Something to Appreciate About

The Dictation Test

From 1901 customs officers were given the
power to exclude non-Europeans.

In the face of international criticism,
officials looked for a way to exclude people
without making it seem due to the race.
The answer was the notorious Dictation
Test. Immigrants could be required to pass
a language test in any European language.
If they failed, they were refused entry.

Maltese applicants were given a test in
Dutch. A political activist who spoke several
European language eventually failed when
he was tested in Gaelic.

This technique continued to be used by
Customs until 1958.

(A reference shown at one of the exhibition walls in the Immigration Museum, Melbourne)

What makes a great country a great country is that they learned from their history, and the first step to do that is to acknowledge failures and educate their young about it: to make sure that the same mistakes will not happen.