Mount Gambier ANA Memorial - a reminder of the past
Henry MouldsThe Australian Natives' Association (ANA) began as a ‘friendly’ or mutual society founded in Victoria in 1871 as the Victorian Natives' Association. Membership was only open to Australian-born men of European descent.
The Association strongly opposed Asian influence in or immigration to Australia. It did however, play a significant role in the movement for Australian federation in the latter part of the 19th century. Many significant Australians were members, including Prime Ministers Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin.
Like other similar societies, the ANA provided sickness, medical and funeral cover for its members and their families.
Along with many trade unions and even the Returned Services League (now the Returned and Services League), the ANA was one of the last Australian pressure groups to support the White Australia Policy. This policy wound down after the Second World War and was finally abolished in 1970.
The ANA continued to exist, operating a private health fund, a building society, general insurance company and small-scale life insurance and fund management activities, until the WA branch, the last remaining branch was finally closed.
The Memorial at Mount Gambier commemorates the service of members of the ANA’s Branch Number 2 during the Second World War.
Sources:
Correspondence: City of Mount Gambier Library
National Museum of Australia: https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/australian-natives-association
Wayback Machine internet archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211401/http://www.postnewspapers.com.au/20070224/news/001.shtml
