Home / Books / Observing Australia: 1959–1999

Observing Australia: 1959–1999

Book by K.S. Inglis · 1 quotes · Australia, Australia Day, Czech

Browse quotes from Observing Australia: 1959–1999.

Book detail: Observing Australia: 1959–1999 is presented as a focused source page for quotations connected with this book, collection, transcript, or source record.

Browse quotes from Observing Australia: 1959–1999.

The quotes below use the same card format as the rest of the site, including topics, source notes, copy actions, image creation, and sharing controls.

Filter quotes by topic

All Australia Australia Day Czech Egon Kisch Gaelic Hilarious History Immigration Law Ludicrous Menzies

Observing Australia: 1959–1999 Quotes

“What is it that Australians celebrate on 26 January? Significantly, many of them are not quite sure what event they are commemorating. Their state of mind fascinated Egon Kisch, an inquisitive Czech who was in Sydney at the end of January 1935. Kisch has a place in our history as the victim, or hero, of a ludicrous chapter in the history of our immigration laws. He had been invited to Melbourne for a Congress against War and Fascism, and was forbidden to land by order of the attorney-general, R. G. Menzies. He had jumped overboard, broken his leg, gone to hospital, failed a dictation test in Gaelic and been sentenced to imprisonment and deportation. When the High Court declared Gaelic not a language, Kisch was free to hobble on our soil...”

Law History Immigration Australia Hilarious Czech Gaelic Australia Day Ludicrous Menzies Egon Kisch

Book:Observing Australia: 1959–1999

Source: Observing Australia: 1959–1999