Asian Australians

Asian Australians

Regions with significant populations
Capital cities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Languages
commonly Australian English, Asian languages
Religion
Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, agnostic, Hinduism, Islam, East Asian religions, other Indian religions, and others

Template:RegionsofAsia-Central.png An Asian Australian is a person of Asian ancestry who is a citizen or permanent resident of Australia.

For the purposes of aggregating data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics in its Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) has grouped certain ethnic groups into certain categories, including Northeast Asian e.g. Chinese Australian, Southeast Asian e.g. Vietnamese Australian, South Asian e.g. Indian Australian and Central Asian e.g. Afghan Australian. For this article an Asian Australian is considered to be an Australian resident falling into one of these four groups.

At the 2011 Census 1.9 million Australians declared that they had an Asian ancestral background. This represents about 6% of all responses. In some other surveys it's about 8%.

History of Asian immigration

In 1788, a small group of Chinese settled in New South Wales. But the first wave of Asian immigration to Australia did not begin until the late-1800s, almost 100 years after the first wave of European immigration. One major reason that Asians did not leave their homelands was that their societies were relatively stable. Asia did not experience the revolutions that brought political, economic, and social changes to Europe. The people had little reason to leave in search of a better life. But by the mid-1900s, the traditional Asian systems began to prove ineffective in the face of increasing social problems. The first major social crises erupted in China. The government began to weaken under repeated foreign invasions, domestic revolts, and problems caused by overpopulation. The rulers could no longer control people who wanted to leave the country.

The first wave of Asian immigration

Large numbers of Chinese people were working on the Victorian goldfields and fewer on the smaller NSW fields in the mid 1850s, when major gold finds in NSW and the passing of more restrictive anti-Chinese legislation in Victoria resulted in thousands of miners moving across the border in 1859. By the end of 1850, there were 300 Chinese in Victoria. By 1860, Australia had a Chinese population of about 2,000, most of whom lived in New South Wales. By then, Chinese laborers were well known to industrialists and plantation owners. Sugar plantation owners recruited Chinese laborers, and railroads sent labor recruiters to China. Chinese laborers were the primary work force for the western half of the Transcontinental Railroad, which connects Victoria and other settlements and territories in the east with the western Australia. Victorian civic leaders and industrialists greeted the first arrivals of Chinese laborers with enthusiasm. But soon, white workers came to believe that Chinese workers were rivals for jobs. Labor unions campaigned against Chinese immigration. The general Australian public became fearful that Chinese would overrun Australia. In numerous instances, mobs attacked and killed Chinese immigrants. In 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited all Chinese laborers from immigrating to the Australia. The act permitted only merchants, teachers, and certain other groups from China to come to Australia.

The second wave

The second group consisted of Japanese workers. Between 1852 and 1900, some 3,000 came to work on sugar plantations. In the early 1900s, the Japanese population in the Pacific Coast began to face the same opposition that had arisen against Chinese workers. The Second World War led to the Japanese population being detained and later expelled at the cessation of hostilities. Groups of immigrants from India began arriving in Australia in the early 1900s. Most of the immigrants were young men from farm households in search of job opportunities. They arrived by ship in Northern Territory, and then many made their way south into New South Wales. Most of them found work in lumber mills in New South Wales or on farms in centralVictoria. Like other Asians before them, they faced opposition from local citizens.

Arrivals after the early 1900s

Thousands of Southeast Asians have come to Australia since the mid-1970s. Most of them fled their homelands as a result of the Vietnam War (1957-1975). The first wave to arrive were Vietnamese political refugees. Most of the second wave were rural people which also included people from Cambodia and Laos, who had less education and fewer job skills. About three-fourths of the Southeast Asian immigrants settled in New South Wales or Victoria. The initial response in most communities where the refugees settled was sympathetic. But in some cases, conflicts arose with local residents when the newcomers began to move into the labor force. Many Vietnamese refugees, for example, found jobs in the prawn fishing industry in New South Wales, Victoria, and other Pacific reigons. Local fishing crews accused the Southeast Asians of setting too many traps, fishing in areas claimed by Australian crews, and other offenses. Fighting often broke out, and vandals on both sides damaged their rivals' boats and fishing nets.

