The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

 to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973.

Competition in the goldfields, labour disputes and Australian nationalism

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

 created an environment of racial antagonism during the second half of the 19th century.