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Question

Difficulty: MediumEarly 20th Century Population

In 19011901, the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia conducted its first national census. Which of the following characterizes the 44 million people who were officially counted in this census?

  1. The majority shared a similar cultural background, primarily having British and Irish heritage.Answer
  2. B
    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people represented the largest portion of the officially recorded population.
  3. C
    The counted population was mainly composed of migrants who had recently arrived from Southern and Eastern Europe.

Answer

The correct answer is that the majority of the population counted in 19011901 shared a similar cultural background, primarily of British and Irish heritage.
The correct answer is correct because at Federation in 19011901, the newly formed nation was very culturally homogeneous; the 44 million people officially recorded were almost entirely of British or Irish heritage and used English as their unifying language.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the historical context of the 19011901 census.
The census took place at the birth of the Commonwealth of Australia.
This establishes the timeframe for the demographic makeup being discussed.
2
Analyze the demographic composition of the 44 million people counted.
The vast majority were of British and Irish descent and spoke English.
This identifies the shared cultural and ethnic characteristics of the early 20th-century population.
3
Differentiate between the counted population and excluded groups.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were excluded from this specific count.
This confirms that the '4 million' figure refers specifically to the non-Indigenous population of the time.

Key Concept

1901 Population Heritage

Hints

1
Think about where the majority of early settlers in Australia came from before the 2020 th century.
2
Consider that the national language, English, is a big clue about the heritage of the majority of the population in 19011901.

Practice More

Review the impact of the post-World War II migration programs to see how the population changed after the mid-2020 th century.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Early 20th Century Population

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