Australia and the American Civil War Despite being across the world from the conflict , the Australian colonies were affected by the American Civil War both economically and by immigration . The Australian cotton crop became more important to England , which had lost its American sources , and it served as a supply base for Confederate blockade runners . Immigrants from Europe seeking a better life also found Australia preferable to war - torn North America . The Australian public was shocked by the revelation by a turncoat Russian officer , who claimed that a direct engagement was secretly planned by Russia in case the Confederacy was recognized by Britain . The Russian navy had just paid Australia a visit in preparation for launching attacks . Fear of a possible military confrontation led to a massive buildup of coastal defenses and to the acquisition of an ironclad warship . Australia became directly involved when the Confederate navy visited in order to repair one of their warships . This led to protests from the Union representative at Melbourne , while the citizenry of nearby Williamstown entertained the Confederates and some Australians joined the crew . Accounts disagree as to whether Australians generally favored the Union or the Confederacy , as sorrowful demonstrations were held in Sydney when news arrived of Abraham Lincoln ' s assassination . Economics . Together , Australia and New Zealand had 140 citizens , 100 of whom were native - born , who were veterans of the American Civil War . Some of these were originally Americans who came to Australia during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s . Officers during the war included one who gave Tasmania its first telegraph service , and another officer who mined for gold in Ballarat . Confederate blockade runners occasionally obtained supplies there , despite a historic fear of possible naval attack by Americans , a fear rooted in the actions of American privateers during the War of 1812 . The war also caused the Lancashire Cotton Famine . As a result , Queensland saw a rise in its cotton industry , while the National Colonial Emigration Society in Britain was founded , although it had little ongoing relevance . This came about as a result of so many individuals from northern England being affected by the inability of the Southern United States to ship cotton during the war . Once the war ended , little cotton from Southern Australia was imported to England . However , in the aftermath of the war some Australians were interested in acquiring the Fiji Islands and their cotton fields . Another impact was the competition with Canada that Australia and New Zealand had with Irish immigration . The increasing Irish immigration was seen as an economic boon by these antipodean countries . One of the reasons for the increase was due to many Irish deciding against emigrating to the warring nations of North America . Imperial Russian Navy . During the Civil War , the Union and Russia were allies against what they saw as their potential enemy , Britain . The Russian blue - water navy was stationed in San Francisco and from 1863 in New York — with sealed orders to attack British naval targets in case war broke out between the United States and Britain . This was threatened if Britain gave diplomatic recognition to the Confederacy . The flagship of the Russian Pacific squadron , " Bogatyr " under Rear Admiral Andrey Alexandrovich Popov , officially made a friendly visit to Melbourne in early 1863 . According to information passed on to Australian authorities in June 1864 , Rear Admiral A . A . Popov had in the first half of the year 1863 received orders and a plan of attack on the British naval ships positioned near the Australian shore . The plan also included shelling and destruction of the Melbourne , Sydney and Hobart coastal batteries . The information was attributed to the Polish lieutenant Władysław Zbyszewski of the " Bogatyr " , who had deserted from service in Shanghai soon after " Bogatyr " left Australia , and found his way to Paris to join the Polish January Uprising . This information about Popov ' s plans was forwarded by a fellow Pole , a certain S . Rakowsky . Similar attack orders are known to have been given to the Atlantic squadron under Rear Admiral Lessovsky , that was sent to New York at the same time . CSS " Shenandoah " . The CSS " Shenandoah " arrived in Australian waters on January 17 , 1865 . Off the coast of South Australia at 39°32 ' 14 " S and 122°16 ' 52 " E , her crew spotted an American - made sailing ship named the " Nimrod " and boarded it . Having ascertained it was an English ship , the " Shenandoah " left it alone . On January 25 , 1865 the " Shenandoah " made harbor at Williamstown , Victoria , near Melbourne , in order to repair damage received while capturing Union whaling ships . At seven o ' clock in the evening , Waddell sent a Lieutenant Grimball to gain approval from local authorities to repair their ship , with Grimball returning three hours later saying they were granted permission . The United States consul , William Blanchard , insisted that the Victorian government arrest the Confederates as pirates , but his pleas were ignored by Victoria ' s governor , Sir Charles Henry Darling , who was satisfied with the " Shenandoah " ’ s pleading of neutrality when requesting to be allowed to undertake repairs . Aside from a few fist fights between Americans , there was no direct conflict between the two warring sides . However , there were eighteen desertions while ashore , and there were constant threats of Northern sympathizers joining the crew in order to capture the ship when it was at sea . The local citizenry was very interested in the Confederate ship being in Port Phillip Bay . While at Williamstown , James Iredell Waddell , the captain of the " Shenandoah " and his men participated in several " official functions " the local citizens arranged in their honour , including a gala ball with the " cream of society " at Craig ' s Royal Hotel in Ballarat and at the Melbourne