These Irish formed wild settler clans which caused long feuds with the authorities creating problems for the early developing Australia. These convicts who managed to escape the Australian colonies and take refuge in the outback became known as ‘bushrangers.’ These fleeing Irish convicts struggled to support themselves in the harsh Australian wilderness and therefore turned to robbery and violence on remote settlements and travellers. The most famous example of a bushranger tormenting and causing problems for the authorities was Ned Kelly. O’Farrell states ‘he was evil on a grand scale’ – yet he and his gang gained support from the bottom – Irish or not because these people could relate to oppression. Likewise, he has gained support in history as a romantic figure with a story of persecution, suppression, escape and execution. O’Farrell also identifies that ‘Persecuted, indomitable Ireland was for Ned Kelly a symbol of his and his people’s plight.’ Many of his fellow Irishmen I’m sure would have felt the common feeling of oppression that emigrated with them from Ireland generating them to retaliate and rise up against the British. It was men like these who as O’Farrell suggests used “Irish History in which they couched, paraded, and dignified their very Australian bushranging exploits and rough criminality.”
On the other hand, O’Farrell does present a case that although many of the Irish were amongst the bushranger’s big names (e.g. Henry Power to name another) – statistics portray that many other bushrangers were Australian born, English born and many of the Irish born were Protestant also. O’Farrell also highlights that the Irish had a huge impact on the police – for example, in 1865 – 66.7 percent of the police force in New South Wales were Irish born and further South in Victoria in 1874 - 81.7 percent of the police force were Irish born. This was because various elements of the Australian police force legislation and regulation were based on Irish models.
A negative impact the Irish had on Australian society was that Protestants and Catholics alike brought their issues of Green versus Orange and anti-establishment versus Monarchist, creating conflict in the Australian colonies. There was conflict between the underclass consisting of the Irish Catholics and the ruling class of British Australian. The Irish were regarded with suspicion due to fears that they were likely to be unruly and anti-establishment because of the struggles for independence in Ireland. There were differences between the Irish and the dominant English in the Australian colonies based on religion, sometimes language, and a presumed opposition to values of the ruling class and an assumed inferiority of the Irish based on imported English attitudes. With Irish Catholics carrying their name like a distinguishing brand - for example, O’Brien, Hennessy and Murphy; it invited a distancing reaction of categorisation and a response of aggression. Some historians have argued that it was the Irish who were at the forefront of certain hostilities; however, it was not always them who were responsible. Conversely it was British paranoia of Catholic numerical and political dominance and in the 1840’s when assisted migration got underway that marked the non-conformist anti-Irish/Catholic rhetoric. The British also provoked Irish Catholic aggression when they created rules to compel them to join in Protestant religious services. These attitudes and atmosphere caused tension in the colonies and sometimes disruption to the development of the country. However, many historians have argued that this activity marked the history of most of the Australian colonies in the 19th century.
Likewise, the Irish and their sectarian attitudes caused major problems in the Australian colonies in the 19th century. There were reports of subordinate Catholic farm labourers showing their grievances to landlords. There were occasional attempts to shoot Protestant farmers, along with prominent Orangeman going around armed due to this threat. There were instances of outbreaks on 12th July (the commemoration of the victory of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690). For example, in Melbourne Orange Lodges celebrated the 12th July in 1846 and this caused retaliation from the Catholic Irish leading to a riot in which shots were fired and some wounded. Also, in Sydney a transparency portraying King William crossing the Boyne was stoned by Irish Catholics – Protestants replied with rifle fire into a crowd with a boy of eleven being killed. Also, there was a presence of the Fenian movement in Australia in 1860s causing paranoia among the British. This paranoia became reality on March, 1868 an Irish Catholic and Fenian, Henry James O’Farrell, attempted to kill the Duke of Edinburgh in Sydney: this provoked the Orange movement to double its membership by the end of the year to 2000.
