The geopolitical imperative and bureaucratic continuity in Australia’s regional policies, 1859 – 1944

In the twenty-first century, the arguments that Australian governments have consistently advanced to administer the Australian region are grounded in geopolitics and regional policies that originated in the nineteenth century. The Australian region is an area of more than twenty-seven million square kilometres and the largest maritime jurisdiction in the world. The origins of the Australian region, its boundaries, contractions and extensions extend back to 1859. Using geopolitics, defence, geography, race and culture, immigration, ideas of Empire, international law, loyalty and nationalism, this study explores how the Australian region was formed and continues to be defined. The thesis considers the work of a selected group of political leaders, defence advisors, academics and other members of the Australian community who contributed to the making of regional policies that laid the foundations for what the region has become today.