Long before the invasion of the white man; aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders were the sole inhabitants of Australia. Between 120,000 and 40,000 years ago aboriginals made their historic immigration from South-East Asia across the land-bridge to Australia where they evolved into the distinct race that they are today. With the submersion of the land bridge, aboriginals enjoyed millennia of uninterrupted governance of the huge island upon which they had been stranded.

BRITISH & IRISH
Throughout the past millennium a few foreigners landed on Australian soil but it was not until 1788 with the landing of the First Fleet that the aboriginals' monopoly was in jeopardy. The First Fleet and subsequent colonial landings transported the British and Irish ancestors of today's main group of Australians, the Anglo-Celts.

Many of the original Irish immigrants were shipped to Australia against their will as convicts but in subsequent decades Irish immigration was a favoured route to escape the turmoil of Ireland under siege and famine. The Irish annual immigration rate to Australia was second after English until World War I; after which Irish immigration numbers were superseded by Scottish.

Prospective British immigrants to Australia were given incentives such as free passage and arrival assistance to boost British numbers until the early 1980s. Soon after British favouritism was halted, numbers of British immigrants went into decline and were surpassed for the first time by New Zealand immigrants. However, Australia's current population is significantly dominated by those of Anglo-Celtic heritage and they continue to be one of the main ethnic groups to immigrate to Australia.

CHINESE
By 1861, nearly 40,000 people in Australia (3.4% of the population) were born in China. They arrived to participate in the gold rush and most set up permanent residence in the cities once the gold rush was over. Racial discrimination was rampant and immigration acts were devised to restrict the number of undesirable' immigrants. It was not until the 1970s when the racist White Australia Policy' was abolished that Chinese were free to immigrate. In the 1980s Australia actively recruited Chinese students to move to Australia to study. Since that time the Chinese population has risen dramatically. A large percentage of the Chinese in Australia are tertiary educated and tend to live in Chinese dominated suburbs near to the larger cities.

ITALIANS
The largest influx

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about A look at Australia's ethnic groups?
We want to hear your view. Write now!