However, the point can be argued that the Irish and their sectarian attitudes did little to disrupt Australian society, and many Irish Protestants and Catholics left their issues in Ireland and got on with contributing the country. O’Farrell highlights also that “the bulk of Ulster Protestant immigrants coming to Australia had little patience with divisive Irish politics or sectarian animus.” This is portrayed by the fact that many Protestant men from the north were happy to intermarry with other groups in the colony – including Irish Catholic women. In districts like Kiami, south of Sydney as well as places like Shoalhaven and Gerringong they had up to double the state average of Irish and the population was of mixed Irish: Protestant and Catholic. In most places like this where the mix was high, still very little violence occurred as the temper of extremists was very unpopular.
It can be no surprise that the Irish had a major influence on the settlement of towns in Australia due to the numbers that arrived in the 19th century – and many historians have identified that this was a positive impact in the development of the country. For example Geelong, in Victoria, was largely populated by the Irish – this is because for years there was direct emigration from the home country to the town. On one occasion the local government agent thought it his duty to direct the attention of his superiors to the fact that “during the year 1855 the number of Irish people brought to Geelong in the government immigrant ships exceeded that of the English and Scottish put together.” Towns like these became centred around Irish people. Another example of a typical Irish town in Victoria was Kilmore. Its name, its people and its general characteristics combined to make it a distinctively Catholic and Celtic town. The Irish would purchase land on the outskirts of these towns because it could be bought and settled on reasonable terms – this largely shaped the layout of the town and the way the government would divide up districts.
Towns like these based on exceptionally fertile land between Sydney and Melbourne were discovered by early Irish immigrants who therefore prospered remarkably giving them a great deal of control in influencing the development of them. Especially when surrounding areas discovered gold – many of these so called ‘Irish colonies’ excelled and changed the face and fortunes of many of the immigrants. These settlers lost no time sending for and bringing out their poor and oppressed relations from famine Ireland. And it was no surprise that many were very enthusiastic at sharing their relations prosperity and freedom; and so the numbers multiplied. The Irish had never enjoyed so much influence in a society. O’Farrell comments on Victoria that “Irish atmosphere was far more confident, more secure, and more central to the general system of public and political life.”
Although, Protestants from Ulster only consisted of between 10 and 20 percent of the Irish total, as mentioned earlier, they still managed to have a large influence on Australian society. This was because they generally had more wealth and their Protestantism allowed them to merge easily into colonial life. They were more skilled, arrived with modest means and assets – tending towards the trades and skilled employment. O’Farrell distinguishes that they had a distinctive variety of Irishness about them, respectability and hard work. They lacked religious intensity and lacked that wilder and poetic dimension of some of the Irish Catholics. Protestants had a large impact on the progression of Australia because with their wealth they could buy and develop the land, and build up commercial empires.
For example, in the early 1840s an enterprising Protestant Irishman from Co. Cavan named James Atkinson secured 5120 acres of land in Victoria. He had the idea of establishing himself as a landlord leasing out small plots of land to Irish immigrants and laid out a town named Belfast (a direct descendent of the Ulster capital). Atkinson divided the land into small plots for potato growing and set aside land for a Catholic Church. Men like these had a significant influence on Australian society – he would bring shiploads of countrymen, wives and families from the eastern ports without the condition of them being of northern origin or protestant. He would provide them with land, seed and the means to ripen their crops. He was effectively creating Irish colonies – places that mirrored Irish habitations. Atkinson and his town of Belfast is also an example of another characteristic that was attempted to be implemented by wealthy men mirroring the situation in Ireland: ‘absentee landlordism.’ He leased the land at extortionate prices and unfair conditions and spent much of his time in Ireland reaping the profits. However, the Irish were different in Australia and would not suffer from the same landlordism they had experienced in Ireland; they strove to create a different type of society in Australia. For example, in Belfast the tenants gained support and from outside pressures the tenants were allowed the privilege of buying out their holdings, the town was changed from foreign to local proprietorship and the town later became known as ‘Port Fairy.’ This is an example of the layout of a town being influenced by an Irishman, but also that Irish life would be more favorable to that of their home country. Yet, it is still interesting to note that certain Irishmen would have an influence on issues such as place names, as O’Farrell writes, “Dominant Orange settlers had graced the landscape with names expressing their stance: e.g. ‘Loyal Valley’.”
