Until Japan came crashing southward, the rest of the world seemed far away from Australia. From the west coast to South Africa lay nearly 5,000 miles of ocean, and Ceylon was 3,000 miles away. From Sydney to London the distance is 12,500 miles round the Cape of Good Hope and 11,500 through the Suez or Panama canals. North America, South America, and South Africa were three weeks away from Australia, and Britain was five to seven’ weeks away, even on the speediest ships available. In the days of sailing ships these times were half as long again. Southward the next-door neighbor was Antarctica. Northward there was little bond of trade or travel. The dreary northern wastes isolated Australia from contact with Asia.
This isolation was partly responsible for the late discovery of the country. It accounted in part for the relatively slow growth of settlement and handicapped the continent in its competition for settlers. When a European decided to emigrate, North America was only an eight- or ten-days journey away by 1900, and it cost only $20 to get there; Australia was six or seven weeks away, and the steerage ticket cost $100. If he came to North America and did not like the place, he could hope to rake together enough money to pay his way back home. If he did not like Australia it would he harder to save enough to return. He had burned his boats.
Hence, even though Australian governments have usually been willing to assist migrants by paying part of the transportation cost, migration southward was usually a mere trickle compared with the broad stream flowing to New York or Montreal. Only after 1900 did the flow become substantial, thanks to vigorous effort by the governments to “sell” their country and to more liberal assistance. Yet even then, in the years 1900–39 the total net immigration was less than 600,000, or less than one year’s addition to our population in the boom days at Ellis Island before 1914.

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