ASIA
26 March 2014
Celebrating Australia's immigration history
On a recent trip to Melbourne, we visited the Immigration Museum, a celebration of Australia's rich immigration history. It is also an excellent public education tool on this complex issue.
On a recent trip to Melbourne, we visited the Immigration Museum which is a celebration of Australia's rich immigration history.
The main exhibit details the various waves of immigration to Australia. Migration to Australia in the modern era started in 1788, and was led by settlers from the United Kingdom and Ireland. And while the UK, Ireland and New Zealand have continued to be important source countries, Australia's migration history has been characterized by a series of waves from Germany, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and more recently Asia.
Delegations of Australian school children, of many ethnic origins, were studying this history very closely with their teachers. This is very important aspect of Australian education, because an open and tolerant society requires well-informed and well-educated citizens.
Turning now to Asia, Chinese people started migrating to Australia not long after the beginning of white settlement. In the very early days, many worked as shepherds.
With the discovery of gold in Australia in the mid-19th century, larger numbers of people began arriving. Between 1851 and 1861, over 600,000 people came, including 42,000 from China.
However, it didn't take long for Chinese immigrants to suffer from discrimination and racism, leading to the so-called White Australia Policy, and the virtual cession of Asian immigration to Australia. The White Australia Policy was progressively dismantled between 1949 and 1973, and we have subsequently witnessed a dramatic rise in immigration from Asian countries.
Asian Australians now make up some 12% of the nation's population, with Chinese Australians being the leading group. Indeed, by end-June 2011, there were 391 060 Chinese-born people were living in Australia, 51 per cent more than five years earlier. China now has the third largest migrant community in Australia (after the UK and New Zealand), representing 6.5 per cent of Australia’s overseas-born population and 1.8 per cent of its total population.
The other exhibition which attracted our particular attention was "Leaving Dublin", an exhibition of photos by Irish photographer David Monahan. It captures the courage of the current generation of Irish immigrants who are essentially "economic refugees". These photos embody the despairs, hopes, dreams, resilience, sadness and excitement of starting life in a new land as these immigrants flee the social and economic devastation caused by the European financial crisis.
A similar story could be told of several European countries, especially Greece, which has already sent large numbers of its population to Australia. These countries are losing their best young people, who are now leaving in search of opportunity in countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It is important for all of our citizens, particularly leaders in politics and finance, to see this exhibition and better understand the social devastation caused by financial crises. Too many countries are now needlessly losing their best youth in the global competition for talent, and thus sacrificing their future.
One issue not explored in this excellent museum is the migration of Australia's aborigines to the country's shores. It is widely agreed that Aborigines arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago. But whether these first migrations involved one or several waves and different distinct peoples is still a matter of academic debate.
A recent genetic study, based on DNA from Aboriginal Australians suggests that Australia experienced a wave of migration from India as recently as about 4,000 years ago. Indeed, researchers believe the Indian migrants may have introduced the dingo (a wild dog) to Australia. Thus, the British settlement starting in the 18th century may be just another in a long list of waves of immigration.
Without in any way seeking to diminish the tragic events associated with the British invasion of Australia, it is important to recognize that we are all immigrants from somewhere. It is just a question of timing.
Executive Director
Asian Century Institute
www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
The main exhibit details the various waves of immigration to Australia. Migration to Australia in the modern era started in 1788, and was led by settlers from the United Kingdom and Ireland. And while the UK, Ireland and New Zealand have continued to be important source countries, Australia's migration history has been characterized by a series of waves from Germany, Italy, Greece, Yugoslavia, Lebanon and more recently Asia.
Delegations of Australian school children, of many ethnic origins, were studying this history very closely with their teachers. This is very important aspect of Australian education, because an open and tolerant society requires well-informed and well-educated citizens.
Turning now to Asia, Chinese people started migrating to Australia not long after the beginning of white settlement. In the very early days, many worked as shepherds.
With the discovery of gold in Australia in the mid-19th century, larger numbers of people began arriving. Between 1851 and 1861, over 600,000 people came, including 42,000 from China.
However, it didn't take long for Chinese immigrants to suffer from discrimination and racism, leading to the so-called White Australia Policy, and the virtual cession of Asian immigration to Australia. The White Australia Policy was progressively dismantled between 1949 and 1973, and we have subsequently witnessed a dramatic rise in immigration from Asian countries.
Asian Australians now make up some 12% of the nation's population, with Chinese Australians being the leading group. Indeed, by end-June 2011, there were 391 060 Chinese-born people were living in Australia, 51 per cent more than five years earlier. China now has the third largest migrant community in Australia (after the UK and New Zealand), representing 6.5 per cent of Australia’s overseas-born population and 1.8 per cent of its total population.
The other exhibition which attracted our particular attention was "Leaving Dublin", an exhibition of photos by Irish photographer David Monahan. It captures the courage of the current generation of Irish immigrants who are essentially "economic refugees". These photos embody the despairs, hopes, dreams, resilience, sadness and excitement of starting life in a new land as these immigrants flee the social and economic devastation caused by the European financial crisis.
A similar story could be told of several European countries, especially Greece, which has already sent large numbers of its population to Australia. These countries are losing their best young people, who are now leaving in search of opportunity in countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It is important for all of our citizens, particularly leaders in politics and finance, to see this exhibition and better understand the social devastation caused by financial crises. Too many countries are now needlessly losing their best youth in the global competition for talent, and thus sacrificing their future.
One issue not explored in this excellent museum is the migration of Australia's aborigines to the country's shores. It is widely agreed that Aborigines arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago. But whether these first migrations involved one or several waves and different distinct peoples is still a matter of academic debate.
A recent genetic study, based on DNA from Aboriginal Australians suggests that Australia experienced a wave of migration from India as recently as about 4,000 years ago. Indeed, researchers believe the Indian migrants may have introduced the dingo (a wild dog) to Australia. Thus, the British settlement starting in the 18th century may be just another in a long list of waves of immigration.
Without in any way seeking to diminish the tragic events associated with the British invasion of Australia, it is important to recognize that we are all immigrants from somewhere. It is just a question of timing.
Author
John WestExecutive Director
Asian Century Institute
www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
REFERENCES:
- Immigration Museum. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Asian migration to Australia. Asian Century Institute, 24 April 2013
- Leaving Dublin. Immigration Museum. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Ancient migration: Genes link Australia with India, by Rebecca Morelle, Science reporter, BBC World Service