German Australians
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Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Adelaide, Barossa Valley, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne, Sydney | |
Languages | |
Australian English, German | |
Religion | |
Lutheran, Anglican, Amish, Roman Catholic |
German Australians (German: Deutsch-Australier) constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in Australia, numbering 811,540 or 4.09 percent of respondents in the 2006 Census. It is the sixth most identified ancestry in Australia behind 'Australian', 'English, 'Irish, 'Scottish' and 'Italian'.
Demography
The 2006 Census counted 106,524 Australian residents who were born in Germany.[1] However, 811,541 persons identified themselves as having German ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry.[2] This number does not include people of German ancestry who selected their ancestry as simply 'Australian'. The 2001 census recorded 103,010 German-born in Australia, although this excludes persons of German ethnicity and culture born elsewhere, such as the Netherlands (1,030), Hungary (660) and Romania (440).
No. of arrivals July 1949 - June 2000[3] |
July 1949 - June 1959[4] | July 1959 - June 1970[5] | |
---|---|---|---|
Germany | 255,930 | 162,756 | 50,452 |
Total settler arrivals | 5,640,638 | 1,253,083 | 1,445,356 |
Percentage of settlers from Germany | 4.5% | 13.0% | 3.5% |
In December 2001, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs estimated that there were 15,000 Australian citizens resident in Germany..[6] It is not clear what proportion of this number are returned emigrants with Australian citizenship or their German Australian children, and what number is simply other Australians in Germany for business or other reasons.
According to the 2001 Census, the Germany-born are more likely than Australians as a whole to live in South Australia (11.9 per cent to 7.6 per cent) and Victoria (27.0 per cent to 24.7 per cent). They are also more likely to live in rural and regional areas. It is probable their German Australian children share this settlement pattern.
According to census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2004, German Australians are, by religion, 21.7 per cent Catholic, 16.5 per cent Anglican, 32.8 per cent Other Christian, 4.2 Other Religions and 24.8 No Religion.
In 2001, the German language was spoken at home by 76,400 persons in Australia. German is the eighth most widely spoken language in the country after English, the Chinese languages, Italian, Greek, Arabic, Vietnamese, Spanish and Tagalog.
Immigration history
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2008) |
The Lutheran Pioneers
German religious refugees represented the first major wave of German settlement in Australia, arriving in South Australia in 1838. Some were active as missionaries and explorers in Australia from early in the 19th century, and German prospectors were well-represented in the 1850s gold rushes. Most of the early German immigrants were Prussians. In the second half of the century German migrants were prominent in settling the Riverina and Queensland, and there were 45,000 Germans recorded present in Australia by the 1891 census. During the 1870s, a number of East Prussian and Danish Lutherans settled in Tasmania.
Up until World War I, German Australians constituted the largest non-British European ethnic group in Australia.
Fleeing Militarism
Many Germans had emigrated to Australia to flee the rise of militarism and martial chauvinism in the land of their birth. Indeed, "After the Unification of Germany under Prussia in 1870/1871, when Universal Conscription was brought in across all the States of Deutschland, the pattern of emigration from Germany to Australia changed. Instead of the earlier pattern of the majority of settlers arriving in families, young single men started to arrive, young men who were at odds with the increasing militarisation of their Fatherland, and also often at odds with the Rampant Chauvinisation of German Social Life." [1].
The Two World Wars and Their Aftermath
Ironically, during both World Wars Germans were considered an "enemy within" and a number were interned or deported - or both. The persecution of German Australians also included the closure of German schools, the banning of the German language in government schools, and the renaming of many German place names. To avoid persecution and/or to demonstrate that they commit themselves to their new home, many German Australians changed their names into Anglicised or Francophone variants.
After the Second World War, Australia received a large influx of ethnic German displaced persons and was a significant source of Australia's post war immigrants. In the 1950s and 1960s, German immigration continued under assisted migration programs promoted by the Australian Government. Between June 1949 and July 2000, Germany was the fourth most common birthplace for settler arrivals in Australia after United Kingdom and Ireland, Italy and New Zealand.[3] By 1991, there were 112,000 German-born persons in Australia.
Immigration and Tourism in the Twenty-First Century
Australia has long been a popular destination for young German backpacker tourists, who often find temporary work as fruit-pickers or as staff in German-themed restaurants.
