"In Essence still a British Country": Britain's withdrawal from East of Suez

Abstract

In the summer of 1967 Harold Wilson's Government announced the withdrawal of British forces from East of Suez. This article examines how Australian politicians and commentators responded to their changing geo-strategic environment and how Britain's withdrawal was seen as a crucial moment in the development of Australian nationhood. It shows that the dismantling of the links with Britain did not allow a dormant Australian national idea to (re)surface. While Australians emphasised the need to think harder about forging a distinctive Australian civic identity as the ties with Britain were finally dismantled, very few could define precisely what that might mean, except that it should somehow be “independent” and “new”. The question, at a time when it was apparent that the British connection could have no practical meaning, remained whether being Australians meant something radically different from being Australian Britons. The strong emotional ties with Britain were not easily cut, even at a time when it had become fashionable to argue for a cool and practical relationship between the two countries. Thus, Prime Minister Harold Holt could maintain that, despite all the changes, Australia remained “in essence” British.