Ruqayyah Snyder
Australia is a multicultural country with a diversity of cultures, influenced by its history of immigration. The country's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I, with immigrants accounting for 30% of the population in 2019. While there is no official language, English is the de facto national language, with 72% of the population speaking it at home. The cultural evolution since European settlement has resulted in a distinctive Australian culture, with the Asian Australian population expanding and contributing to the emergence of a Eurasian society within major urban hubs. The largest statistical grouping of European Australians are Anglo-Celtic Australians, with roots in the British Isles, including England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
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What You'll Learn
Anglo-Celtic Australians
The Anglo-Celtic heritage is evident in various aspects of Australian culture, such as the predominance of the English language, the existence of a parliamentary system of government modelled after the Westminster system, constitutional monarchy, American federalist traditions, Christianity as the dominant religion, and the popularity of sports like cricket, rugby, and tennis.
The precise number of Anglo-Celtic Australians is unknown due to the way ancestry data is collected in the country. At the 2021 census, 51.7% of respondents identified with one or more of the following ancestries: English Australian, Irish Australian, Scottish Australian, Welsh Australian, Cornish Australian, Manx Australian, and Channel Islander Australian. Many respondents nominated two Anglo-Celtic ancestries, leading to a potential overcount. Additionally, those who identified as "Australian" ancestry often have at least partial Anglo-Celtic heritage, which may result in an undercount.
The United Kingdom remains a significant source of immigrants to Australia. In 2005-2006, 22,143 people born in the UK settled in Australia, and as of the 2006 Census, 5.2% of the Australian population identified as being born in the UK. Tasmania may have the nation's highest proportion of citizens of Anglo-Celtic origin, with estimates as high as 85%.
While Anglo-Celtic Australians have been influential in shaping the nation's character, there is criticism that the term erases historical distinctions between English and Celtic settlers. The term does not account for the political and social segregation between English and Irish Australians, with the latter often forcibly transported as prisoners or refugees.
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Aboriginal Australians
Genomic studies indicate that Aboriginal Australians have a close genetic relationship with the indigenous peoples of New Guinea and the Mamanwa of the Philippines, sharing a common origin approximately 36,000 to 60,000 years ago. During this period, the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians dispersed from Africa, expanding into South and Southeast Asia, and eventually reaching Australia.
The Aboriginal people settled the entire continent of Australia, and their populations were influenced by the changing climatic conditions. During the Ice Age, Australia was connected to New Guinea, and the Kimberley region was separated from Southeast Asia by a narrow strait. The environment consisted of vast grasslands, woodlands, and semi-arid scrublands, shaping the lifestyle and culture of the Aboriginal people.
Prior to British colonisation, Aboriginal Australians developed diverse regional cultures, languages, and artistic and religious traditions. They were skilled hunters and farmers, and they crafted technologies like the boomerang, spear, and didgeridoo from natural materials. Unfortunately, the colonisation process led to a significant decline in the Aboriginal population due to introduced diseases, violent conflicts, and massacres.
In the 1930s, the Indigenous population began to recover, and organisations were established to advocate for their rights. Since then, Aboriginal Australians have continued to fight for representation and participation in decisions affecting their communities. They have demonstrated resilience and tenacity in engaging with the Australian nation-state to have their rights recognised, including land rights and voting rights.
Today, Aboriginal Australians continue to play an integral role in shaping Australia's cultural landscape, with their languages, place names, and traditions influencing modern Australian life.
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Italian Australians
The Victorian gold rush of the 1850s attracted thousands of Italians and Swiss Italians to Australia. By 1881, there were 521 Italians in New South Wales, 947 in Victoria, 250 in Queensland, 141 in South Australia, 11 in Tasmania, and just 10 in Western Australia. The migration of northern Italian middle-class professionals to Australia was spurred by persecution from Austrian authorities, who controlled most of the northern regions of Italy until 1860, and the economic crisis in Italy in the 1880s.
