ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of public policies relevant to Aboriginal and other non-white groups, as well as the position of ethnic minority groups in a continent that, in the wake of colonial annexation, became dominated by Anglo-Celtic peoples. It begins with a historical overview of inclusion, marginalisation, or exclusion in colonial society and then reflects on Aboriginality and multiculturalism in Australia in recent decades. The Australian colonies had begun as settlements for convicts; only later did free settlers outnumber felons. Discovery of gold was a catalyst for change. The gold rushes of the mid-nineteenth century were a stimulus to economic immigrants from places as varied as the USA and East Asia. The prospect of denying Aboriginality suited the politicians who, in 1901, proclaimed an Australian nation. The Constitution failed to mention Indigenous people, and one of the first pieces of legislation to pass the Federal Parliament was the White Australia Policy.