Club . Thousands of tourists came to see the ship every day , requiring special trains to accommodate them . After being treated as " little lions " , the officers of the " Shenandoah " later reflected that the best time of their lives was given to them by the women of Melbourne . After leaving Australia , the " Shenandoah " captured twenty - five additional Union whaling ships before finally surrendering at Liverpool , England in November , 1865 . Those surrendering included 42 Australians who had joined the crew at Williamstown ; sources differ as to whether the Australians were stowaway s or illegally recruited . Waddell did refuse Australian authorities to see if Australians were aboard the ship prior to sailing from Williamstown on February 18 . Four Australians were arrested to prevent them from joining the Confederate ships , and Governor Darling allowed the " Shenandoah " to sail away , instead of firing upon it . Waddell ' s official report said that on February 18 they " found on board " the 42 men , and made 36 sailors and enlisted six as marines . One of the original Confederate crewmen , midshipman John Thomson Mason , stated that they just happened to find the stowaways , of various nationalities , and enlisted them outside of Australian waters . He further said one of the stowaways was the captain of an English steamer that was at Melbourne at the time ; the Englishman became the captain ' s clerk . Assassination of Abraham Lincoln . The news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln caused demonstrations of sorrow in Sydney . An editorial in Melbourne ' s " The Age " newspaper on June 27 , 1865 reported that in Sydney the assassination of Lincoln had caused great indignation . There were many Australian sympathizers that wanted to put an end to slavery , a central issue with Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation . A memorial service was held in Sydney ' s Prince of Wales Opera House on Sunday afternoon July 9 , 1865 . There were strong feelings of anger at public meetings against the killer of Lincoln , a person so dedicated to his country . They figured he was a genius who rose " from a log cabin to the White House . " A public meeting was held in Sydney to express sympathy for Lincoln ' s death and a meeting of American citizens held on June 26 , 1865 had decided to forward a letter of condolence to Mrs . Lincoln , to contribute for a monumental tablet , and wear mourning for a month . There was a letter of sympathy sent to Lincoln ' s wife from the mayor of the city of Sydney expressing the city ' s condolences . News of Lincoln ' s assassination was reported in the Melbourne ' s " The Age " on June 24 , 1865 . In the Melbourne newspapers , editorials were prominent . There was mention in the Melbourne Herald for June 26 , 1865 that many of the American houses in town carried their national ensign at half - mast as a mark of respect to the memory of the late President . William Blanchard , the U . S . Consul in Melbourne at the time , on finding out the news of Lincoln ' s death , caused the consular flag to be kept at half - mast until July 4 , 1865 . The City Council of Melbourne passed a resolution " expressive of its horror and detestation of the atrocious murder of the late Chief Magistrate . " There were other letters of sympathy from Australia . They came from the Polish and Hungarian Refugees in Melbourne dated July 4 , 1865 ; Citizens of the Swiss Republic Residents in New South Wales ; Sydney Irish National League , NSW Branch , dated July 22 , 1865 ; and from the mayor of Sydney Municipal Council dated July 17 , 1865 . Another letter of sympathy came from the town of Geelong in Victoria , addressed to " Mrs . Lincoln , Washington , America " dated August 22 , 1865 . Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth is also held ( by some conspiracy theorist ) to have escaped to Australia , on a whaler the " Tigris " out of New Bedford , coincidentally the " Tigris " sister vessel the " Euphrates " had fallen victim to the Confederate raider the " Shenandoah " . Booth was transported to South Australia , via the former whaling stations at Victor Harbor , or Hog Bay on Kangaroo Island . Booth settled in the Hahndorf region of Adelaide ( or possibly Portland in Victoria ) . Land titled to a Jack Holmes , unionist , was held from 1866 to 1873 a pseudonym from Booths mothers maiden name . Aftermath . The residents of Melbourne , realizing they were vulnerable to attack by others , especially the Russians due to the events during the war , hurried to build coastal defense forts . This included the government of Victoria requesting an ironclad ship to be sent to protect the colony , after the values of ironclads were demonstrated during the American Civil War ' s Battle of Hampton Roads . The monitor HMVS " Cerberus " was constructed during the late 1860s , and duly arrived in Victoria in 1871 . In 1872 the British government paid the United States $ 3 , 875 , 000 as a result of the assistance provided to CSS " Shenandoah " and other Confederate ships in Victoria and other ports controlled by Great Britain , after an international jury ruled on the case in Geneva , Switzerland . In 1972 , the American Civil War Round Table of Australia was founded . Its secretary , Barry Crompton , has the largest library dedicated to the American Civil War outside the United States , with over 4 , 000 pieces as of 2005 . Self - government . When the six colonies of the Australian continent federated to form a self - governing nation in 1901 , Australia favored the British model of government as they had misgivings about America ' s powerful postwar " monarchical " presidency . Australians also opposed the importation of " coloured labour " , in part due to fears of a similar civil war breaking out in Australia . A further precautionary measure was evident in the addition of the word " indissoluble " to the Federal Constitution of 1897 – 1898 in Adelaide , to prevent the " political heresy " of secession as engaged in by the Confederacy .