanade to the Treasury Building in [[Perth, Western Australia]], to see [[Premier of Western Australia|Premier]] [[James Mitchell (Australian politician)|Sir James Mitchell]].]]

At [[1929 Australian federal election|elections held in October 1929]], the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] was swept into power in a [[landslide victory]]; [[Stanley Bruce]], the former prime minister, lost his own seat. The new Prime Minister, [[James Scullin]], and his largely inexperienced government were almost immediately faced with a series of crises. Hamstrung by their lack of control of the Senate, a lack of control of the banking system and divisions within their party about how best to deal with the situation, the government was forced to accept solutions that eventually split the party, as it had in 1917. Some gravitated to New South Wales [[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Premier Lang]], others to Prime Minister Scullin.

Various "plans" to resolve the crisis were suggested; [[Otto Niemeyer|Sir Otto Niemeyer]], a representative of the English banks who visited in mid-1930, proposed a deflationary plan, involving cuts to government spending and wages. Treasurer [[Ted Theodore]] proposed a mildly inflationary plan, while the Labor [[Premier of New South Wales]], [[Jack Lang (Australian politician)|Jack Lang]], proposed a radical plan which repudiated overseas debt.<ref>Jan Bassett(1986) pp. 118–19</ref> The "Premier's Plan" finally accepted by federal and state governments in June 1931, followed the deflationary model advocated by Niemeyer and included a reduction of 20 per cent in government spending, a reduction in bank interest rates and an increase in taxation.<ref>John Close "The Depression Decade" in R. Willis, et al. (eds.) (1982), p. 318</ref> In March 1931, Lang announced that interest due in London would not be paid and the Federal government stepped in to meet the debt. In May, the Government Savings Bank of New South Wales was forced to close. The Melbourne Premiers' Conference agreed to cut wages and pensions as part of a severe deflationary policy but Lang renounced the plan. The grand opening of the [[Sydney Harbour Bridge]] in 1932 provided little respite to the growing crisis straining the young federation. With multimillion-pound debts mounting, public demonstrations and move and counter-move by Lang and then Scullin, then Lyons federal governments, the [[Governor of New South Wales]], [[Philip Game]], had been examining Lang's instruction not to pay money into the Federal Treasury. Game judged it was illegal. Lang refused to withdraw his order and, on 13 May, he was [[Lang Dismissal Crisis|dismissed by Governor Game]]. At June elections, Lang Labor's seats collapsed.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nairn|first=Bede|chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090666b.htm?hilite=jack%3Blang|title=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|publisher=ADBonline.anu.edu.au|access-date=14 July 2011|chapter=Lang, John Thomas (Jack) (1876–1975)}}</ref>

May 1931 had seen the creation of a new conservative political force, the [[United Australia Party]] formed by breakaway members of the [[Australian Labor Party|Labor Party]] combining with the [[Nationalist Party of Australia|Nationalist Party]]. At [[1931 Australian federal election|Federal elections in December 1931]], the [[United Australia Party]], led by former Labor member [[Joseph Lyons]], easily won office. They remained in power until September 1940. The Lyons government has often been credited with steering recovery from the depression, although just how much of this was owed to their policies remains contentious.<ref>See for example John Close "The Depression Decade" in R. Willis, et al. (eds.) (1982), p. 318</ref> [[Stuart Macintyre]] also points out that although Australian GDP grew from £386.9&nbsp;million to £485.9&nbsp;million between 1931 and 1932 and 1938–39, real domestic product per head of population was still "but a few shillings greater in 1938–39 (£70.12), than it had been in 1920–21 (£70.04)."<ref>Stuart MacIntyre (1986) p. 287</ref>

[[File:Bradman chaired.jpg|thumb|21-year-old [[Don Bradman]] is chaired off the cricket pitch after scoring a world record 452 runs not out in 1930. Sporting success lifted Australian spirits through the Depression years.]]

