This Tom Roberts shows how Australians carved out an important economic niche for themselves within the Imperial Economy. Stockmen driving sheep became an inconic image representing a romanticised version of frontier Australia. By the 1890s though, Australia was demanding preference and protection in a world economy that was increasingly hiding behind tariff walls. These calls chimed with a certain segment in British politics wishing to make the British Empire more insular and protectionist but clashed with those who still wished to maintain laissez-faire policies and free trade.