The popular German film actress, Sophie Schütt, has lived part-time in Western Australia since 2004 and holds an Australian passport and has done much to promote Australia to German audiences. She has made programmes for German television that promote her adopted homeland. For instance, her n-tv programme, "Das ist mein South Australia" promoted Kangaroo Island, Adelaide and the Barossa region to Germans. She followed it with "Das ist mein Western Australia". Additionally, Schütt's fictional feature film, "Himmel über Australien" was set on the continent.
German Australian Culture
There is a German Ethnic Club in each Australian State capital and a number of German restaurants in each major city, ranging from Imbiss-style sausage and snack food bars through to full restaurants. Currywurst is becoming increasingly popular in Australia.
The most Germanic parts of Australia are South Australia (particularly the Barossa Valley region) and Queensland's Sunshine Coast hinterland. An Oktoberfest event is held in Queensland's capital, Brisbane, each year. The Freikörperkultur movement is very slowly gaining traction in Australia, particularly amongst German Australians, but nudity is still forbidden on Queensland beaches. Unisex saunas are yet to gain popularity with mainstream Australians. There are only a few in the entire country at this stage.
In Tasmania, most of the German immigrants settled in the farming district of Bismark (renamed Collinsvale during the First World War.)
German popular music, opera and novels have not made an impact on Australian culture but SBS screens German films and television programmes on a weekly basis for immigrants and Australians of German descent wishing to reconnect with their cultural heritage.
The Lutheran Church of Australia is present in each State but is strongest in South Australia and Queensland. There are a number of Lutheran-run high schools in these two States.
The Goethe-Institut is active in Australia.
Notable German Australians
Name | Born | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Germany |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bettina Arndt | 1949 | Sexologist and critic of feminism | Born in Australia | German father |
Eric Bana | 1968 | Actor | Born in Australia | German mother |
Shaun Berrigan | 1978 | Rugby player | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Henry Bolte | 1908 | Politician (Premier of Victoria) | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Dieter Brummer | 1976 | Soap opera actor | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Ernest Burgmann | 1885 | Anglican bishop and social justice activist | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Meredith Burgmann | 1947 | Politician (Australian Labor Party) | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Wolfgang Degenhardt | 1924 | Artist | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Carl Ditterich | 1945 | Australian rules footballer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Andrew Ettinghausen | 1965 | Rugby player | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Harry Frei | 1951 | Cricketer | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Gotthard Fritzsche | 1797 | Lutheran pastor | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Ken Grenda | Businessman and philanthropist | Born in Australia | German ancestry | |
Michael Grenda | 1964 | Olympic cyclist | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Andre Haermeyer | 1956 | Politician (Australian Labor Party) | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Heinrich Haussler | 1984 | Cyclist | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
George Heinz | 1891 | Australian rules footballer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Hans Heysen | 1877 | Landscape artist | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Ben Hilfenhaus | 1983 | Cricketer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Bert Hinkler | 1892 | Aviator | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Hermann Homburg | 1874 | Politician | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
August Kavel | 1798 | Lutheran pastor | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Kristina Keneally | 1968 | Politician (Premier of New South Wales) | Emigrated to Australian from the United States | German ancestry |
Gerard Krefft | 1830 | Zoologist and paleontologist | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Robbie Kruse | 1988 | Footballer | Born in Australia | German ancestry; now plays for a German football team |
Ludwig Leichhardt | 1813 | Explorer | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Darren Lehmann | 1970 | Cricketer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Carl Linger | 1810 | Composer | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Stewart Loewe | 1968 | Australian rules footballer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Bertha McNamara | 1853 | Socialist and feminist | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Ferdinand von Mueller | 1825 | Botanist, geologist and physician | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
David Neitz | 1975 | Australian rules footballer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Nadine Neumann | 1975 | Olympic swimmer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Hubert Opperman | 1904 | Cyclist and politician | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Socratis Otto | 1985 | Television actor | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Arthur Phillip | 1738 | First Governor of New South Wales | Emigrated to Australia | German father |
Ingo Rademacher | 1971 | Soap opera actor | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Nick Riewoldt | 1982 | Australian rules footballer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Hermann Sasse | 1895 | Lutheran theologian | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Chris Schacht | 1946 | Politician (Australian Labor Party) and mining company director | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Manfred Schäfer | 1943 | Footballer | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Jessicah Schipper | 1986 | Olympic swimmer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Matthias Ungemach | 1968 | Olympic rower | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
de:Sophie Schütt | 1974 | