Making and Monitoring a ‘Suspect Community’: Australian Attacks on Greeks and the ‘Secret Census’ in 1916

Abstract

After attacks on Greek-Australian businesses early in 1915 and as a pre-emptive measure if Greece, hitherto neutral in the Great War, joined the Central Powers, the Australian authorities conducted a ‘secret census’ of Greeks and Greek establishments in 1916. Lists were prepared containing the names, addresses, professions and ages of individuals and businesses. The purpose was to intern these individuals if Greece entered the war on the side of the Central Powers. Adapting the theory of the ‘suspect community’, this article shows how Australian authorities, driven by questions of Greek loyalty, considered the Greek community ‘suspect’ and prepared for its internment. This indicated an underlying racism and distrust in both the Australian public and Australian authorities. This article investigates the attacks on Greeks and issues of naturalisation, challenges claims regarding the number of Greeks in Australia, and explores the ‘secret census’ using South Australia as a case study.