Practically White: Syrian/Lebanese and Australia's Immigration Restriction Act

Although little attention is paid to Syrian/Lebanese in studies of the Immigration Restriction Act, its passing in 1901 was a seminal moment in the history of their migration to Australia. The most obvious impact of the Act was the ending of free migration. Immigration restriction was so effective that until the 1960s, the number of people born in Syria/Lebanon living in Australia was fewer than 2000. For these immigrants from southwest Asia, the key markers of identity were family, village and religious sect. However, in the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia, the introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act forced the early Syrian/Lebanese immigrants to enter a debate about their racial status. Taking advantage of an apparent confusion about their ethnic identity, they insisted they were white, European and Christian and therefore unfairly targeted by the Act. That Syrian/Lebanese were able to gain some concessions confirms the racist and bigoted intent of the legislation. It also situates their experience within the global movement to protect and expand white dominance and the specific undertaking of the nation’s founders to create a white Australia.