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Greeks are here
Greek migration to Australia started in the early colonial period. In 1829 seven Greek sailors convicted of piracy by a British naval court were sentenced to transportation to New South Wales. The first wave of free migrants commenced in the 1850s. These Greeks were drawn by the discovery of gold. In 1901 the Australian census recorded 878 people born in Greece. Many were owners of or were employed in shops and restaurants. Some were cane-cutters in Queensland. -
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Immigration
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The British Came
Captain James Cook discovered the east coast of New Holland in 1770 and named it New South Wales. He sailed the whole of the coast and reported to the British government that he thought it would make a good place for a settlement. Britain did not recognise the country as being inhabited as the natives did not cultivate the land, and were, therefore, “uncivilized”. The agrarian revolution in Britain, and the population explosion in the cities, resulted in an increase in crime. As the America -
Germans
From the 1850s German settlers escaping the rising nationalist sentiment in Germany began arriving in the Australian colonies looking to start a new life. Port Adelaide was the point of arrival for the majority of German settlers. The Germans moved onto Western Australia, the Barossa Valley, the Riverina and South East Queensland where they found the regions suitable for wheat and dairy farming, the planting of vineyards and wine making. They formed close communities transforming the dry margin -
Chinese came to Australia
the chinese came for the gold and when the gold was was running dim they started to work on storse and restraunts. Because the mineres would of been hot and tired so the chinese sold water and food they made a great profit. -
Irish arrive
The potao famin killed 100 000 000 000 most irish moved to Australia so they could grow food but it didn't work The Irish migrated to Victoria in vast numbers. They were the largest immigrant group after the English from 1854 to World War I. By 1871, when the community numbered 100,468, more than one in four Victorians was born in Ireland. The Irish famine of the 1840s caused large numbers of people to migrate due to poverty and difficult living conditions. They worked in Victoria as whaler -
Italian arrived
Italian immigration to Australia began almost at the same time as Captain Cook's discovery of the country in 1770. There were two men of Italian descent on board his Endeavour - James Matra and Antonio Ponto. There was also an Italian convict, Giuseppe Tuzo, who was sent out with the First Fleet, and later resided in Sydney. Some Italians came here as free settlers, but there was no real Italian community until the Victorian and West Australian gold rushes began in the 1850's. Immigrants from -
Spanish Arrive
Although Spanish seafarers began exploring the South Pacific in the fourteenth century, it was not until the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s that Spanish immigrants began to arrive in Victoria. The first Spanish restaurant was opened in Melbourne in 1860. By 1871, 135 Spaniards lived in Victoria, 80% of them men. Over the next two decades, the number of Spanish women arriving in Victoria tripled; a few more men also arrived. -
Pasfic Islanders (kanakers) arrive at Australia
At the Port of Brisbane in 1863, sixty seven South Pacific Islanders, or Kanaka, as they were known, disembarked from a vessel called the 'Don Juan'. (The term 'Kanaka' is now recognised as derogative.) Their arrival was the first stage of a large scheme to remove South Pacific Islanders from their homes, sometimes forcibly, to provide cheap labour for the Queensland sugar industry. -
Camaleers (Afgans)
European exploration and settlement of inland Australia depended heavily on the expertise of Muslim cameleers from Afghanistan and British India. During the late 19th century their network of transport routes opened up the arid interior. More efficient than bullock or horse teamsters, the cameleers were in great demand. They helped construct the Overland Telegraph Line and inland railways, took part in exploration expeditions, and supplied mining towns and pastoral stations. -
French come to Australia
The French who came to Australia after 1788, generally came in search of opportunity or new horizons. The State Library of New South Wales's collections are rich in the records of early French explorers of Australia and the Pacific region. But these well known tales of imperial adventure and competition are only a small part of the more extensive and enduring story of French association with, and contribution to, Australia.
