Securing the man: Narratives of gender and nation in the verdicts of henry bournes higgins

The dark side of the family: paternal child homicide in Australia

“…Importantly, the Harvester Judgement of 1907 defined men's minimum wage as a family wage, a decision bound by patriarchal models of men's responsibilities to fatherhood and family. 46 Historians often characterise changing gender and economic relations at the turn of the century as bringing about a ''crisis in masculinity'', with causes that include Journal of Australian Studies 339 urbanisation, the rise of wage-earning, more women entering the workforce and gaining voting rights, and shifting family structures. Such changes were said to have disrupted men's sense of power in their public and private lives.…”

Building Citizens: Empire, Asia and the Australian Settlement

“…The gender dimension is a crucial facet of these notions of self-reliance and independence. A consideration of this is beyond the brief of this essay, but see Frances (1993) and Hearn (2006). organised. Here, republican and democratic conceptions of self-determination were tinged with the notion of racial supremacy.…”

“…These masking practices are often overlooked in the discussions of the Australian Settlement, which compartmentalises white Australia, the protectionist politics and system of labour management. Binding these elements together was a particular understanding of capitalist governance and labour control as enabling particular capacities for self-governance that were linked to general and racial traits (Hearn 2006). It is within this context of dual sovereignty that various citizenship projects in settler societies, such as Australia, came to be 6 Ex parte HV McKay (The Harvester Judgement) (1907) 2 CAR 1.…”

Managing “Self‐Preservation”: Charles Pearson's National Life and Character and the Early Australian Commonwealth

“…Designed to uphold the Australian ideal of a "civilised community" by protecting the male breadwinner and his dependent family, the Harvester judgement represented an intervention into the lives of the population, and the function of the economy, that reflected Pearson's conception of state socialism. 72 Pearson's fascination with war and military matters has also tended to be overlooked, despite his biographer drawing attention to Pearson's enthusiasm for military parades, and that "[…] he would always remain keenly interested in military affairs". In National Life and Character, Pearson described warfare as "the great corrector", which had its place in "the economy of human society […] a warlike spirit is inseparable from human nature as the love of money or sexual impulse, and like these it may have its uses, though its excess is lamentable".…”