What's For Dinner?

The cuisine of Britain and Ireland heavily influenced what we ate for dinner until the 1950s.  'Meat and three veg' was the basis of any good family meal, with a pudding or fresh fruit for desert.

The post-war years saw an end to the White Australia Policy, which limited migration to those of European (ideally Anglo-Celtic) ancestry.  In the 1950s, European migration increased and pizza, pasta, and deli foods gradually became staples in our diets. 

By the 1980s, further increases in migration saw the rise of Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese and, a little later, Indian restaurants.  In Ipswich, the late 20th century also saw the introduction of American fast food chains selling hamburgers and fried chicken.