Racial violence in Australia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Racial violence in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

is evident through various past and more recent events. Hate crimes and racial violence are not a new concept
Initial instances include attacks against the indigenous population by settlers resulting in the deaths of thousands of Aboriginals, and devastating the indigenous population of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

.

Violence against the Chinese community also occurred early in Australia’s history, with mobs attacking Chinese miners.

Initially, in Australia's history, the White Australia policy

White Australia policy

The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....

resulted in a racially homogenous Australia. Post 1950’s multicultural

Multiculturalism

Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...

Australia has seen an increase in racial violence, as different minorities endeavour to live together in the same communities. In some cases, this has led to violence instigated by newer ethnic groups, and in some cases, racial violence between non–anglo Australian ethnic groups. Racial violence also exists on a street level, with race based violence between different ethnic gangs. To a degree, racial violence has been exacerbated by the media

Media (communication)

In communications, media are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data...

and Politicians.

Commentators have discussed the concept of the risk society

Risk society

"Risk society" is a term that emerged during the 1990s to describe the manner in which modern society organises in response to risk. The term is closely associated with several key writers on modernity, in particular Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck...

, particularly as
it relates to the Cronulla riots. There is a sense that in Australia and in other Westem countries, racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

has been based upon notions of xenophobia

Xenophobia

Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...

. Recently, technology has aided the organising of larger scale racial violence via
SMS

SMS

SMS is a form of text messaging communication on phones and mobile phones. The terms SMS or sms may also refer to:- Computer hardware :...

texting

European Settlement and Indigenous Australians

The early European settlement of Australia in 1788, led to violent and deadly conflicts between the original inhabitants, the Aboriginal populations, and the new settlers across the entire continent between 1788 - 1930's.
Relatively small numbers of White settlers and convicts attacked and removed Aboriginal populations from the South Eastern parts of Australia. Tasmanian Aboriginals in particular suffered, most of them on the island being killed by settlers or disease. The complete extermination of the Tasmanian Aboriginal population was achieved after the organisation of an assault by Lt. Governor George Arthur in 1830

Lambing Flat riots

The Lambing Flat riots were a series of violent attacks against Chinese

Chinese people

The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....

that took place in the Burrangong region, in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

. The riots occurred on the goldfields at Spring Creek

Spring Creek

A spring creek is a stream that flows from a spring. Spring Creek may also refer to any of the following specific places:- United States :*Spring Creek Correctional Center, a state prison in Seward, Alaska...

, Stoney Creek

Stoney Creek

Stoney Creek may refer to:In Australia:*Stoney Creek Falls, in Queensland, AustraliaIn Canada:*Stoney Creek, Ontario, was a municipality that is now part of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada**Stoney Creek - an electoral district in Ontario...

, Back Creek, Wombat, Blackguard Gully, Tipperary Gully, and Lambing Flat (now Young, New South Wales

Young, New South Wales

-Demographics:On census night, 7 August 2001, there were 6,821 people counted in Young. There were 238 people who identified as being of Indigenous origin in the 2001 Census...

), in 1860-1861.

The original cause was tension between whites and Chinese over work practices, habits of sending their gold out of the country, and general xenophobia.

There was ten months of unrest at Burrangong involving disputes against Chinese miners, where they were often driven off their 'digs'. The most infamous riot occurred on the night of 30 June 1861 when a group of perhaps 3,000 drove the Chinese off Lambing Flat, and then moved on to the Back Creek diggings, destroying tents and looting possessions. About 1,000 Chinese abandoned the field. Many of the victims were brutally beaten, but there were no deaths. The only death related to this incident was of a white miner killed by police trying to break up the disturbance. .

Kalgoorlie Mines race riots

These race riots were between Anglo–Australian miners and Southern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

ans living in the area. There had been simmering tensions on Kalgoorlie between Italian migrants and local Anglo Australians. This had resulted in a race riot in 1919.
The civil disturbance in 1934 was larger. It initially started during the Australia Day

Australia Day

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...

weekend of 1934. An inebriated British miner, Edward Jordan, instigated a fight with an Italian barman, Claudio Mattaboni. Edward Jordan was a popular local, who was also a footballer, firefighter and rtibute miner.
After instigating the fight himself, Jordan cracked his skull on the pavement and died several hours later.

The following day, aided by Jordan's drinking friends, rumours spread that the popular local had been murdered by Mattaboni. Mourners attended Jordans funeral in their hundreds, then after drinking at several wake

Wake (ceremony)

A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...

s, gathered in Hannan Street near several migrant-owned businesses. A youth instigated the riot by throwing a stone through a window of the Kalgoorlie Wine Saloon

Bar (establishment)

A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...

and full-scale rioting ensued. Rioters burned the building to the ground, then moved on to attack other migrant-run establishments. A large group of rioters stole a tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

and rode to the nearby town of Boulder, where the destruction continued.