On the other hand, it can be argued that Irishmen, especially Catholics have had a substantial impact in many fronts of Australian society. For example, in most, if not every colony, Irishmen will be found distinguishing themselves as political leaders, especially late 19th century. For example, James Hogan writes about the Irish in Australia in 1887 and can see the immediate effects the Irish have had on politics in Australia. He writes “Responsible parliamentary government, or, in simpler words, Home Rule, is in operation in all the Australian colonies save one, and it is, therefore, not surprising that colonial legislatures should have a large proportion of Irishmen, when it is remembered that the choice of efficient representatives is left unreservedly in the hands of the people.” This depicts that the Irish would have been popular in democratic Australia because much of the nation would admire and relate to the idea of home rule off Great Britain. He also alleges the ability of the Irish in politics giving the example that since the inception of parliamentary government in Victoria, all the Speakers of the Legislative Assembly have been all Irishmen. It can therefore be agreed that the Irish would have played an important role in legislation and policy making in 19th century Australia.
Due to their considerable numbers in Australia, it is not surprising that the Irish made a significant contribution to the Australian linguistics of the 19th Century. For example, the Irish were mainly located in the urban and rural working-class sectors – they therefore had direct contact with the native Aborigines who were moving into these areas also. Jacklin Troy proposes that it was the Irish who developed and spread the Pidgin among the Aborigines. The pidgin was a simplified form of speech mixing two or more languages for communicating between the Natives and English speakers. Troy thus cites that “in many cases the Irish were the most numerous in terms of early contact with Aborigines and it was their Irish-English which must have provided the input to New South Wales Pidgin.” And although the Gaelic language diminished along with the population in Ireland because of the Great Famine, the Irish would have had some influence on Australian-English, words and the accent.
Another area of 19th Century Australia the Irish made a considerable impact on is the development of Australian art, literature, poetry, plays and newspapers. As O’Farrell writes, “Here (in Australia) was Ireland, in unfamiliar Anglo-Irish guise, as inspiration and exemplar in a role central to the evolution of the broader general Australian literary culture.” O’Farrell proposes that it was the Irish with their explosion of genius and creativity that gave Australia its cultural expression and identity.
However, many believe the Irish had the most influence over the development of the church in Australia. As Hogan writes, “In all this it can be seen how large a part Irishmen had in laying a foundation for the Church in Australia.” Due to the Irish there was a massive number of Catholics in 19th century Australia. These Irish set up churches and educational institutions spreading Catholicism in the country. For example, an Anglo-Irish liberal Sir Richard Bourke passed the New South Wales Church Act in 1836 – this disestablished the Church of England and laid the foundations for a pluralistic religious and educational system. Donations from, and involvement of, poor and middle income earners built up the church, the material church was a declaration of their Irish Catholicism. Money collection and construction of church buildings became an obsession. “By 1879 the schools and churches had become the symbol of Catholic unity and of political, social and religious status of Catholics.” Their "Irishness" encouraged Australian’s to be loyal to the church and through educational programmes Catholicism became second only to the Church of England.
Therefore, in conclusion, the Irish had a negative impact on Australia in some aspects of society such as criminality and cause of some troubles – however much of this was not their responsibility and has been largely over-exaggerated by general discussions on the Irish. On the other hand, Irish contribution to Australian society in such aspects as education, politics, literature and the development of settlements largely outweighs these negatives. O’Farrell demonstrates in his studies that the Irish contributed in a multitude of ways to the development of the Australian economy, political systems and “national character.” It is difficult for Australians to imagine their history and development of their young country without the Irish element.
Bibliography:
Patrick O’Farrell : The Irish in Australia ; New South Wales University press
James Francis Hogan : The Irish in Australia; London : Ward & Downey, 1887
The Irish Emigrant Experience in Australia : Edited by John O’Brien and Pauric Travers; Poolbeg Press, 1991
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