Movie Settings Database

The Birth of White Australia

Where:

New South Wales

When:

The 18th Century The 1860s

An early Australian silent film depicting historical events on the Young district goldfields, then known as Lambing Flat. During the gold rush of 1861, tensions between Australian miners and immigrant Chinese led to rioting, with Chinese miners attacked and driven from the diggings. The film portrays these events as being the genesis - or birth - of the White Australia policy, a significant political issue of the day.

Released in 1928 — 103 minutes