'Stayputs' and asylum seekers in Darwin, 1961-1962: or, how three Portuguese sailors helped to undermine the White Australia Policy

In September 196I, the attempted deportation of three Darwin-based Malay pearlers became one of the causes celebres of the White Australia policy.' With the support of many Darwin residents. the three men fought for the right to stay in Australia. For weeks, their case created headlines in newspapers around the country.After spending some time in hiding in Darwin, two of the men- labelled in the press the 'Stayput Malays' - challenged their deportation orders in the High Court, 'Before a decision was given', Douglas Lockwood wrote in his history of Darwin. 'the government, in a remarkable reversal. dropped the deportation proceedings and they were allowed to remain.' Fellow journalist Jim Bowditch, who had campaigned long and hard for the men's right to stay in Australia, emphasised the role popular support for them played in that reversal, but he, too, seemed to have been baffled by the timing of the government's announcement: 'Support built up around Australia for the three 'Stay puts' who had worked so hard for so little in the Australian pearling industry and suddenly the Government dropped deportation proceedings'.' The third detailed published account of the affair, in Lyn Riddett's article 'The Gateway and the Gatekeepers', also highlights the support for the divers in Darwin but provides no explanation for the government's decision to let them stay.'