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| -Image by Bru-nO at Pixaba |
It was the very success of earlier migrations that encouraged optimism with respect to subsequent migration programs. Though most refugee camps were now empty, those who had arrived earlier often encouraged others to come or sponsored relatives under the family reunion scheme.
As economic conditions improved in Europe by the 1970s, there were fewer migrants from that source and some even began returning home. However, social and economic upheavals in other parts of the world continued to bring migrants to Australia’s shores. A rough timeline follows which also reflects changes in Australia’s immigration policy. Apologies to all those I have had to leave out. Note how the various Independence movements sparked waves of immigration.
1945 THE DUTCH
Among the first to arrive in the Post War Period were the Dutch. A few Dutch settlers had arrived after the war under a scheme whereby Allied servicemen could apply for Assisted passage to Australia, but it was Indonesian Independence Day on the 17th of August, 1945 which brought an additional 50,000 Dutch migrants into Australia from the former “Dutch East Indies.”
In 1952 with The Netherlands facing a housing shortage and unemployment, a cost sharing agreement between the Dutch and Australian governments enabled a further 81,000 Dutch migrants to enter Australia in 1952, the largest number besides the British, and rising to 160,000 in all. As a posterchild for the desirability of immigration, a young Dutch woman was celebrated as Australia’s one millionth migrant.
By 1961, there were 102, 130 Dutch people in Australia and by 2021 Census there were 384, 946 people or 1.5.% of the population of Dutch descent, making them still one of the largest national groups. While their main contributions were in agriculture, they were also active in other areas such as shipping, construction and retailing.
1947 INDIAN INDEPENDENCE
When India became independent in 1947 approximately 700 of Anglo – Indians came to Australia with many more following thereafter. By 1981, the Indian – born population had reached 41,657.
Because of the White Australia Policy other Indians and those of mixed race were not admitted into Australia until the 1970s when some were permitted under Skilled Migration Visas. Their numbers quickly increased in 1980 – when there was a large intake of skilled migrants. In the following decades an increasing number students began attending higher educational institutions in Australia so that by 2021, there were 721,000 Indian -born migrants, making them the second largest group after those from the UK.
They are not a homogenous group however, having come from different regions and different faiths. Together they have made major economic contributions to information technology, engineering, healthcare, finance and hospitality and cultural contributions in the form of festivals such as Diwali, cuisine, movies and spiritual and physical practises such as yoga and meditation.
1951 JAPANESE MIGRATION
Before World War II, some Japanese people were employed in Broome and Northern Australia as pearlers and sugar cane cutters. However, they were interned along with the Germans and Italians during the war and most were deported afterwards.
Despite lingering fear and resentment towards the Japanese, a small contingent of 650 Japanese War Brides from the post – war occupation of Japan, were permitted entry into Australia in 1952. It was the successful integration of this small group of women which broke down the barriers with regard to Asian immigration and helped to usher in changes to the White Australia Policy.
Afterwards Japanese business people, students and professionals began to trickle in with their peak between 2001 and 2010 and between 2016 and 2021. In 2021 there 78,049 people with Japanese ancestry living in Australia which coincided with increasing trade between the two countries.
Though the Japanese have quietly gone about their affairs,sushi has become an everyday day staple and Japanese gardens are a feature of many parks and cities. Cherry blossom festivals are celebrated and avenues of flowering cherry trees grace Cowra, where Japanese men were detained during the war.
1953 THE KOREAN WAR
Following the Korean War (1950 -1953), in which Australians fought on the side of what was to become South Korea, a small number of Koreans came to Australia (20). However, with the easing of the White Australia Policy 468 Koreans came under the first Skilled Migrant Program so that by 1976 there were 1460 arrivals and with the lifting of the White Australia Policy, Business and Skilled Migration, swelled their numbers to 9,290 by 1986 so that by the time of the 2021 Census 102,789 reported having Korean ancestry of which approximately half had attained citizenship.
1950 -1960s THE AMERICANS
Migration from other English-speaking countries had always been encouraged and throughout the previous century and especially during the Gold Rush era, there had been a steady stream of Americans coming to Australia. However Americans had served alongside Australians in the Pacific and many took their leave in Australia and stayed on afterwards, giving their numbers a considerable boost.
