2022-10-27
Why cling to an institution that has been responsible for so much human misery in the past and remains a threat to the evolution of democracy in Australia?
By Chris Johansen, Green Issue Co-editor
From birth to early childhood the mind is an open book full of blank pages. Whatever information is fed into it then is embedded there, with no immediate means for its evaluation or critique. For me, this period was the latter half of the 1940s and into the early 50s. It was firmly imprinted into the blank pages of my mind as to how fortunate I was to be born into the British Empire. Then, the greatest empire the world had ever seen – where “the sun never sets”, victors in the two world wars of the 20th century and, in Australia at least, enjoying a high standard of living (“never had it so good”).
I was told that 1953 was a high point in my life as it was the coronation year of Queen Elizabeth II. Of course, there was no television then in which to view the pomp and circumstance of that event but in school we learnt all about the coronation regalia – jewel-studded crowns, orbs, staffs, sceptres, swords, spoons and even the “ring of kingly dignity” (I was too young then to think of alternative interpretations of that item). As if imparting of this knowledge was vital for my upcoming journey through life (nevertheless, I did manage to learn the basics of spelling, maths, etc)?
Could it get any better? Oh yes it could, when we were told that the Queen and Duke would be visiting Perth in 1954. At the Mosman Park Primary School, we were told that we were about to have “the best day of our lives”, by actually being able to view the royal couple in person. On that day we were marched up to Stirling Highway and told to line up along the roadside, each one of us alternately holding a hand-held union jack or Australian flag (with a union jack in its corner!).
Not then, or even now, being a very pushy person, I found myself in the 2nd row, behind some more pushy taller kids. We waited for what seemed ages for the royal cavalcade to arrive. When it did, it whooshed past us at (my estimate) 50 mph (~80 kph). From what I could see from behind the taller kids in front, I couldn’t make out which vehicle in the convoy actually held the royals and in any case all of the windows were closed.
On marching back to school I was muttering something like: “best day of my life” – huh!?!; F--- the Queen (assuming I knew the meaning of such a word then).
So, my first disillusionment with the monarchy was for purely selfish reasons. However, from that point my disillusionment grew, for evidential reasons, and because of my increasing ability to rewrite some of the information imprinted on my mind in early childhood.
During the 1950s it became apparent that many British colonies were leaving the Empire. The official explanation, as floated in newspapers and on radio for example, was that these colonies had matured sufficiently to be graciously granted their self governance and independence, with the condescending analogy of like parents granting a maturing teenager greater independence. In school we did not learn about the freedom struggles that eventually set the sun on the British Empire. During the 50s we did hear about various “skirmishes”, like the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya and the “emergency” in Malaya, but were led to believe these were just terrorist-cum-communist subversive activities.
Around 1956-7, I used to attend the Mosman Park Methodist Church. They had a small newsletter with articles on the likes of M.K. Gandhi, not to be found on the local media of the time. It indicated that opposition to British colonialism in India dated back to the 19th century and that Gandhi Ji and colleagues had worn down the British rulers to the extent that they left India in 1947, as a result of non-violent activism. But this was usually met with a violent response from the British, such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of peacefully protesting civilians at Amritsar in 1919.
This realization prompted me to look closer into the history of British India, to the extent that I concluded that it was not so glorious as portrayed to me in my younger years. For example, the British colonial tactic of “divide and rule” resulted into the partition of India into India and Pakistan, and the horrible consequences of that. Two centuries of British rule, initially under the auspices of the British East India Company, had left the subcontinent facing widespread famine and generally dire economic straits.
And there remains an ongoing unfortunate legacy of British rule in India to this day. I have lived in both India and Bangladesh for one-third of my life, so far, and observed a widespread inferiority complex which hinders human advancement. This is illustrated by my assessment that in my 26 years of living in South Asia, I would wager that have been called “Sir” more times than Sir Robert Menzies, or even Sir Winston Churchill. And this is despite my repeated pleas not to call me “Sir”. This “complex” contrasts with attitudes in Asian countries that were never colonized by Europeans, like Nepal and Thailand, where people obviously don’t feel inferior to anyone – generally cool, laid back people.
