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The Kimberley Plan, or Kimberley Scheme, was a failed plan by the Freeland League to resettle Jewish refugees from Europe in northern Australia before and during the Holocaust.

The League, led by Isaac Nachman Steinberg, selected the Kimberley region in Australia in the hope of buying an area of 7 million acres (28,000 km²) of agricultural land for 75,000 Jews fleeing Europe.^[1] Under the plan, an initial 500-600 pioneers would arrive to construct basic necessities for the settlement such as homes, irrigation works, and a power station, followed by the arrival of the main body of immigrants. Steinberg based his campaign on the officially declared need by Australia to populate northern Australia.

Steinberg (1888–1957) was sent out from London to investigate the scheme's feasibility and to enlist governmental and communal endorsement. He arrived in Perth on 23 May 1939. He was a skilled emissary, and stayed in Australia throughout the war and later wrote a book on his experience, Australia: The Unpromised Land. By early 1940, Steinberg won the support of churches, leading newspapers, many prominent political and public figures (including Western Australian Premier John Willcock) and a number of Jewish leaders, but he also encountered opposition. Steinberg left Australia in June 1943 to rejoin his family in Canada. A 1944 opinion poll found that 47% of Australians opposed the scheme. Opposition was primarily due to fears that the settlers would inevitably drift away from Kimberley and begin migrating to the cities in large numbers.^[2]

On 15 July 1944 the scheme was vetoed by the Australian government and Prime Minister John Curtin (with bipartisan support^[2]) informed Steinberg that the Australian government would not "depart from the long-established policy in regard to alien settlement in Australia" and could not "entertain the proposal for a group settlement of the exclusive type contemplated by the Freeland League".^[1] The scheme was abandoned by the League.

References

^ ^a ^b Steinberg, Isaac Nachman (1888 - 1957) by Beverley Hooper, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, pp 298-299. Online Ed. published by Australian National University
^ ^a ^b The Kimberley Scheme

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[ADB-1] Steinberg, Isaac Nachman (1888 - 1957) by Beverley Hooper, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, pp 298-299. Online Ed. published by Australian National University

[naa-2] The Kimberley Scheme

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 The League, led by [[Isaac Nachman Steinberg]], selected the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] region in [[Australia]] in the hope of buying an area of 7 million [[acre]]s (28,000&nbsp;km²) of agricultural land for 75,000 Jews fleeing Europe.<ref name=ADB>[http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160362b.htm Steinberg, Isaac Nachman (1888 - 1957)] by Beverley Hooper, Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, Melbourne University Press, 2002, pp 298-299. Online Ed. published by Australian National University
-</ref> Under the plan, an initial 500-600 pioneers would arrive to construct basic necessities for the settlement such as homes, irrigation works, and a power station, followed by the arrival of the main body of immigrants. Steinberg based his campaign on the officially declared need by Australia to populate northern Australia. On 23 May 1939 he arrived in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] and by early 1940 gained substantial public support, but also encountered opposition. A 1944 opinion poll found that 47% of Australians opposed the scheme. Opposition was primarily due to fears that the settlers would inevitably drift away from Kimberley and begin migrating to the cities in large numbers.<ref>[http://guides.naa.gov.au/safe-haven/chapter2/kimberley-scheme.aspx The Kimberley Scheme]</ref>
+</ref> Under the plan, an initial 500-600 pioneers would arrive to construct basic necessities for the settlement such as homes, irrigation works, and a power station, followed by the arrival of the main body of immigrants. Steinberg based his campaign on the officially declared need by Australia to populate northern Australia.
+Steinberg (1888–1957) was sent out from London to investigate the scheme's feasibility and to enlist governmental and communal endorsement. He arrived in [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] on 23 May 1939. He was a skilled emissary, and stayed in Australia throughout the war and later wrote a book on his experience, ''Australia: The Unpromised Land''. By early 1940, Steinberg won the support of churches, leading newspapers, many prominent political and public figures (including Western Australian Premier [[John Willcock]]) and a number of Jewish leaders, but he also encountered opposition. Steinberg left Australia in June 1943 to rejoin his family in Canada. A 1944 opinion poll found that 47% of Australians opposed the scheme. Opposition was primarily due to fears that the settlers would inevitably drift away from Kimberley and begin migrating to the cities in large numbers.<ref name=naa>[http://guides.naa.gov.au/safe-haven/chapter2/kimberley-scheme.aspx The Kimberley Scheme]</ref>
-On 15 July 1944 the scheme was vetoed by the Australian government and Prime Minister [[John Curtin]] informed Steinberg that the Australian government would not "depart from the long-established policy in regard to alien settlement in Australia" and could not "entertain the proposal for a group settlement of the exclusive type contemplated by the Freeland League".<ref name=ADB/> The scheme was abandoned by the League.
+On 15 July 1944 the scheme was vetoed by the Australian government and Prime Minister [[John Curtin]] (with bipartisan support<ref name=naa />) informed Steinberg that the Australian government would not "depart from the long-established policy in regard to alien settlement in Australia" and could not "entertain the proposal for a group settlement of the exclusive type contemplated by the Freeland League".<ref name=ADB/> The scheme was abandoned by the League.
 ==See also==