Italian Immigration to Australia

April 12, 2019

As part of an ongoing series of posts I’m going to provide information on Italian Immigration to Australia.  I never knew the impact until seeing how many Italian Australians read my blog.  Canada will be next.

Italian Migration To Australia

Italian migration to Australia in the late 19th century and much of the 20th century was fueled by the same factors that drove Italians to the Americas – political upheaval and poor economic conditions at home. But changes in the US immigration policy had a direct effect on the flow to Australian shores.

Perhaps the simplest way to document the story of Italian migration to Australia is in the form of a timeline, starting with a historic voyage that marks the beginning of Australia’s colonial history:

1770:

Early 1800s:

1840s:

1850s:

1871:

1881:

1883:

1891:

1920s:

1921:

1921-1933:

1925:

1930s-1950s:

1939:

1939-1945:

1946:

1955:

1961:

1971:

1970-1980:

By the mid-1970s, many Italians who had arrived in Australia after World War 11 ran successful businesses and owned their own homes and at least one rental property. Their children were studying at University or had well-paying jobs. They had seized their “second chance” and run with it, often incurring resentment from their Australian peers, who weren’t driven by the same work ethic.

The older Italians who had arrived in earlier decades were now retiring, spending winters in their units on the Gold Coast and traveling overseas to visit Italy and Europe. 

The term ‘multiculturalism’ began to crop up in political debates and in the media. And in this changing climate, the Italian contributions to Australian society were finally acknowledged.

The 2006 Census counted 199,124 persons who were born in Italy. However, 852,417 persons identified themselves as having Italian ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry.

Italian is the fifth most identified ancestry in Australia behind Australian, English, Irish and Scottish.

National Archives of Australia Fact sheet provides links to many records regarding Italian Immigration to Australia.

Italian Migration to Australia in Pictures

Watching this montage, it’s hard not to see the similarities between the Italians that migrated to Australia and America.  But we say “New Yawk”  I hope you enjoyed.  Please share.

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