The rioting had stopped by the next day, but the disgruntled locals tried to organise to eject Southern European migrant workers from the mines. After meetings about this were attended by some hundreds of people, rioting once again ensued. Two people were killed, and 86 were arrested.

Broome race riots

In 1920, Japanese residents of Broome

Broome, Western Australia

Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...

in Western Australia, attacked Timor

Timor

Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...

ese living there. The racial violence continued for a week, and was the most violent in the last century. 60 people were injured and 7 killed.

Sydney gang rapes

The Sydney gang rapes were a series of gang rape attacks committed by a group of up to fourteen Lebanese Australian men led by Bilal Skaf

Bilal Skaf

Bilal Skaf is a serial gang rapist who led groups of Lebanese Australian men who committed gang rape attacks against women in 2000....

against white Australian teenage girls, as young as 14, in Sydney Australia in 2000. The crimes were described as ethnically motivated hate crimes by officials and commentators.

Cronulla riots

The Cronulla riots of 2005 were a series of racially

Racism

motivated mob confrontations which originated in and around Cronulla

Cronulla, New South Wales

Cronulla is a beachside suburb, in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Sutherland Shire....

, a beachfront suburb of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, New South Wales

New South Wales

, Australia. Soon after the riot, ethnically motivated violence occurred in several other Sydney suburbs.

On Sunday, 11 December 2005, approximately 5000 people gathered to protest against alleged incidents of assaults and intimidatory behaviour by groups of Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

ern looking youths from the suburbs of South Western Sydney

South-western Sydney

South-western Sydney is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area in south-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney area....

. The crowd initially assembled without incident, but violence broke out after a segment of the mostly white

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

crowd chased a man of Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

ern appearance into a hotel

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

and two other youths of Middle Eastern appearance were assaulted on a train. Police and ambulance officers were also attacked. The racist aspect of the incidents was reported widely overseas.

The next day a number of revenge attacks occurred. Large numbers of Middle Eastern men gathered in Punchbowl in Sydney’s West, police being ordered not to confront them. Revenge attacks by Middle Eastern men against white Australias occurred all over the city, including a stabbing of a man at Woolooware,
a man being attacked by an Iron bar while in his car, gun shots being fired at parked cars at Christian church services and a Church Hall in Auburn in the cities West was burned down.

Attacks against Indian students

In Melbourne, on 30 May 2009, Indian students protested against racist attacks. Thousands of students gathered outside the Royal Melbourne Hospital where one of the victims was admitted. The protest, however, was called off early on the next day morning after the protesters accused police of "ramrodding" them to break up their sit-in.

In Sydney, around 150 – 200 Indian men gathered to protest against police inaction about attacks on them by Lebanese Australian

Lebanese Australian

A Lebanese Australian is an Australian citizen or permanent resident of Lebanese descent. The community is multi-religious, and includes a Christian, mostly Maronite Catholic, majority, as well as a large Muslim minority of both the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam, and various other Christian and...

Youths in Harris Park, in the cities west. Groups of Lebanese youths from the area also attended the scene resulting in some clashes, though police presence stopped further affray. The protest went on for three days.
Australian High Commissioner to India John McCarthy said that there was an element of racism involved in the attacks on Indians.

Racial violence and media reporting

There are often discrepancies in how the media reports 'racial' violence and 'race' riots. The Australian media has been accused of using stereotypes of indigenous peoples to that groups' detriment.
In particular, popular radio commentators have been seen as possibly exacerbating the problem. Sydney Radio commentator Alan Jones

Alan Jones (radio broadcaster)

Alan Belford Jones AO is an Australian radio broadcaster, former rugby union and rugby league coach and administrator.Jones hosts Sydney's most popular breakfast radio program, on radio station 2GB...

was alleged to have encouraged vigilantism, by reading out an SMS call relating to the Cronulla riots and not convincingly condemning it.

Individual race-based crimes in court

Individual race-based crimes have attracted a variety of penalties in Australian legal jurisdictions. The Sydney Morning Herald reported in early 2010 that an Anglo-Australia man, was ordered to pay over A$ 130 000 to an Asian-Australian man that he brutally bashed outside the victim's house. The drunken attacker shouted racial slurs at the victim, suggesting this was a race-based crime. The accused assaulted the victim so badly with a piece of wood that the victim sustained a fractured leg and a partial facial nerve palsy.