Gandhi’s importance in the Western world, and his interaction with foreign visitors, have been well-documented. However, most of these accounts have focused on Britain and the United States. Today, as India’s diaspora grows in numbers and influence, the inspiration of Gandhi in other parts of the world needs to be understood, This is particularly true of Australia.

In Gandhi’s Australia, Australia’s Gandhi. Thomas Weber takes readers on a journey examining Gandhi’s perceptions of Australia and the ways in which Australians came to understand him.

Through meticulous research, Weber details Gandhi’s portrayal in Australia from his days in South Africa to the ‘freedom rides’ of indigenous Australians in the 1960s. He explains how his philosophy and teachings influenced Australian peace, environmental, religious, and aid movements.

Thomas Weber is an Honorary Associate, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne. He is the author of On the Salt March, Gandhi as Disciple and Mentor and Going Native: Gandhi's Relationship with Western Women.

Abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Rajmohan Gandhi
A Personal Introduction

1. Background: Gandhi and the World

Gandhi: A Brief Introduction
The Mahatma and the World
America’s Gandhi
Britain’s Gandhi

2. Gandhi’s Australia

The Issue of Racism
Cow Slaughter
Other Issues

3. Gandhi and Australians

Some Little-Known Visitors
Harriet Winifred Ponder
Arthur H. Blacket
A. B. Piddington
Bertram Stevens and a Young War Correspondent
Alan Moorehead
R. G. Casey
Thomas Nesbitt’s Letter to Gandhi

4. Australia’s Gandhi: The Press Depictions

South Africa: The First Glimpses
Non-Cooperation and the 1920s
The Salt March and its Aftermath
Towards the End
Gandhi after Gandhi
Gandhi in the Australian Parliament

5. Australia’s Gandhi: Organisations

Gandhi, Peace Movements, and Environmental Campaigns
Gandhi and the Quakers
Aid Organisations and Gandhi

6. Australia’s Gandhi: People

Nonviolent Activism
The Australian Gandhian Movement
The International Centre of Nonviolence
Doing Gandhian Work in India

7. Australia’s Gandhi: The Academy

Gandhi in the Academy
University Courses and Gandhi
Writings on Gandhi
Gandhi Orations

8. Australia’s Gandhi: The Public

Overseas Gandhian Visitors
Gandhi in the Movies
Gandhi Statues and Exhibitions
Gandhi and the Australian Indian Community

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index