Italian migration to Australia in the late 19th century and much of the 20th century was fuelled by political upheaval and poor economic conditions at home. The Australian Government's 'Populate or Perish' immigration program, which began in 1945, also encouraged Italian migration. Under a migration agreement, Australia pledged to accept up to 20,000 Italian migrants every year for five years. From 1945 to 1972, 373,966 Italians came to live in Australia, making them the second-largest group of migrants after the British.
In 1955, as the economy grew, Italian migration to Australia continued, with many gravitating to North Queensland, where they worked in the sugar cane industry. Italian farmers revived the Australian tobacco industry, and by the 1950s, they controlled 75% of tobacco production. The sugar industry's rapid growth continued for the next 15 years.
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Chinese Australians
The discovery of gold and the subsequent gold rushes in Australia significantly influenced Australian immigration policies for over a century and attracted thousands of Chinese people to the country. The Australian gold rushes of the 1850s and 1860s saw the largest pre-federation Chinese migration to Australia, with numbers peaking at around 40,000. Most Chinese immigrants to Australia during this time came from Southern China, particularly the counties closest to the port of Hong Kong. The average voyage from Canton via Hong Kong to Sydney and Melbourne took about three months.
The Chinese migrants of this period were predominantly men, with very few women migrating to Australia. This gender imbalance meant that Chinese men often married women of European descent. Many Chinese migrants intended to return to China after making money in Australia, and as a result, they did not invest substantially in local communities. Instead, they regularly sent remittances to their families in China.
The arrival of large numbers of Chinese gold seekers caused alarm among Victorian politicians and gold seekers. In 1855, the Victorian parliament passed the Chinese Restriction Act to restrict Chinese immigration, the first of many immigration restrictions and Chinese-targeting laws. Due to the long, poorly regulated borders between the colonies of Australia, the number of Chinese migrants on the goldfields continued to increase.
After the gold rushes, the number of Chinese people living in Australian cities continued to grow, and their businesses and industries contributed to the growth of Melbourne and Sydney in the late 19th century. However, anti-Chinese racism among white Australians contributed to the push for the federation of Australia and the establishment of the White Australia Policy, which made it nearly impossible for anyone to migrate from China to Australia. As a result, the population of Chinese people in Australia steadily declined. Despite this, people with Chinese heritage continued to play a role in Australian history, with over 200 people of Chinese heritage fighting for Australia in both World Wars.
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Irish Australians
The Irish in Australia initially came as convicts and free settlers, with some seeking to emigrate from their homeland and others being prisoners of war or struggling during the Irish famine. Between 1791 and 1867, an estimated 40,000 Irish people were transported to Australia, including those who had participated in rebellions for independence. The number of Ireland-born people in Australia peaked in 1891, with 228,000 counted in the census. At this time, the Irish made up about 27% of immigrants from the British Isles, constituting up to a third of Australia's population.
The cultural influence of the Irish in Australia is significant, with Australia described as a "fairly faithful mirror of the early 19th-century United Kingdom" before large-scale continental European and English immigration post-1945. This influence is also seen in the works of historians, novelists, poets, and balladists who have documented the Irish-Australian story. While there is no definitive figure, the Australian embassy in Dublin estimates that up to 30% of the population claim some degree of Irish ancestry.
The Irish-Australian population has continued to evolve, with changes in immigration patterns and the development of a multicultural Australia. While migration from the south of Ireland reduced significantly in the 1960s, around 1,000 people born in Ireland, both north and south, were migrating permanently to Australia annually by 2002. The influence and presence of Irish Australians have left an indelible mark on the country's history and continue to shape its cultural landscape.
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Frequently asked questions
English is the de facto national language of Australia, with 72% of the population speaking it as their primary language at home.
The ethnic makeup of Australia has been historically influenced by immigration, with the majority of early settlers coming from the British Isles (England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). Over time, Australia has become a multicultural country, with immigrants accounting for 30% of the population in 2019. The Asian Australian population has also been growing, contributing to the emergence of a "Eurasian society" within major urban hubs.
At the 2021 census, 3.2% of the Australian population identified as Indigenous Australians, including Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.
