Summary

The Museum collections feature naturalisation and citizenship certificates that go back to the very early days of Victoria as an independent British colony. Such certificates are both an official recognition of belonging and an emblem of personal identity. Yet the changing iconography used on these certificates illustrates how ideas of national identity evolved over the twentieth century.

Introduction:

The striking variety of citizenship certificates and information kits held by Museums Victoria provides insight into the changing meanings of citizenship in Australia. These official documents issued by the Australian government not only helped to confirm a new citizen's access to the rights and responsibilities of citizenship but also represented the process of identity construction. The certificate's visual imagery in particular reflects the different ways citizenship and belonging were understood over time.

Early Australian Citizenship:

A legal concept of Australian citizenship was introduced on Australia Day 1949 with the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948. Prior to the Act, Australians were legally British subjects, as members of the British Empire. The Act didn't remove British subject-status for Australians but rather added an Australian national identity and enabled immigrants to apply for 'citizenship by naturalisation'. Seven men from Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, Norway, Spain and Yugoslavia took part in the very first naturalisation ceremony in 1949. These seven men represented the seven states and territories of Australia, and symbolised the seven points on the Commonwealth star on the Australian flag.

Naturalisation ceremonies were intended to make the new citizens feel a sense of occasion and belonging. Various props and symbols were used to create the desired atmosphere, in line with the politics of the day. After the Liberal Party assumed office in 1950, Immigration Minister Harold Holt instructed that the Union Jack be provided to each court hosting naturalisation ceremonies, so it may accompany the display of the Australian flag. As part of the ceremonies, applicants for citizenship were also required to take an oath of loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II.

Symbols of Identity:

The symbolic value of the certificate itself, and accompanying handbook, caught the attention of Attorney General John Spicer in 1955:

'The form of certificate of naturalization, which has hitherto been a very plain document, is also being made more impressive, in keeping with its importance to the grantee. The conduct of naturalization ceremonies, which has already been very greatly improved, will be further assisted by the production of a comprehensive handbook on the details of how they should be held. In all these ways, we are seeking to make the process of becoming an Australian citizen a dignified one.'

A portrait of the young Queen featured prominently at the top of naturalisation certificates, with a significantly smaller Australian coat of arms appearing at the bottom. Loyalty to the Queen and the Christian God remained the focus of official naturalisation imagery throughout the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, illustrated by a sticker in the MV collection, made for fixing into bibles commonly given as gifts in council naturalisation ceremonies.

Yet attitudes were changing. In 1973, when the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 was amended and renamed the Australian Citizenship Act 1973, specific references to allegiance to the Queen were replaced with a declaration to uphold the Constitution of Australia. The Minister for Immigration, Al Grasby, made the controversial decision to remove the Queen from naturalisation certificates. Grasby argued in the House of Representatives that Certificates of Australian Citizenship should be 'distinctively Australian', reflecting the evolution of Australian identity from British colony to independent nation. As well as advocating for expanding Australia's national imagery, Grasby famously embraced 'a multi-cultural society for the future'.

This decision was not without criticism. In Parliamentary debates, Senators like Davidson and McLaren opposed removing the 'proper' and 'valued' photo of the Queen. In debating whose image should appear on the certificates instead of the Queen, Senator McLaren joked that a photograph of Minister Grasby could be chosen as an ill-suited replacement. In the end, a large colour image of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms was selected, the emu and the kangaroo marking the certificates as unquestionably Australian.

A New Era of Citizenship:

As well as confirming the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, ceremonies were designed to impress upon applicants a sense of occasion. Information packs and promotion kits promoted common values and shared aspirations. The redesign of these packs in the early 2000s reflected a new era of citizenship.

Changes in the Citizenship Act in 2002 included the introduction of a dual nationality for Australian citizens that allowed migrants to have their heritage recognised officially. The official information and promotion kit from 2003 reflects this new era. A poster and fold-out booklet for the Australian Citizenship Pledge featured a fantastical landscape packed with an unlikely mix of native animals, flora and landscapes from across the country, while the information pack folder showed smiling new citizens from around the world holding their certificates up to the camera. Symbolising the evolution of Australian national identity, shared symbols of the flag and coat of arms remain, alongside the celebration of Australians' diverse heritage.

Professor Melissa Miles is an art historian based at Monash University.

Dr Hannah Viney is a historian based at Monash University.

This work was produced as part of the Australian Research Council funded Discovery Project 'Envisaging Citizenship: Australian Histories and Global Connections'  (DP200100088) https://picturing-citizenship.org/

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