The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 13 Pacific Realm Cultural Geography I

CHAPTER 13 Pacific Realm Cultural Geography I Australia as Melting Pot Created by nom Noun A melting pot is a metaphor for a population that a variety of different peoples ethnicities and races . Historically , the United States often has been characterized as a melting pot society , though many question how well contemporary America fits into that model . More recently , America often is characterized as an ethnic salad bowl . The salad bowl metaphor portrays a society where many ethnicities are mixed together , but largely maintain their separate identities . Sometimes the salad bowl concept is described with a different picture the mosaic . Overall , a multicultural country has a mixture of peoples and . Before modern transportation made international migration much easier , countries , especially in Europe , often had a homogenous ethnic population . Everyone in Greece was Greek and all Greeks were in Greece . Now of Greece consist of . Now there are Greeks living in countries around the world . The multicultural spectrum assesses a range of the benefits cultural ideas and offerings , while also looking at the levels of assimilation and pride in the majority culture and citizenship of that country . 63

64 JOEL AND SCOTT CAMPBELL 93 ) 060 Created by from Noun Contemporary Australia likely is a better example of a melting pot society than present day America , less so a salad bowl . This was not always so for Australia , as British exploration and settlement installed a powerful white racial advantage . Even so , it may be that Australia geographic isolation helps a melting pot society become more likely than a salad bowl . Long before there was a country Australia , there was a vast empty land . People crossed from nearby islands , so that aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples sparsely populated the continent . Eventually , the British and other Europeans came to explore , but the British took over . Later a variety of peoples from across the globe reached Australia , but were assimilated into the melting pot . Now has allowed more retention of ethnic differences , so that while the salad bowl metaphor has not been certified , it has gained ground . Following sea captain James Cook exploration of the eastern shores of Australia , the British claim and settlement of Australia famously began with the transportation of convicts from the Britain to this new land . Over time ( more than white prisoners sailed to Australia , accompanied by another free white settlers who performed various roles in the creation of a new British society in an otherwise lightly populated yet huge land . Of course , the native peoples had sailed to Australia much earlier , originally about years ago , crossing from New Guinea and nearby islands . Numbering between and in population upon European arrival , the aborigines were divided into many communities , speaking about 700 different languages . As was frequently true throughout the world of conquest and colonialism , the British easily dominated the native peoples in military might , seizing control little difficulty . Aboriginal populations not killed by better weaponry were decimated by disease and through habitat loss . The large flow of migrants that next followed the stream of convicts to Australia was the gold rush . From 1851 to 1861 , about people came to Australia to seek their fortunes . While most of these settlers were from the British Isles , notable flows came from a few countries , including from China . Nevertheless , the century brought constraints to immigration . First , the and now infamous White Australia policy limited . For instance , for the first half ofthat century , Asian migration to Australia was banned . Second , World War I placed several countries on the enemies list . An example is that Turks were barred as migrants to Australia until 1930 . However , small flows of Greeks , Italians , and Jews did move to Australia . Third , World War II reclassified the enemies list . Now Italians were not welcome . After , Australia graciously accepted refugees and displaced persons from Europe . This policy brought people such as Estonians , Belgians , Danes , and others . As these migrants of those fifty years were almost exclusively white Europeans , their assimilation into Australians was not too difficult . The second half of the century introduced reform to the White Australia policy , including its repeal and the

PACIFIC REALM CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 65 substitution of in 1973 . Soon , people were arriving from a variety of countries around the world China , India , Vietnam , South Africa , and other lands . The 215 century has continued this pattern of a diverse range of origins for migrants to Australia . by from Noun What is Australia now ?

For Australia current population of 26 million people , there are approximately aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people accordingly , that is about native ancestry . The Guardian reported results of the 2016 Australian national census , that The top five most commonly reported countries of birth among the 26 of Australians born overseas were England ( New Zealand ( down from in 2011 ) China ( up from ) India ( up from ) and the Philippines ( In the same news article , The Guardian also indicated that Nearly half ( 49 ) of all Australians were either born overseas ( first generation ) or have at least one parent born overseas ( second generation ) The remaining 51 were at least third generation born in Australia to parents . Clearly , Australia ethnic mix is becoming more diverse and colorful . Government and society have rejected the white only idea , replacing it with ideas of openness . So now , melting pot or salad bowl ?

That not an easy call . However , Australia relative isolation still may have an impact . Geographically , it makes sense that there are two main factors in affecting ease of or resistance to assimilation into the majority national culture . How easy is it to live within your own ethnic enclave and still succeed economically ?

As different ethnic groups migrated to America , typically they initially stayed within their own ethnic enclaves , but as these enclaves were not large enough to sustain significant economic success and even the American Dream , the and overwhelmingly the ethnicities spoke the English language and assimilated into the American culture . As ethnic groups in America have increased in size and as globalization has increased economic opportunities with foreign connections , perhaps it is easier to resist assimilation in America . How easy is it to travel to and communicate with the ethnic homeland ?

Again , in America when the first generation Irish or Italian or migrants came to the USA , it was costly to travel back to the European homeland and costly to telephone home as well . Modern transportation and communication is much easier , so perhaps this too has reduced the urgency of assimilation in America . This is a good geographic discussion , but some now argue that America is more like a salad bowl than a melting pot .

66 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL So what about Australia ?

Considering both of the factors in the previous paragraph , Australia relative location suggests higher likelihood of assimilation . How easy is it to live within your own ethnic enclave and still succeed economically ?

As historically Australia shows a very modest population , certainly it would be difficult for any ethnic group of migrants to reach a critical mass needed to succeed outside of the main culture . How easy is it to travel to and communicate with the ethnic homeland ?

Well , Australia is noted for its isolation and separation from the rest of the world . Certainly , as it developed through British colonization and its successor growth , Australia position on the periphery of the world landmasses made it difficult more migrants from other lands to travel back to or communicate with the homeland . For both of those factors , it has been overwhelmingly easier to assimilate , more so than in America even . Now though , as in America , the modern world of globalization , transportation , and telecommunication has shrunk the world , so in Australia too it is newly somewhat comfortable to keep that separate ethnicity while mixing with the majority Australian identity . In both cases of America and Australia , it seems that the movement from melting pot to salad bowl is a natural evolution , but more advanced in America than in Australia . Did You Know ?

A pure melting pot society is portrayed by the Borg in various Star Trek episodes . The Borg assimilate all other species , taking their technological and cultural singularities and incorporating these features into the Borg collective . The Borg mantra You will be assimilated . Resistance is futile is presented as an ultimatum . In human societies , melting pot societies sometimes present varied levels of coercion in assimilation . Australia celebrates Harmony Week as they commemorate the cultural diversity but also its sense of belonging together . The Harmony Day holiday is set on March 21 . CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Hunt , Elle . 2017 . Barely Half of Population Born in Australia to Parents . The Guardian , June 27 , 2017 , sec . Australia news .

PACIFIC REALM CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY 67 Australia with ( Orthographic Projection ) file . Creative Commons Alike . Australia Migration History Migration Heritage Centre . 2010 . Tim . 2012 . Land of Many Cultures , and Faiths . The Sydney Morning . Immigration Australia Timeline . 2019 . Main Features Australia Population by Country of Birth . 2017 . of Australia Bureau of Statistics . num . Population Clock . 2020 . of Australia Bureau of Statistics . March 18 ,