ABSTRACT
Where does Australia fit in the story of the “long 1960s”? The nation entered the decade ruled by a conservative government whose cold war rhetoric fostered only limited and marginalized dissent. Yet the impetus of such factors as the Vietnam War, increasing access to overseas travel, and the news of similar rebellions around the world soon saw the emergence of protest groups from a diversity of backgrounds that began to radicalize Australian society. They sought out connections with a rebellious Asia-Pacific region—in Vietnam, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Malaysia—to answer questions of a more local provenance. Australia’s rulers, on the other hand, slowly accepted the geographic reality of their proximity to Asia. By the close of the long 1960s in Australia, widely considered to have extended into the mid-1970s, the internationally notorious White Australia Policy was dismantled and the nation was taking on a more cosmopolitan complexion, closer relations with former cold war enemies were sought out, and the nation welcomed increasing numbers of international students from the region.
