"'Empty North: The Japanese Presence and Australian Reactions, 1860s to 1942' considers the positive nature of Japanese immigration to the north of Australia alongside the fear many Australians developed of Japanese resident in White Australia after 1901. The book examines key questions. What part did Japanese people play in the positive development of Australia's Northern Territory? Were Australians' fears of Japanese residents justified? Were Japanese immigrants an official part of Japan's program of southern expansion before World War 2? Did they prepare for Japan's bombing of Australia? These questions and more are examined in Pam Oliver's book within the context of Australia's relations with Japan and Japan's expansion into South East Asia and the Pacific regions." -- Publisher's website.