The Melbourne story and Australian history
The history of any nation can be traced on different levels. For instance, the history of Australia can be considered through the story of one of the Australian cities. Admittedly, Melbourne is one of the most meaningful Australian cities in terms of history as has often become a center of Australian life, political, economic, cultural, etc. Crotty and Roberts (2009) stress that the very approach to understanding Australian history has changed significantly and now lots of significant events, trends, and people acquire historians’ attention. This change is apparent for visitors of the exhibition The Melbourne Story which is now on in the Museum of Victoria. This exhibition displays the development of the city and it also reveals major milestones in the development of Australia. It is possible to take a closer look at each part of the exhibition to learn more about the history of the nation.
The meeting place
The exhibition starts by telling the story of the events that took place in the 19830s-1850s. That was the period of massive immigration and the development of the European ways of life (Macintyre 2009). New cities with streets, houses, municipal buildings appeared at that time. This was also the period of industrialization and the cultivation of new lands. European continued exploring the continent and they kept interacting with aboriginal people. Noteworthy, the exhibition has a number of items that bear historical, cultural, and even emotional value. One of these items is a canoe that dates back to the 1850s. It is believed that the canoe was stored by a collector (Yarra canoe n.d.). This item is a great illustration of the way some Australians treated pieces of aboriginal culture. It becomes clear that many Australians of the middle of the 19th century respected and tried to preserve some traits of aboriginal culture.
The town of gold
The next landmark is the gold rush in Australia which took place in the 1850-1880s. Blainey (2009) stresses that it was a time of fast development, great empowerment and significant poverty at the same time. Admittedly, thousands of people rushed to Australia in their search for their fortune. This led to the rapid development of the new colony. Railroads, roads, buildings, towns were built at that period of time. Noteworthy, lots of people did find enough gold to start a new business and become wealthy. Though, the majority of gold miners came back to big cities in their search of jobs. It is also important to add that men significantly outnumbered women at that period and this led to the rise of criminal activity, alcohol abuse, and the development of prostitution.
The exhibition has a very valuable artifact that reveals the exhilaration which was a characteristic feature of Melbourne as well as the entire colony at that time. One of these artifacts is a private letter sent by a young woman to her uncle in England. She describes the life in the new world where all men are obsessed with a single idea. She even mentions a wild idea of wearing a man’s clothes and going to goldfields. Admittedly, everyone was trying to start a new prosperous life in the new British colony.
Great development and terrible collapse
It is necessary to note that the two last decades of the nineteenth century were the years of great joy and sorrow for Australia. The colony was rapidly developing. Gold-diggers contributed greatly to the development of the colony’s economy. Douglas, Peut and Butler (2009) stress that several external factors contributed greatly to the economic development of Australia. One of the most important factors was the fact that the British Empire was losing its colonies as the USA had become an independent federation.
There were other issues with numerous British colonies. Australia was seen as a new major colony and a new British stronghold. The researchers add that thousands of prisoners brought to the continent were also an important force used to reach economic wellbeing (Douglas, Peut & Butler 2009). Admittedly, prisoners were an important labor force. They were seen as white slaves who fulfilled the most dangerous and difficult tasks. The rapid development of industries and exploration of new areas led to the development of banking, education and other spheres. This was also the time of marvelous technological advances. For instance, Symphonic is one of the artifacts of that period displayed at the exhibition. Customers could insert coins and hear music coming from that strange machine. That was one of numerous inventions and illustrations of human progress which were common for Melbourne which was as developed as any other European capital.
However, this significant economic leap had a high price for Australian society. As has been mentioned above, lots of gold diggers had to go back to cities and search for jobs. They had to agree to work for low salaries as there was quite a significant rate of unemployment (Macintyre 2009). Workers had to live in really horrible conditions. The exhibition unveils the difficult life of poor people by displaying an average household in poor areas of Melbourne.
