This is a complex account of the challenges that Australia has faced since the Federation in relation to Asian realities. This history explains major changes in official Australian policies toward Asia as well as broader cultural challenges. It explains events of the past in an effort to increase understanding of Australia's present relations with Asia and to anticipate the choices in Asian policy that Australia will face in the future. Making extensive use of official government sources, this volume shows that the Australian debate over engagement with Asia is not simply a recent development.