High of 29, sunny skies, no humidity.
The temperature isn't the only thing that went up. Gas went from 1.35 to 1.47 again. I can't figure out any logical reasoning, except the it jumps every time I have to fill up.
We spent a few hours at the Immigration Museum.
The building is wonderful. It is right in the CBD, and was, originally, the Customs House. This was a very important part of government. Ships arriving in Melbourne were inspected by customs officials, and they determined the customs duties of the merchandise. Before the creation of income taxes custom duties provided 80% of government revenues.
The building has been restored and is one of the landmarks of Melbourne.
The exhibits are excellent. There are full scale replicas of accommodations for passengers sailing from Europe.
Back in the 1840's it took 4 to 6 months to sail to Australia. A family would have a berth the size of a queen size bed, to live in and store all their belongings.
The museum is very honest and points out the mistreatment of the aboriginals, and also the racist policies of governments, over time.
There was a large influx of Chinese in the second half of the 19th century, because of the large Australian gold rush of the 1850's, and a great resentment by the whites to the success of the Chinese gold miners.
In 1901 Australia joined the Commonwealth. Part of its constitution was a "White Australia" policy. This allowed the government to determine who could immigrate to Australia. Non-whites were greatly discouraged. Something unique to Australian policy was the "Dictation Test". This was applied to people landing in Australia, who were considered "undesirable". The test could be given in any European language. It was basically a way to keep non-whites out.
In a celebrated case, a Czech communist who wanted to attend a conference, back in 1934, was given the test in several languages, but finally failed when Gaelic was used. This led to a court case, that threw out the outcome.
The Dictation Test wasn't officially discontinued until 1958.
In many ways immigration and the treatment of minorities was similar in Australia and Canada. The treatment of Chinese labourers in British Columbia was like the treatment of Chinese labourers in Australia.. In, both Australia and Canada, there were internment camps, during the World Wars, for Germans and Japanese, in WWII.
The Austalian government prides itself, that, in recent years, it has accepted refugees from Somalia, the Sudan, Kosovo, and other troubled areas.
I have to say that there seems to be more of a "White Power" mentality here than at home. Immigration policies are one of the hot topics in Australian politics.
Australia is not as diverse as Canada, there a high number of Orientals, but some could have been here for several generations. There are few Africans, and a small number of Muslims, but nothing on the scale of Toronto.
To be honest, I prefer our attitude.
Enjoy, Ralf
The temperature isn't the only thing that went up. Gas went from 1.35 to 1.47 again. I can't figure out any logical reasoning, except the it jumps every time I have to fill up.
We spent a few hours at the Immigration Museum.
The building is wonderful. It is right in the CBD, and was, originally, the Customs House. This was a very important part of government. Ships arriving in Melbourne were inspected by customs officials, and they determined the customs duties of the merchandise. Before the creation of income taxes custom duties provided 80% of government revenues.
The building has been restored and is one of the landmarks of Melbourne.
The exhibits are excellent. There are full scale replicas of accommodations for passengers sailing from Europe.
Back in the 1840's it took 4 to 6 months to sail to Australia. A family would have a berth the size of a queen size bed, to live in and store all their belongings.
The museum is very honest and points out the mistreatment of the aboriginals, and also the racist policies of governments, over time.
There was a large influx of Chinese in the second half of the 19th century, because of the large Australian gold rush of the 1850's, and a great resentment by the whites to the success of the Chinese gold miners.
In 1901 Australia joined the Commonwealth. Part of its constitution was a "White Australia" policy. This allowed the government to determine who could immigrate to Australia. Non-whites were greatly discouraged. Something unique to Australian policy was the "Dictation Test". This was applied to people landing in Australia, who were considered "undesirable". The test could be given in any European language. It was basically a way to keep non-whites out.
In a celebrated case, a Czech communist who wanted to attend a conference, back in 1934, was given the test in several languages, but finally failed when Gaelic was used. This led to a court case, that threw out the outcome.
The Dictation Test wasn't officially discontinued until 1958.
In many ways immigration and the treatment of minorities was similar in Australia and Canada. The treatment of Chinese labourers in British Columbia was like the treatment of Chinese labourers in Australia.. In, both Australia and Canada, there were internment camps, during the World Wars, for Germans and Japanese, in WWII.
The Austalian government prides itself, that, in recent years, it has accepted refugees from Somalia, the Sudan, Kosovo, and other troubled areas.
I have to say that there seems to be more of a "White Power" mentality here than at home. Immigration policies are one of the hot topics in Australian politics.
Australia is not as diverse as Canada, there a high number of Orientals, but some could have been here for several generations. There are few Africans, and a small number of Muslims, but nothing on the scale of Toronto.
To be honest, I prefer our attitude.
Enjoy, Ralf
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