In the 1950s almost everything American was popular– from Coca Cola to Elvis, to its enormous finned cars. The first Drive – in opened in Burwood, Victoria in 1954, and the first
Ten Pin Bowling Alley in 1960. The advent of television in Australia between 1956 and 1960 owed much to American technical expertise along with some US programming and Talent such TV host
Don Lane and "Pick -a -Box" host Bob Dyer. We didn't have TV but we did see a lot American programs such as Disneyland, Superman and "77 Sunset Strip" at friends' houses and we watched American blockbusters at the cinema.
Even though surfing- that most Aussie of sports, had been around in a low -key way since before WW I, it really took off after Malibu boards began to appear in Australia following a surf carnival in 1956.
There was cooperation on defence, aerospace and computer technology. By the 1970s companies such as Xerox, Burroughs, Hewlett Packard, NCR and UNIVAC, Honeywell and Control Data opened branches in Australia. Although the love affair with all things American cooled somewhat during the Vietnam War, many American servicemen still took their leave in Australia and remained after that war too. Others continued to arrive, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s seeking career opportunities in business and academia. There are currently approximately 110,000 Americans living in Australia.
1964 – 1974 MALTA
Malta officially became independent of British rule in 1964
and became a republic in 1974. Limited opportunities at home prompted the emigration of 30%
of Malta’s population with some 50,000 people coming to Australia between 1948
and 1965. By 1991 their numbers had grown to 22,030 and by 2014 there were
80,000 people of Maltese descent living in Australia.
1967 -1970 TURKEY
In 1967 Australia signed a bilateral agreement with Turkey to permit large scale migration to fill workplace shortages. As of 2021, there were 38,568 Turkish born residents and 87,164 who had Turkish ancestry.
1974 CYPRUS
Though a small number of Cypriots had arrived in Australia during the Gold Rush and the ceding of Cyprus to the Ottoman Empire by the British in 1878, it was the 1974 invasion by Turkey and its subsequent division into the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which sparked a wave of emigration to Australia of 6600 mostly Greek Cypriots over the ensuring four years. This continued more slowly until 1985 after which emigration tapered off as conditions improved in Cyprus. At the 1990 Census there were 22,000 people of Cypriot descent in Australia, making it the largest community outside of Cyprus.
SOUTH AMERICANS
Throughout the 1970’s the emergence of dictatorships in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, beginning with the military coup in Chile in 1973 and the rise of Pinochet, then Argentina’s “Dirty War” in 1976, led to waves of refugees escaping human rights abuses in those countries. While exact numbers are not known, they are believed to be in their thousands.
1969 - 2001 YUGOSLAVIA
There were three waves of Immigration from the former Yugoslavia. Twenty-five thousand Yugoslavs had had been among the displaced persons
who arrived after the WW II, but they were joined by a further 50,000 Yugoslavs between in
1969 and 1971 due to severe economic challenges. Their numbers also increased during the long period of
civil unrest and ethnic warfare which lasted from 1991 to 2001 and there are now 2000 Yugoslavs with Croatian heritage, 96,000 Serbians, 28.246 Bosnians and 93,570 Macedonians.
One unfortunate consequence was that it sometimes brought people together from opposing sides of a conflict so that there were sometimes violent clashes at soccer matches, though confrontations between fans are hardly confined to Yugoslavians.
1980s POLAND
As Poland sought to break free of Soviet control, political persecution, the imposition of martial law in 1981 and economic deterioration, brought a second wave of Polish migrants to Australia, besides those who had come from refugee camps. Although Poland finally succeeded in 1989, many Poles continued to leave. By 2021, there were 209, 284 people with Polish ancestry in Australia of which 45,884 had been born in Poland.
This effectively ended large scale immigration from Europe. The successful integration of small groups of Asian immigrants and others, led to the dismantling of the White Australia Policy by the Whitlam Government in 1973 allowing migrants to be drawn from a much more diverse group of countries.
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By the way, if you are in Melbourne and interested in some of these stories or even want to write your own- and there are as many as there are migrants, you might want to visit the Nillumbik Festival of Stories which is being held in Hurstbridge from May 1 - May 4.
This certainly isn't just about migrants, but the many voices which make up the Nillumbik Community, but I have heard that there is one by one of the child migrants who was simply scooped up and sent out alone after the war.
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