<P> During the 1890s Australia also saw such milestones as the invention of the secret ballot, the introduction of a minimum wage and the election of the world's first Labor Party government, prefiguring the emergence of Social Democratic governments in Europe . The old age pension was established in Australia and New Zealand by 1900 . </P> <P> From the 1880s, the Heidelberg School of art adapted Western painting techniques to Australian conditions, while writers like Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson introduced the character of a new continent into English literature and antipodean artists such as the opera singer Dame Nellie Melba began to influence the European arts . </P> <P> The late 19th century saw the creation of several alliances in Europe . Germany, Italy, and Austria - Hungary formed a secret defensive alliance called the Triple Alliance . France and Russia also developed strong relations with one another, due to the financing of Russia's Industrial Revolution by French capitalists . Although it did not have a formal alliance, Russia supported the Slavic Orthodox nations of the Balkans and the Caucasus, which had been created in the 19th century after several wars and revolutions against the Ottoman Empire, which by now was in decline and ruled only parts of the southern Balkan Peninsula . This Russian policy, called Pan-Slavism, led to conflicts with the Ottoman and Austro - Hungarian Empires, which had many Slavic subjects . Franco - German relations were also tense in this period due to France's defeat and loss of land at the hands of Prussia in the Franco - Prussian War . Also in this period, Britain ended its policy of isolation from the European continent and formed an alliance with France, called the Entente Cordiale . Rather than achieve greater security for the nations of Europe, however, these alliances increased the chances of a general European war breaking out . Other factors that would eventually lead to World War I were the competition for overseas colonies, the military buildups of the period, most notably Germany's, and the feeling of intense nationalism throughout the continent . </P> <P> When the war broke out, much of the fighting was between Western powers, and the immediate casus belli was an assassination . The victim was the heir to the Austro - Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand, and he was assassinated on 28 June 1914 by a Yugoslav nationalist named Gavrilo Princip in the city of Sarajevo, at the time part of the Austro - Hungarian Empire . Although Serbia agreed to all but one point of the Austrian ultimatum (it did not take responsibility in planning the assassination but was ready to hand over any subject involved on its territory), Austria - Hungary was more than eager to declare war, attacked Serbia and effectively began World War I. Fearing the conquest of a fellow Slavic Orthodox nation, Russia declared war on Austria - Hungary . Germany responded by declaring war on Russia as well as France, which it feared would ally with Russia . To reach France, Germany invaded neutral Belgium in August, leading Britain to declare war on Germany . The war quickly stalemated, with trenches being dug from the North Sea to Switzerland . The war also made use of new and relatively new technology and weapons, including machine guns, airplanes, tanks, battleships, and submarines . Even chemical weapons were used at one point . The war also involved other nations, with Romania and Greece joining the British Empire and France and Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire joining Germany . The war spread throughout the globe with colonial armies clashing in Africa and Pacific nations such as Japan and Australia, allied with Britain, attacking German colonies in the Pacific . In the Middle East, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Gallipoli in 1915 in a failed bid to support an Anglo - French capture of the Ottoman capital of Istanbul . Unable to secure an early victory in 1915, British Empire forces later attacked from further south after the beginning of Arab revolt and conquered Mesopotamia and Palestine from the Ottomans with the support of local Arab rebels and supported an Arab revolt against the Ottomans centered in the Arabian Peninsula . </P>

Who believed in the combination of the old and the new of the east and west