White Australia (play)

White Australia, or the Empty North
Written by	Randolph Bedford
Date premiered	June 26, 1909 (1909-06-26)
Place premiered	Kings Theatre, Australia
Original language	English
Subject	race
Genre	melodrama

White Australia, or the Empty North is a 1909 Australian play by Randolph Bedford.^[1] It was produced by William Anderson.

The play was popular.^[2]

Interest in the play has been revived in recent years because of its example as a piece of racist propaganda.^[3][4]

Premise

The Japanese attempt to invade Australia, with help from some Northern Territory Aborigines and a white traitor, but are thwarted by a Northern Territory squatter. It ends with the Japanese war fleet being destroyed.

References

1. "KING'S THEATRE". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 19, 637. Victoria, Australia. 28 June 1909. p. 9. Retrieved 6 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "Commercial Success with". The Sun. No. 1890. New South Wales, Australia. 18 June 1939. p. 11 (Sunday Magazine). Retrieved 6 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
3. Rodney G. Boland, 'Bedford, George Randolph (1868–1941)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bedford-george-randolph-5181/text8709, published first in hardcopy 1979, accessed online 6 February 2024.
4. Walker, David. “A Sunburnt Country: Reflections on Race, Whiteness & the Geo-Politics of Settlement in Australia.” Health and History, vol. 4, no. 2, 2002, pp. 118–24. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/40111442. Accessed 6 Feb. 2024.

External links

• White Australia at Ausstage
• White Australia at AustLit
• Complete play at Internet Archive