Arrival and Establishment of Other Religious Traditions (HSC SSCE Studies of Religion): Revision Notes

Arrival and Establishment of Other Religious Traditions

Introduction

Before 1945, Australia was home to several non-Christian religious traditions alongside Christianity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spiritualities existed long before European colonisation. Judaism arrived with the First Fleet, while other traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam came during the nineteenth century. The Federation of Australia in 1901 marked a critical turning point, as restrictive immigration policies significantly affected the arrival and establishment of these religious communities.

Hinduism in Australia

Early arrival through indentured labour

Hinduism reached Australian shores during the nineteenth century through indentured workers from South Asia. Indentured labour refers to working under fixed-term contracts with repressive conditions, often involving bringing people to a country for a set period to perform specific jobs. These workers were brought to Australia to address labour shortages that had previously been filled by convicts before the 1840s.

The expansion of European settlement beyond the Blue Mountains into western New South Wales opened vast grazing lands for sheep and cattle. This created strong demand for shepherds and labourers. Free settlers pushed for what they called 'coolie labour' (a derogatory British colonial term for unskilled labourers from Asia). This demand was so intense that separate colonial commissions on immigration were conducted in 1837, 1838 and 1841, followed by the establishment of a coolie association by pastoralists in 1842.

Despite this opposition, small-scale immigration from the Indian subcontinent continued, with workers employed as shepherds, itinerant traders (tinkers and salesmen) and domestic servants for wealthy colonists. A fourth commission in 1854 effectively ended Asian immigration to New South Wales.

Queensland followed a different pattern from the 1860s onwards. Plantation-style operations for sugar cane and bananas led to assisted immigration of Hindu and Sikh people from India, alongside workers from Sri Lanka, Polynesia and Italy. When these indentured workers completed their contracts, various state laws made it extremely difficult for them to gain residency or find employment in other regions.

Treatment and conditions

Indentured workers endured poor treatment from their employers. Their basic needs and cultural requirements were routinely ignored. For example, vegetarian workers found their dietary requirements were rarely accommodated. The term 'Hindus' was broadly applied to all Indian people regardless of their actual religion, reflecting the lack of understanding or respect for religious diversity among South Asian immigrants.

Federation and the Immigration Restriction Act 1901

The Act used an English-language dictation test to restrict non-white immigration. Customs officials would read out a text and require immigrants to write it down. However, the test was applied inconsistently and discriminatorily. Not all applicants faced the test, and some could complete it in their own language. Immigration officers only administered it to those deemed 'undesirable'—invariably people of colour or Asian background.

The effectiveness of this policy is evident in census data: despite pre-Federation immigration, only 4,106 people were classified as 'Hindoos' in 1911 (a category that included Muslim Afghans, Punjabi Sikhs and Indian Hindus). By 1947, this number had plummeted to just 2,189 people identifying as 'Indian'.

Resistance and political rights

Indian immigrants, as British subjects, sometimes appealed to Britain regarding unfair treatment in Australia. These appeals from across the British Empire concerning equal treatment eventually led to some non-white residents, including South Asians, being granted voting rights in 1925—a full 24 years after this right had been enshrined in the Constitution.

Sikh community development

Religious practice under restriction

Because Hinduism centres primarily on worship at home altars rather than in temples, and because South Asians were predominantly denied permanent residency in colonial Australia, building temples was not an immediate priority. European monotheists at this time viewed Hinduism with considerable suspicion, questioning whether it was a genuine religion or merely paganism.

Post-White Australia policy growth

Hindu communities only began officially settling and constructing worship buildings after the White Australia policy ended. The Sri Mandir temple in Auburn, established in 1977 with the present building constructed in 2001, reflects this policy change. More elaborate temples followed, including the Sri Venkateswara temple in Helensburgh (begun 1978), which contains shrines for both Shaivite and Vaishnavite worshippers and hosts an annual Ganesh festival. The Sydney Murugan Temple near Parramatta, opened in 2001, demonstrates the impressive scale Hinduism has achieved in Australia.

Judaism in Australia

Early arrival and initial community formation

Jewish presence in Australia dates back to European settlement itself. Between six and thirteen Jewish convicts arrived with the First Fleet in 1788. During this period, Jewish people were often regarded as a Christian denomination rather than a separate religion. While early Jewish convicts were frequently not well-educated in Judaism, the foundation for communal religious life began to take shape.

The first Jewish institution established in Australia was the Chevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society), formed in Sydney in 1817. This organisation emerged from the desire of Jewish convicts and emancipists (those who had completed their sentences and become free citizens) to conduct burials according to Jewish law and practice. Formal prayer services existed earlier, as Jewish law only requires ten adult Jewish males (a minyan) to conduct prayer services.

A genuine Jewish community did not fully form until the late 1820s, when free settlers began migrating to Australia. These settlers were overwhelmingly middle-class Ashkenazim from England (Jewish people originally from northern and eastern Europe). A small number of Sephardim (Jewish people whose families were expelled from Spain in 1492 and settled around the Middle East and North Africa) were part of the South Australian community.

Early Jewish identity and integration

Their daily practices did not significantly distinguish them from the surrounding community. To avoid conflict and prevent Christianity from becoming identified as the state religion, early Jewish settlers promoted the view that Judaism, like all religious expression, was primarily a matter of private conscience. They actively advocated for a secular approach to colonial life.

