Chilean Australians
| 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. Despite the small size of the Chilean community, they are held as examples of successful integration into Australia
Demographics
The 2001 Australian Census recorded 23,370 Chile-born persons in Australia, although in the 2006 reference this number dropped slightly to 23,305. The largest Chilean Australian communities are in Sydney (10,909, 2006 Census result) and Melbourne (6,530). [2] One out of three Chileans live in the western suburbs of Sydney. [3]
According to the 2006 Census, 25,439 persons resident in Australia claimed Chilean ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry. However this may be an undercount, since persons with Chilean ancestries tend nominate other ancestries[4]. At the 2001 Census 63% of Chilean-born respondents nominated their leading ancestry as Chilean, while others nominated a Spanish (29%), German (3%), Italian (3%) or English (2%) ancestry[5].
The true number of Chilean-Australians could have been closer to 40,000 in 2001, according to demographer Jeff Jupp[6].
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.[7][8] 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.[9] More recent migration studies suggest that contemporary Chilean migration to Australia occurred in three distinguishable waves.[10]
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.[11] 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 from 1973 until 1990. From 1973 a number of Chileans with refugee status migrated to Australia. Estimates point the total to approximately 9,500. Statistics show that 4,500 Chileans were living in Australia before that time period. A considerable amount arrived as political refugees and other migrant categories. Since 1981 the intake dropped.[12]
The end of military rule and improved living conditions in Chile have significantly slowed down the rate of increase after 1990.
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) - ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 20680-Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex - Australia
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Social Trends, 2003
- ^ 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
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Embassy of Chilewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A716591
- ^ http://www.dhi.gov.au/mhu/pdf/western/Spanish%20Speaking%20Community%20in%20South%20West%20&%20Western%20Sydney%20Region%20Community%20Profile%20and%20Needs%20Analysis.pdf