Ukrainian Australian

Ukrainian Australian
Українські Австралійці

Larissa Burak, a Ukrainian-born Australian playing the bandura at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Total population
Ukrainian 13,670 (by birth, 2006)
Regions with significant populations
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth
Languages
Ukrainian, Australian English
Religion
Byzantine Catholic, Eastern Orthodox

The Ukrainians (Ukrainian: Українці) are an ethnic minority in Australia, numbering about 20,000 people, hence making up 0.16% of the total population. Currently, the main concentrations of Ukrainians are located in Melbourne and Sydney.

History

Although there are indications that a Ukrainian was aboard one of the transports from England in the 1790s and there was a small group of Ukrainians living in Brisbane between World War I and World War II, the main body of Ukrainians immigrated to Australia along with other nationalities in the post-World War II wave of refugees from Europe. These refugees were called "displaced persons" and started arriving in 1948 as part of the International Refugee Organization resettlement agreement or on assisted passages.

In the 1970s a small group of ethnic Ukrainians migrated to Australia from Yugoslavia,^{[citation needed]}. In 1991 Ukraine gained independence, and over the next five years the Ukraine-born population increased for the first time in many decades, in Victoria from 2,937 in 1991 to 5,370 in 1996. Many of these new post-independence migrants were young professionals in the fields of science, mathematics and computer technology.

Organisations

Lidcombe Oval in use by the Ukrainian Australian community in February 1964 to commemorate 150 years from the birth of the poet Taras Shevchenko. The statue was designed and built by Peter Kravchenko and Stephan Chwyla, both artists who became founding members of the Ukrainian Artists Society of Australia.

The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations is the umbrella organisation that represents the Ukrainian community in Australia. Each State has a number of Ukrainian community associations, or hromadas. The Ukrainian Council of NSW represents the Ukrainian hromadas in New South Wales.

Organised Ukrainian communities exist in:

• New South Wales and the A.C.T.
  • Sydney
  • Canberra

• Victoria
  • Melbourne
  • Ballarat
  • Essendon
  • Wodonga

• Queensland
  • Brisbane
  • Toowoomba

• South Australia
  • Adelaide

• Western Australia
  • Perth

Cultural organisations

Ukrainian choir "Boyan" — director Vasyl Matіash (top row — centre), with the "Ukrainian Folk Ballet" — musical director and choreographer — Natalia Tyrawsky (top row — centre). Photo early 1970s, Sydney

The Ukrainian community in Australia was very active in the formation of a variety of cultural organisations, including choirs, folk dancing groups, and arts organisations like the Ukrainian Artists Society of Australia.

As well, there are Australian versions of Ukrainian youth organisations such as Plast and the Ukrainian Youth Association.

Religion and Churches

St Andrews Ukrainian Catholic Church, Lidcombe, NSW.

Religion plays an important part in Ukrainian life. In Australia the largest percentage of the Ukrainian émigré population came from Western Ukraine, primarily from Galicia. As a result, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, which was the predominate church in this region, had considerable support in Australia for people of Ukrainian background. A significant percentage of Ukrainian émigrés came from Volyn and Bukovyna, and these primarily subscribed to the Ukrainian Orthodox church. Ukrainians who hailed from Central and Eastern Ukraine also tended to support the Ukrainian Orthodox tradition.

Ukrainian Baptist churches also exist in the larger cities as do communities of RUN Vira.

Schools and Education

Ukrainian schools were established in most Ukrainian communities and also in association with the Ukrainian Catholic Church. At their height some 2,300 students were enrolled in one year. The school system established and maintained a Federal Ukrainian school council, published textbooks which were also used in Ukrainian school systems in North America and Europe.

Ukrainian language was included into the government school curriculum as a high school matriculation subject in 1978.

Departments of Ukrainian language were established and maintained on donations from the Ukrainian community at Macquarie University in Sydney and Monash University in Melbourne.

Notable Ukrainian Australians

• Rachael Finch - model
• Alex Jesaulenko (Football — Australian Rules)
• Michael Kmit — painter
• Harry Messel (Educator)
• Bohdan Nyskohus (Football — Soccer)
• Jared Petrenko (Football — Australian Rules)
• Nikita Rukavytsya (Football - Soccer)

See also

• Ukrainian diaspora
• Immigration to Australia
• Ukrainian Artists Society of Australia
• Ukrainian dance in Australia

References

• Mandyczewsky, Andrew. "A Chronological History of Ukrainians in Australia". OzeUkes. Archived from the original on 24 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070824062100/http://www.ozeukes.com/std1.php?parm=aboutoz2.php. Retrieved 23 March 2007. 
• "Ukrainians of Australia" (in Ukrainian). Yedyna-Ukrayina. http://diaspora.ukrinform.com/gsu-1.shtml. Retrieved 23 March 2007. 
• ozeukes.com — Ukrainian community in Australia