After 1945, Australia and New Zealand began to feel and act less like distant British colonies and more like independent nations with their own identity. This shift happened in three connected ways: socially and culturally, in the role of women, and in a growing sense of national identity.
During the Second World War, women in both countries had taken on paid jobs in factories, farms and the armed forces while men were away fighting. After the war, most were pushed back into the home, but the war had shown that women could do this work — and that memory did not disappear.
Why the 1960s–70s mattered for women: From the 1960s, a second-wave feminist movement second-wave feminism grew in both countries. Campaigns won equal pay legislation (Australia, 1969 and 1972 rulings; New Zealand's Equal Pay Act, 1972), easier access to contraception, and more women entering universities and paid careers.
Culturally, both nations moved away from seeing themselves as simply "Britain overseas". New, distinctly Australian and New Zealand art, film, literature and music grew in the 1970s–1990s. Australia adopted its own national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, in 1984, replacing God Save the Queen. New Zealand increasingly celebrated Māori culture (such as the haka and Māori language) as part of a shared national story, not just a European one.
- National identity — a country's sense of its own unique character, separate from other nations
- Second-wave feminism — the 1960s–70s campaign for legal and social equality for women, following the earlier fight for the vote
- Multiculturalism — a policy of accepting and celebrating many different cultures living together in one society
- Assimilation — an older policy expecting migrants (or indigenous peoples) to give up their own culture and become like the majority
Link these three threads together: Paper 3 essays often ask about "social and cultural developments" as one bullet. Always connect the three strands: women's changing roles did not happen in isolation — they were part of the same wider national mood that also produced new immigration policies and a more confident, less British-focused identity. Showing this connection is what separates a Band-6+ answer from a list of facts.
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Before 1945, both Australia and New Zealand ran policies that favoured migrants from Britain, and in Australia's case, deliberately kept out non-European migrants. This was known in Australia as the White Australia Policy White Australia Policy.
The Second World War changed this thinking. Australia had come close to Japanese invasion (the bombing of Darwin, 1942) and its leaders decided the country was too empty and vulnerable. Immigration Minister Arthur Calwell launched a massive post-war immigration drive in 1945 under the slogan "populate or perish".
1945–1950s: assisted British and European migration
The government paid the fares of British migrants ("Ten Pound Poms") and, when not enough British migrants came, opened schemes to displaced persons and migrants from Italy, Greece and other parts of Europe.
1966–1973: dismantling the White Australia Policy
Restrictions were gradually relaxed from 1966 and formally ended in 1973 under the Whitlam government, allowing migration regardless of race for the first time.
1970s onward: a multicultural policy
Governments began actively promoting multiculturalism rather than expecting migrants to assimilate — funding ethnic community groups, multilingual media (SBS from 1980) and multicultural education.
Impact by 2005
Migrants from Vietnam, Lebanon, China and the Pacific joined earlier European arrivals, making Australia's cities among the most ethnically diverse in the world.
White Australia dismantled (1966–73) → multiculturalism replaces assimilation → diverse modern Australia.
New Zealand followed a similar, though smaller-scale, path. It relied heavily on British migration until the 1970s, then increasingly accepted migrants from the Pacific Islands (Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands) to fill labour shortages, and later from Asia after immigration law changes in 1987 removed race-based preferences.
The Dawn Raids (New Zealand, 1974–1976): When the economy slowed in the 1970s, New Zealand police carried out early-morning raids on the homes of overstayers — but focused overwhelmingly on Pacific Islanders even though most overstayers were British or European. The Dawn Raids Dawn Raids became a symbol of unequal treatment and were officially apologised for by the NZ government in 2021.
| Feature | Australia | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Old restrictive policy | White Australia Policy (1901–1973) | British-preference immigration |
| Main new migrant groups after the shift | Southern/Eastern Europeans, later Asia and the Middle East | Pacific Islanders, later Asia |
| Symbol of tension | 1950s–60s debates over non-British migrants | Dawn Raids (1974–1976) |
| End point by 2005 | Official multiculturalism policy | Growing Pacific and Asian communities |
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Both countries were run by a changing cast of governments after 1945, each leaving its own mark on domestic policy. For Paper 3, you need to know what each named leader actually did, not just their dates.
Australia
- John Curtin (1941–1945, Labor) — led Australia through the war; turned to the USA rather than Britain for defence after the fall of Singapore (1942), a key first step in a more independent foreign outlook
- Ben Chifley (1945–1949, Labor) — launched the post-war immigration programme; introduced Australia's first universal health scheme moves and expanded the welfare state
- Robert Menzies (1949–1966, Liberal) — Australia's longest-serving prime minister; pursued strong ties with Britain and the USA, economic growth and suburban home ownership, but was cautious on social change
- Gough Whitlam (1972–1975, Labor) — ended the White Australia Policy, introduced free university education and universal health insurance (Medibank), recognised Communist China; dismissed controversially by the Governor-General in 1975
- Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983, Liberal) — took in large numbers of Vietnamese refugees after the Vietnam War, continuing the shift to multiculturalism despite being more conservative economically
- Bob Hawke and Paul Keating (1983–1996, Labor) — floated the Australian dollar and deregulated the economy (1983); introduced Medicare (1984); Keating pushed reconciliation with Aboriginal peoples and closer ties with Asia
New Zealand
- Peter Fraser (1940–1949, Labour) — led NZ through the war's end; built the welfare state further and supported British migration to rebuild the population
- Keith Holyoake (1957, 1960–1972, National) — long period of stability and steady economic growth built on trade with Britain; cautious on social reform
- Robert Muldoon (1975–1984, National) — used strong state intervention (subsidies, price freezes) to protect the economy from the shock of Britain joining the EEC and the 1970s oil crises; authorised the 1981 Springbok rugby tour, which deeply divided the country over apartheid
- David Lange (1984–1989, Labour) — his government deregulated the economy dramatically ("Rogernomics") and made New Zealand nuclear-free (1984–1987), badly damaging relations with the USA
- Jim Bolger (1990–1997, National) — continued economic reform; oversaw the Treaty of Waitangi settlement process with Māori and a change to a fairer voting system (MMP, adopted 1993/1996)
Australia: pattern of change
- Curtin/Chifley: post-war rebuilding and immigration
- Menzies: long conservative stability
- Whitlam: rapid, radical social reform
- Fraser: multicultural consolidation
- Hawke/Keating: economic modernisation + Asia focus
New Zealand: pattern of change
- Fraser: post-war welfare state
- Holyoake: steady growth on British trade
- Muldoon: state control, EEC shock, Springbok crisis
- Lange: radical free-market reform + nuclear-free
- Bolger: reform continues + Māori settlements + MMP
Same shape, different pace: Notice both countries follow a similar rhythm: post-war welfare building → a long stable conservative era → a burst of radical reform in the 1970s–80s → consolidation. Comparing Whitlam/Fraser to Lange/Muldoon is a strong way to answer a "compare and contrast domestic policies" Paper 3 question.