Australia recovered relatively quickly from the financial downturn of 1929–1930, with recovery beginning around 1932. The Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, favoured the tough economic measures of the Premiers' Plan, pursued an orthodox fiscal policy and refused to accept the proposals of the Premier of New South Wales, Jack Lang, to default on overseas debt repayments. According to author [[Anne Henderson (author)|Anne Henderson]] of the [[Sydney Institute]], Lyons held a steadfast belief in "the need to balance budgets, lower costs to business and restore confidence" and the Lyons period gave Australia "stability and eventual growth" between the drama of the Depression and the outbreak of the Second World War. A lowering of wages was enforced and industry tariff protections maintained, which together with cheaper raw materials during the 1930s saw a shift from agriculture to manufacturing as the chief employer of the Australian economy—a shift which was consolidated by increased investment by the commonwealth government into defence and armaments manufacture. Lyons saw restoration of Australia's exports as the key to economic recovery.<ref>[[Anne Henderson (author)|Anne Henderson]]; ''Joseph Lyons: The People's Prime Minister''; NewSouth; 2011.</ref>

[[File:Phar Lap.jpg|thumb|left|[[Phar Lap]], c. 1930]]

The extent of unemployment in Australia, often cited as peaking at 29 per cent in 1932 is debated. "Trade union figures are the most often quoted, but the people who were there...regard the figures as wildly understating the extent of unemployment" wrote historian [[Wendy Lowenstein]] in her collection of oral histories of the depression; however, David Potts argued that "over the last thirty years ...historians of the period have either uncritically accepted that figure (29% in the peak year 1932) including rounding it up to 'a third', or they have passionately argued that a third is far too low."<ref>[[Wendy Lowenstein]] (1978) ''Weevils in the Flour: an oral record of the 1930s depression in Australia.'' p. 14, Scribe Publications, Fitzroy. {{ISBN|0-908011-06-7}}</ref><ref>David Potts. "A Reassessment of the extent of Unemployment in Australia during the Great Depression" in ''Australian Historical Studies''. Vol. 24, No. 7, p. 378. Also see David Potts (2006) "The Myth of the Great Depression." Scribe Press, Carlton North. {{ISBN|1-920769-84-6}}</ref> Potts himself though suggested a peak national figure of 25 per cent unemployed.<ref>David Potts p. 395</ref> Measurement is difficult in part because there was great variation, geographically, by age and by gender, in the level of unemployment. Statistics collected by historian Peter Spearritt show 17.8 per cent of men and 7.9 per cent of women unemployed in 1933 in the comfortable Sydney suburb of [[Woollahra, New South Wales|Woollahra]]. This is not to say that 81.9 per cent of women were working but that 7.9 per cent of the women interested/looking for work were unable to find it, a much lower figure than maybe first thought, as many women stayed home and were not in the job force in those years, especially if they were unable to find work.

In the working class suburb of [[Paddington, New South Wales|Paddington]], 41.3 per cent of men and 20.7 per cent of women were listed as unemployed.<ref>Spearritt cited in Henry Pook (1993) pp. 211–12. See Also Drew Cottle (1979) "The Sydney Rich and the Great Depression" in ''Bowyang'' magazine, September 1979</ref> Geoffrey Spenceley stated that apart from variation between men and women, unemployment was also much higher in some industries, such as the building and construction industry, and comparatively low in the public administrative and professional sectors.<ref>Geoff Spenceley (1981) p. 46</ref>
In country areas, worst hit were small farmers in the wheat belts as far afield as north-east [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Wheatbelt (Western Australia)|Western Australia]], who saw more and more of their income absorbed by interest payments.<ref>Geoff Spenceley (1981) p. 52</ref>

Extraordinary sporting successes did something to alleviate the spirits of Australians during the economic downturn. In a [[Sheffield Shield]] cricket match at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] in 1930, [[Don Bradman]], a young New South Welshman of just 21 years of age wrote his name into the record books by smashing the previous highest batting score in first-class cricket with 452 runs not out in just 415 minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/donbradman/|title=Cultureandrecreation.gov.au|publisher=Cultureandrecreation.gov.au|date=7 April 2008|access-date=14 July 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408181546/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/donbradman/|archive-date=8 April 2011}}</ref> The rising star's world beating cricketing exploits were to provide Australians with much needed joy through the emerging [[Great Depression in Australia]] and post-World War II recovery. Between 1929 and 1931 the racehorse [[Phar Lap]] dominated Australia's racing industry, at one stage winning fourteen races in a row.<ref>{{cite web|author=Museum Victoria|url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/pharlap/horse/winner.asp|title=Museumvictoria.com.au|publisher=Museumvictoria.com.au|access-date=14 July 2011|archive-date=6 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706110608/http://museumvictoria.com.au/pharlap/horse/winner.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> Famous victories included the 1930 [[Melbourne Cup]], following an assassination attempt and carrying 9 stone 12 pounds weight.<ref>{{cite web|author=Museum Victoria|url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/pharlap/horse/cup.asp|title=Museumvictoria.com.au|publisher=Museumvictoria.com.au|access-date=14 July 2011|archive-date=11 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711130250/http://museumvictoria.com.au/pharlap/horse/cup.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> Phar Lap sailed for the United States in 1931, going on to win North America's richest race, the [[Agua Caliente Handicap]] in 1932. Soon after, on the cusp of US success, Phar Lap developed suspicious symptoms and died. Theories swirled that the champion race horse had been poisoned and a devoted Australian public went into shock.<ref>{{cite web|author=Museum Victoria|url=http://museumvictoria.com.au/pharlap/leaving/death.asp|title=Museumvictoria.com.au|publisher=Museumvictoria.com.au|date=6 April 1932|access-date=14 July 2011|archive-date=6 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706110628/http://museumvictoria.com.au/pharlap/leaving/death.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[1938 British Empire Games]] were held in Sydney from 5–12 February, timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 years since the foundation of British settlement in Australia).

