Australia has been a capital importing country almost continuously since 1788, Immigration and capital inflow, and the transfer to Australia of overseas business and technical knowledge associated with both, have been an important aspect of the building up of Australia’s economy and the development of its natural resources throughout Australian history. After a relatively low ebb during the depressed 1930s, both immigration and capital inflow revived after the second world war and played a major part in the two post-war decades of sustained rapid economic development.