Australian Natives' Association
It comes after the creation of the six Australian colonies, the discovery of significant quantities of gold with the wealth that was brought, and the increasing number of locally born citizens.
The initial idea was to form a Friendly Society to provide help in sickness and distress solely for Melbourne-born citizens.
[5] "Melbourne Natives" desirous of forming a society for the protection and promotion of their interests are requested to attend a meeting on Monday evening, 8 o'clock, at Grimwood's Hotel, Elizabeth St.
[12] The association started to grow and form new branches initially around Melbourne and then in the golds fields towns of Ballarat and Sandhurst (now Bendigo) in 1874 and Neangor (now Eaglehawk) 1876.
The broadening of the Commonwealth Constitution.With the establishment of a growing number of branches, including some outside Melbourne, a conference was held in 1874 to plan for centralised administration of the ANA.
Apart from differing legislation, limitations in communications technologies of the time made thoughts of amalgamating ANA and NZNA impractical.
[20] The organisation avoided party politics, but they soon adopted the rising liberal politician and ANA member Alfred Deakin[21] as their candidate for leadership of the federal movement.
The membership certificate of 1891 shows many of the emblems of the federation such as the Australian Flag, the words Prosperity, Unity, Peace and Federation, a globe of the world showing Australia as a single entity, self-sufficiency through successful industry, and the ANA coat of arms featuring the kangaroo and emu.
Other national issues supported by the ANA included afforestation, an Australian-made goods policy, water conservation, and the celebration of 'proper and meaningful' citizenship ceremonies following the increased levels of migration after World War II.
[citation needed] In the late 1880s, an ANA-sponsored literary and musical competition was mooted by several Victorian branches,[23] along the lines of that run by the South Street Society and, like that organisation, originating in Ballarat, there the first such event took place on Foundation Day, 26 January 1892; Calder Smith and C. R. Church being among those credited with its successful launch, with Ballarat's Star newspaper a strong supporter.
[25] The ANA was wary of admitting female members, on the basis that at the time males were predominately the primary income earners.
At the 1896 Daylesford Conference, the Clifton Hill branch presented a motion instructing the Board to take steps for form a Friendly Society similar to the ANA for Australian-born females.
The ANA and AWA worked closely together and at times jointly published document listing key office holder.
[27] The changing circumstances after WW2 and the greater involvement of the Federal Government in providing social supports started to challenge Friendly Societies including the AWA.
[27] Alongside the Returned and Services League, the ANA was one of the last Australian groups to support the White Australia Policy.
In 2007, the Mosman Park WA Branch of the ANA closed down; the building owned by the chapter was sold, and the proceeds distributed among the groups remaining 320 members.
No Asian, African or Pacific Islander can be an Australian, they may very well live on this soil – but they by no means can ever truly identify as an Australian: our identity is inseparable from history, culture and genealogy.The ANA, although expressing a devout conviction for the return of the White Australia policy due to concerns for the "social impacts" of immigration,[33] has stated that "all men (even aliens) should be treated with basic dignity unless they have proven themselves worthy of something less".
Well-intentioned racialists who have transcended nationality and ethnicity which sees a stronger connection to the Ku Klux Klan or Hitler's Third Reich than to Australia cannot be reconciled with an Australian-centric worldview.
