Australia’s fears were compounded by the fact that, despite Australia’s essential “Britishness,” Anglo-Australian relations lacked geopolitical harmony. British prioritisation, as …show more content…
as to the apparent British view of Empire strategy in the immediate future. The events of the past two months have thrown into contrasting relief the two fundamental elements in Australian affairs – the strong ties that bind us to Britain, and our distinct nationhood, vis-a-vis our Pacific neighbours especially. Australian life is like the Australian penny. It has the King’s head on the one side, and the kangaroo on the other. Under the liberal doctrine that transformed Empire into Commonwealth, and under the protection of British sea control in the Pacific, it has been our fortune that these two elements should be complementary, never fundamentally antithetic. Our fate now is that they should appear