Australia at the beginning of the twentieth century
At the very beginning of the twentieth century, Australia was still a rapidly developing colony. It is important to add that the war contributed to the consolidation and spread of national identity, which is always a positive development. Nevertheless, in Australia, it had a negative impact as it led to the spread of the marginalization of minority groups. Australia could become home for European immigrants and was completely closed for Asians or any other ethnic groups. This was the start of the White Australia Policy. It is necessary to note that this policy was changed several times and now the country is open for people of any descent, but many Australians still feel the aftermaths of that policy.
World War I also had a great impact on the future of Australia. As a British colony, Australia sent troops to fight against Germany and its allies. Crotty (2009) notes that Australia lost 60,000 soldiers during that war. Moreover, soldiers, who came back home, brought Spanish flu to Australia and 12,000 people died from this disease (Crotty 2009). Melbourne was one of the cities which were affected most as this city was often the first stop of many soldiers returning from the war. It is needless to say that the rate of unemployment was quite high during the first years after the war.
The era of great challenges
Nonetheless, the city as well as the entire nation soon overcame the difficulties and coped with aftermaths of the World War I. The 1920s were characterized by great technological development. Again, the face of the city and the continent was changing. Such innovations as electricity and the radio filled people with pride. However, soon this tremendous economic and technological success was followed by the great depression which affected the entire world. The rate of unemployment was unprecedented. Social tension was also great and numerous demonstrations were held. Herscovitch and Stanton (2008) note that several schemes of social insurance (unemployment insurance, pensions, etc.) were introduced. However, at the time of the Great Depression, those schemes were hardly effective. The Second World War had devastating effects on the economy of Australia. Thousands of Australian soldiers were fighting against Nazi Germany and its allies. Day (2009) also notes that this war led to new waves of intolerance. The fear of Asian expansion grew and Australians were hostile to people of Asian or African descent. At the same time, military needs let industries develop, which had a positive effect in the long run.
The final display focuses on the period between the 1950s and 1980s. Thus, the post-war years became the years of another great development. Melbourne was again transforming into a modern city. McLean (2004) notes that the period was one of the milestones in the development of the Australian economy. The significant investment enabled Australia to become a country with a strong economy. Admittedly, Australians kept focusing on technological development. They built airports, roads, railroads, etc. The model of some districts of Melbourne displayed at the exhibition shows that it was growing and developing at a high pace. This display shows Melbourne as it was several decades ago. It is still possible to recognize it as a lot of things still remain in the city of the twenty-first century.
Conclusion
To sum up, it is possible to note that the Melbourne Story exhibition can be regarded as a great lens to trace the history of Australia. The city was one of the first places to become home to thousands of Europeans and newcomers. Therefore, every change which took place in the city was spread to the rest of the continent. Every artifact found in Melbourne is an illustration of Australian society’s development. Noteworthy, there were numerous advances and breakthroughs followed by terrible crises and turmoil. Nevertheless, each leap further and even every crisis has contributed to the development of the society which is now enjoying prosperity and stability.
Reference List
Blainey, G 2009, A shorter history of Australia, Random House Australia, Sydney.
Crotty, M 2009, ‘Australian troops land at Gallipoli: trial, trauma and the birth of nation’, in M Crotty & DA Roberts (eds), Turning points in Australian history, UNSW Press, Sydney, pp. 100-115.
Crotty, M & Roberts, DA 2009, ‘Introduction’, in M Crotty & DA Roberts (eds), Turning points in Australian history, UNSW Press, Sydney, pp. 1-18.
Day, D 2009, ‘Prime minister Curtin’s New Year Message: Australia looks to America’, in M Crotty & DA Roberts (eds), Turning points in Australian history, UNSW Press, Sydney, pp. 129-143.
Douglas, A, Peut, G & Butler, R 2009, The true history of the founding of Australia, Web.
Herscovitch, A & Stanton, D 2008, ‘History of social security in Australia’, Australian Institute of Family Studies, no. 80, pp. 51-60.
Macintyre, S 2009, A concise history of Australia, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.
McLean, IW 2004, ‘Australian economic growth in historical perspective’, The Economic Record, vol. 80. no. 250, pp. 330-345.
Yarra canoe n.d., Web.