Chilean Australians
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| New South Wales (2001 est.) | 12,630 |
| Victoria (2001 est.) | 6,670 |
| Languages | |
| English and Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic, Christian, Protestantism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Europeans, Amerindians | |
Chilean Australians are citizens of Australia whose ancestry originates in the South American nation of Chile. In Australia, Chileans are the biggest Latin American group residing in the nation. The biggest Chilean Australian communities are primarily found in Sydney and Melbourne. With one out of three Chileans living in the western suburbs of Sydney. [3] Despite the small size of the Chilean community, they are held as examples of successful integration into Australia
History
Chilean migration to Australia occurred at different times through out the late 19th and 20th centuries. The first Labor Party Prime Minister of Australia, Chris Watson, was born in Valparaiso, Chile the son of a Chilean citizen of German descent.[4][5] Chilean people first arrived in great numbers in late 1970's and 1980's. Many came seeking work, skills and education after the economic crisis in Chile. It was also motivated by the Presidential election of Salvador Allende in 1970. By 1971, 3,760 Chilean-born people were registered in Australia. Current Chilean president Michelle Bachelet briefly lived in Australia with family already present in the country after the Chilean coup of 1973 later moving to East Germany.[6] More recent migration studies suggest that contemporary Chilean migration to Australia occurred in three distinguishable waves.[7]
In the 1960s, especially between the years 1968-70, around 1,500-2,000 Chileans arrived in Australia as a consequence of the economic recession produced during the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva, and the high level of unemployment at the termination of his administration. The majority of these people were middle class and well educated, and their migration can be seen to have an economic basis.
The second significant group to arrive was likely motivated by the presidential election of Salvador Allende in 1970. Allende was the world's first democratically-elected Marxist President of any nation.[8] His ascension to the presidency provoked a high level of uncertainty amongst the wealthy, given his stated platform of nationalisation of mining, industry, and services. The political and economic unrest that followed prompted many Chileans to flee the threat of political and social instability. This group was, again, overwhelmingly middle class, with sufficient resources (education and finance) to establish themselves as small business operators within Australia .
The third distinguishable wave of immigration to Australia was the greatest in number, and was characterised in large part by those Chileans fleeing their homeland as a consequence of political events flowing on from the 1973 military coup.
This wave of Chilean migrants was quite homogenous, comprised in the majority by skilled workers, and at times, their families. The middle class were represented only in the minority here. Political elitists and intellectuals from the left were also small in numbers, due to their preference for Western Europe and socialist nations in Latin America.
President Pinochet’s military stranglehold over Chile was to last until 1990, during which time more than one million Chileans fled the country, 21,029 of whom sought sanctuary in Australia.
The 2001 Australian Census recorded 23,370 Chile-born persons in Australia, although in the 2006 reference this number dropped slightly to 23,305.[2] The 2001 distribution of this population by State and Territory revealed the largest numbers were situated in New South Wales with 12,630, followed by Victoria with 6,670, Queensland with 1,310 and Western Australia with 1,220. Adding to this second and third generation Chileans living in Australia, the total Chilean-Australian population is around 45,000 persons.[7]
It is estimated that 857,781 Chileans are living outside of Chile [1]. Around 2% of those live in Australia. The majority of Chileans have both European and Amerindian ancestry.
List of Notable Chilean Australians
See also
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 20680-Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex - Australia
- ^ a b ABS 20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Australia.
- ^ Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins. Cambridge University Press. p. page 197. ISBN:0521807891. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
{{cite book}}:|page=has extra text (help) - ^ http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120450b.htm
- ^ http://www.econ.usyd.edu.au/wos/workinglives/watson.html
- ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/11/AR2006031101381.html
- ^ a b Embassy of Chile.
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A716591