=== Indigenous policy ===
Following federation Aboriginal affairs was a state responsibility, although the Commonwealth became responsible for the Aboriginal population of the Northern Territory from 1911. By that date the Commonwealth and all states except Tasmania had passed legislation establishing Protectors of Aborigines and Protection Boards with extensive powers to regulate the lives of Aboriginal Australians including their ownership of property, place of residence, employment, sexual relationships and custody of their children. Reserves were established, ostensibly for the protection of the Aboriginal population who had been dispossessed of their land. Church groups also ran missions throughout Australia providing shelter, food, religious instruction and elementary schooling for Indigenous people.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Haebich|first1=Anna|title=Cambridge History of Australia, Volume 2|last2=Kinnane|first2=Steve|pages=333–34|chapter=Indigenous Australia}}</ref>

Some officials were concerned by the growing number of Aboriginal children of mixed heritage, particularly in northern Australia where large Indigenous, South Sea Islander and Asian populations were seen as inconsistent with the white Australia policy. Laws concerning Aboriginal Australians were progressively tightened to make it easier for officials to remove Aboriginal children of mixed descent from their parents and place them in reserves, missions, institutions and employment with white employers.<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). pp. 195–98</ref>

The segregation of Aboriginal people on reserves and in institutions was never systematically accomplished due to funding constraints, differing policy priorities in the states and territories, and resistance from Aboriginal people. In the more densely settled areas of Australia, about 20 per cent of Aboriginal people lived on reserves in the 1920s. The majority lived in camps on the fringes of country towns and a small percentage lived in cities. During the Great Depression more Aboriginal people moved to reserves and missions for food and shelter. By 1941 almost half of the Aboriginal population of New South Wales lived on reserves.<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). pp. 172</ref>

In northern Australia, the majority of employed Aboriginal people worked in the pastoral industry where they lived in camps, often with their extended families. Many also camped on the margins of towns and reserves where they could avoid most of the controls imposed by the administrators of reserves, compounds and missions.<ref>Broome, Richard (2019). pp. 122–36</ref>

The 1937 Native Welfare conference of state and Commonwealth officials endorsed a policy of biological absorption of mixed-descent Aboriginal Australians into the white community.<blockquote>[T]he destiny of the natives of aboriginal origin, but not of the full blood, lies in their ultimate absorption by the people of the Commonwealth and it therefore recommends that all efforts be directed to that end.<ref name="Broome-2019c">Broome, Richard (2019). pp. 210–11</ref></blockquote>The officials saw the policy of Aboriginal assimilation by absorption into the white community as progressive, aimed at eventually achieving civil and economic equality for mixed-descent Aboriginal people.<ref name="Broome-2019c" /><blockquote>... efforts of all State authorities should be directed towards the education of children of mixed aboriginal blood at white standards, and their subsequent employment under the same conditions as whites with a view to their taking their place in the white community on an equal footing with the whites.<ref name="humanrights-1997">{{Cite web|date=April 1997|title=Bringing them Home Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families|url=https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/bringing-them-home-chapter-2|access-date=27 June 2021|website=humanrights.gov.au}}</ref></blockquote>The following decades saw an increase in the number of Aboriginal Australians of mixed descent removed from their families, although the states and territories progressively adopted a policy of cultural, rather than biological, assimilation, and justified removals on the grounds of child welfare.<ref name="Broome, Richard 2019. p. 212">Broome, Richard (2019). p. 212</ref> In 1940, New South Wales became the first state to introduce a child welfare model whereby Aboriginal children of mixed descent were removed from their families under general welfare provisions by court order. Other jurisdictions introduced a welfare model after the war.<ref name="humanrights-1997"/>