Into the 60s, I became increasingly aware of the consequences of British colonialism elsewhere across the world. Its basic motivation was the exploitation of natural and human resources for the benefit of “the crown” and its sycophants. In the 1700s Britain was a major player in the slave trade, primarily to transport Africans to the West Indies to produce sugar. “Terra Nullius” not only applies to Australia but to many lands around the world where the British waltzed in to plunder resources with scant regard to indigenous communities.
AND ALL OF THIS WAS DONE IN THE NAME OF THE KING OR QUEEN OF ENGLAND.
In school we learnt about the heroics of the explorers and colonists who created Australia from a harsh and unforgiving “Terra Nullius”, all endeavours under the auspices of the British monarchy. But there was hardly any mention of Australian Aborigines. When there was I was told that they were a dying race, the survivors now mainly living in missions trying to spiritually save them. I didn’t fully realize the implications of a stolen generation until Kevin Rudd apologized for it. Although in primary school I did wonder why a school mate suddenly inherited a “brother” with what I then thought was a good suntan.
It was not until after my return to Australia in 2006 that I began to understand the true history of Australia. That its human history didn’t begin with Captain Cook’s “discovery” of Australia in 1770, but some 60,000 years earlier. And the truth about the colonial period gradually became apparent – a far different story from what I was taught in school. This is graphically, indeed horrifically, documented in Rachel Perkin’s recent documentary series “The Australia Wars”. Almost as brutal a subjugation of indigenous peoples through colonization as had occurred anywhere on the planet (although some indigenous tribes of the Americas were completely exterminated).
One scene from that documentary showed “native police”, recruited or press-ganged to supress members of other tribes who speared sheep, wearing the insignia “VR” (= Queen Victoria reigns) on their tunics. And of course the colonists did everything they did with the union jack flying aloft, and in the name of the British Crown.
During her reign, Queen Elizabeth II tried to convert the concept of colonial empire into one of benign commonwealth, but this turned out to be largely ceremonial and an excuse for another sporting body (Commonwealth Games). To my knowledge, there has been no attempt by the British monarchy to apologize for anything done in its name, nor to accede to any requests for reparations (e.g. as made by some West Indies nations). Although Britain does have a Department for International Development (DFID) this is not for the purpose of reparations but for general development assistance, like AUSAID or USAID.
I’m afraid I just don’t get why Australia has not yet become a republic. People say there is no harm in leaving things as they are as it provides stability and continuity, royal scandals are a source of entertainment and the monarchy is benign. Thinking back to 1975, the monarchy is not benign – the Governor-General, a direct subordinate of the British monarch, threw out the duly elected Whitlam government. As per the existing constitution, this could be repeated.
But, fundamentally, I have a basic objection to any sort of hereditary rule. Persons in charge should be there as a result of their own skills and competence, not just because their parents or ancestors once ruled.
By coincidence, while I was drafting this article an SBS On Demand alert pointed me to a series – King Johan: The last king of Norway. A monarchical satire about a King who feels he is losing the affection of the populous and goes to various hilarious lengths to try to restore that affection.
What induced me to keep watching all 8 episodes of the series was an opening scene. A Norwegian family dressed in national costumes and holding Norwegian flags were patiently, but with increasing frustration, standing by the road waiting for the convoy with king and queen to pass by. Their frustration turned to excitement as they saw the vehicles approaching in the distance. But when they reached the spot where the family were they drove on past at high speed with the windows closed. Almost a re-enactment of what happened to me in 1954! And I don’t recall telling my story to any Norwegian film makers.
But I generally enjoyed the obtuse Nordic humour of that satire, which is not surprising as I am 50% genetically Norwegian and perhaps I have inherited a clone of Nordic humour genes. So my dislike of monarchies may be a case of both nature (inherited) and nurture (life experiences).
Yes certainly overdue for a republic in Australia but what to do about King Charles III? Definitely would not recommend rolling out Mademoiselle Guillotine as I personally like the guy. He shares some of my characteristics – basically shy, once divorced, environmentally concerned, and he was a fan of The Goons BBC radio comedy of the 1950s. Would even be willing to testify on his behalf.
Header photo: The British crown jewels. Photographer unknown (Public Domain)
[Opinions expressed are those of the author and not official policy of Greens WA]