Terminology and self-identification

To distance themselves from negative attitudes surrounding the term 'Jew' in colonial society, the Jewish population used the terms 'Hebrews' or 'Israelites' and called their congregations 'Hebrew congregations'. This linguistic choice reflected their strategy for gaining acceptance within the largely Christian community.

Development of institutions

Making the Jewish community self-sufficient required establishing numerous organisations and institutions:

Religious institutions:

• Phillip Cohen, a merchant, began holding regular synagogue services from his home in Sydney in 1828
• In 1832, Cohen oversaw the formation of the Sydney Hebrew Congregation
• Australia's first synagogue opened in Bridge Street, Sydney, with a more permanent building consecrated in York Street five years later (1837)
• The Great Synagogue in Elizabeth Street has housed the Sydney Hebrew Congregation for worship since 1877

Social support organisations:

• Hebrew Philanthropic Society (founded around 1832)
• Hebrew Mutual Benefit Society (founded around 1848)
• Hebrew Ladies' Maternity and Benevolent Society

Media and communication:

• Australian Israelite newspaper
• Australasian Hebrew newspaper
• Hebrew Standard newspaper

The role of Rabbi Aaron Levy

Functions of Australian synagogues

Australian synagogues developed as more than places of worship. They became centres for all dimensions of Jewish life, responsible for:

• Conducting religious services and worship
• Supervising burial grounds
• Regulating charity distribution
• Overseeing dietary laws (kashrut)
• Providing Jewish education
• Serving as community gathering spaces

Frontier Judaism and the gold rush

During the nineteenth century, frontier Judaism was actively encouraged. The gold rush period saw Jewish communities establish congregations in country towns including Broken Hill, Forbes, Goulburn, Maitland, Tamworth and Toowoomba. However, as mineral deposits became scarcer, membership numbers declined. While some individuals found fortune during the gold rush, many barely survived as pedlars or traders.

The larger congregations in Sandhurst (Bendigo) and Ballarat in Victoria managed to function longer due to their greater size.

Urban drift and assimilation pressures

Like most minority cultural and ethnic groups in rural Australia, Jewish history has been characterised by urban drift. This trend was particularly evident in German communities in Albury and Grafton during the nineteenth century. Despite the German-language press, German social organisations and the patriarchal (father-centred, male-dominated) influence of the Lutheran Church that helped sustain ethnic allegiance, the desire to join the broader community progressively weakened traditional ties.

Buddhism in Australia

Chinese religious presence

Chinese religions may have first reached Australia as early as the 1500s, when Chinese sailors possibly explored the southern oceans. A significant Chinese presence developed during the mid-nineteenth century gold-rush period, though these immigrants experienced severe racism. The riots at Lambing Flat (Young, New South Wales) in 1860–61 represented the most notable violent eruptions against Asian people.

The Chinese population consisted largely of followers of Chinese folk religions, though many Buddhists were also present. By 1891, Chinese people comprised 1.2 per cent of the Australian population, though many previous residents had already returned to China due to hostile conditions and restrictive policies.

Sri Lankan Buddhist community

Islam in Australia

Early contact and arrival

Islam may have first reached Australia through sixteenth-century visits by Macassan fishermen from Indonesia. Contact might have occurred even earlier, as Islam arrived in Indonesia from the 1400s onwards. However, sustained Muslim immigration did not occur until workers were needed for building the overland telegraph line across central Australia.

Afghan camel drivers

From the late 1800s onwards, Australia saw an influx of 'ghans'—camel drivers identified as Afghans, though many actually came from various west-Asian regions including Punjab, Peshawar and other areas. These workers were Muslims who lived in 'ghan towns', typically located outside major settlements. They built numerous mosques across outback Australia, with the Broken Hill mosque remaining one of the oldest still in use.

Many of these Muslim workers returned to their countries of origin at the end of the nineteenth century to rejoin their families, as the restrictive immigration policies made permanent settlement extremely difficult.

The Coolgardie Muslim community (case study)

Marriage patterns and family life

Muslim men in the outback often married, though this created complex family situations. Some men maintained a wife in India or Afghanistan while also marrying in Australia. For example, camel driver Nameth Khan had a wife and two daughters in Peshawar while also marrying an Australian woman at Alice Springs registry office. In 1919, both he and his Australian wife died from Spanish influenza, though his Australian daughter later maintained contact with his Indian family, visiting the Punjab region during the 1960s.

One example was a deserted wife with eight children who married Bejah Dervish; their son participated in the 1939 Simpson Desert crossing. Another case involved Gool Mahomet and a French woman who had fled a Kalgoorlie brothel. After their 1907 marriage in Coolgardie Mosque, they lived in Ghantown and drove camels in outback South Australia.

Racial divisions and economic competition

In western Queensland during the 1890s, camel drivers became major targets of racial vilification. Local newspapers criticised Muslims for abstaining from alcohol and for opening businesses such as halal butcher shops, describing them as 'more detestable than the Chinese'.

Racism in the union movement

Queensland's growing union movement displayed pronounced racism during this period. A common view held that both 'Afghan' and Chinese workers provided cheap labour that undermined white workers' living standards. Rather than advocating for wage equality across all racial groups, unions tolerated the economic exploitation of people deemed racially inferior.

Cultural and religious practices

Muslims faced criticism for maintaining their religious and cultural practices. They were condemned for abstaining from alcohol (a core Islamic principle) and for establishing businesses that served their community's needs, such as halal butcher shops. This criticism reflected the broader intolerance faced by non-Christian religious communities in colonial Australia.