British dominion to almost republic: Australia responds to the end of empire

Australia's national identity in the first and second halves of the twentieth century was so radically different it can seem like two different countries. This chapter traces Australia's cultural and political evolution in the second half of the twentieth century from a proud dominion of the British empire to almost becoming a republic. It outlines the key political changes but emphasises the slow emotional shift in national identity from British Australian to simply Australian. It begins with the royal tour of 1954 and the rapid changes of the 1960s before exploring the 1988 bicentennial celebrations and the failed attempt to become a republic in 1999.