Cultural Influences

Although Asians have been in Australia since the 1700s, large numbers of Asians first came to Australia in the 1880s. Since then, they have influenced many areas of Australian culture. T'ai chi ch'uan is a form of exercise that the Chinese have practiced for centuries. It has become especially popular among older Australians of many ethnicities. Its slow, gentle movements provide good exercise for aging bodies. Tae kwon do is a traditional Korean martial art (style of fighting). Korean immigrants popularized it, and many of them now teach it to Australian youth. Judo is a traditional Japanese form of wrestling. Many Australian colleges offer it in physical education programs. Both judo and tae kwon do are Olympic sports.

Many Asian foods have become a regular part of Australian meals. Australians of all races are familiar with many Chinese foods, such as dumplings and kung pao chicken, spicy deep-fried chicken cubes with nuts. Dim sim, a Chinese-inspired meat dumpling-style snack food, is another popular dish. A favorite for some Australians is sushi, a Japanese dish of vinegar-flavored rice and raw fish or vegetables. Many Australian restaurants and groceries offer sushi. Restaurants that serve spicy Thai or Indian food are also popular. Some Australian grocery stores carry naan, an Indian flat bread. Many supermarkets carry tofu, soybean curd that can be sautéd, braised, or grilled. Tofu originated in China more than 1,000 years ago. Many Australians enjoy Bánh mì pâté thịt, a Vietnamese term for all kinds of sandwich served with various Vietnamese cold cuts such as sliced pork or pork bellies, chả lụa, and head cheese, along with the liver pâté and vegetables. Vietnamese Bò lá lốt a dish of spiced beef rolled in a pepper leaf (lá lốt) and grilled is also popular with many Australians. Many Australian groceries sell soy milk, a traditional drink in many Asian countries, as an alternative to cow’s milk.

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese method of relieving pain and treating disease by inserting needles in the body. It has become accepted by the Australian medical profession as a way to treat certain ailments. Yoga is a traditional South Asian spiritual practice of meditation and exercise. It has become a popular form of exercise for Australian from all walks of life.

Demographics

30% of Asians in Australia go to university, 20% of all Australian doctors are Asian, and 37% of Asian Australians take part in some form of organised sport. Second and third generation Chinese and Indian Australians are already present in large numbers. Sydney has the largest number of Asian Australians of any city, and a particularly high concentration of Chinese Australians. Chinese Australians make up Sydney's fourth largest ancestry (after English, Australian and Irish), while the Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese are among Sydney's five largest overseas-born communities.

Metropolitan Areas with High Proportion of Australians of Asian ancestry (2006 Census)

Metropolitan Area	Asian population(Est)	Asian people as % of total population.
Sydney, NSW	683,917	16.60
Melbourne, VIC	565,056	16.18
Perth, WA	136,848	9.47
Brisbane, QLD	130,598	7.41
Adelaide, SA	68,640	6.21
Canberra, ACT	30,113	9.32
Darwin, NT	10,551	9.96

Asian Australians by Sydney region (2006 census)

Region	Asian population	Asian people as % of total population
Fairfield-Liverpool	97,765	28.38
Inner Western Sydney	87,251	28.07
Central Western Sydney	84,491	27.88
Canterbury-Bankstown	68,784	22.89
Lower Northern Sydney	62,395	21.61
Central Northern Sydney	80,355	19.51
Inner Sydney	51,191	16.35
St George-Sutherland	60,010	14.16
North Western Sydney	73,806	12.76
Eastern Suburbs	27,274	11.82
Outer South Western Sydney	21,008	9.01
Northern Beaches	14,458	6.42

Asian Australians by Melbourne region (2006 census)

Region	Asian population	Asian people as % of total population
Box Hill	105,361	40.04
Melbourne Central	90,541	31.32
Fitzroy - North Fitzroy	71,440	28.92
Footscray	50,314	20.03
Burwood	26,395	18.67
Camberwell	20,035	15.25
Inner Melbourne	43,111	14.33
Springvale	22,991	14.17
Western Suburbs	72,842	9.32
Eastern Suburbs	64,485	8.98

See also

• Asian American
• Asian Canadian
• Asian Brazilian
• British Asian
• Asian people

External links

• Centre for Asian Societies and Histories
• Young Asians making their mark on Australia