UC EVENTS

Speaker: Ernest Koh

Date\Time: Thursday 26 March 2026, 12:30-13:30

Location: Building 1 Level A Room 1A21, University of Canberra (NB Room 1a21 is accessed from the foyer joining Building 1 and Mizzuna café); 

or Zoom: http://zoom.us/j/95029077504

Abstract

During the Second World War, the Australian military relied on a sizeable contingent of Asian workers who were already present in Australia to fill labour shortfalls and key gaps in combat expertise. At the end of the conflict, the Commonwealth government sought to deport these workers under the framework of the White Australia Policy, to uneven levels of success. This paper maps the experiences of Australia’s Asian troops during and after the Second World War, and how their plight intersected with a gradual but noticeable erosion of public support for White Australia in the postwar period.

All are welcome!

Bio

Ernest is an historian with the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Canberra. Originally from Singapore, he has previously held research fellowships at the University of Washington and Beijing University, and is the author and editor of several books, including Diaspora at War, Oral History and Memory in Southeast Asia, and The Pacific War. He has also helped write and produce several documentaries, including the Emmy-nominated programme The Exiles(with Tom St John Gray).

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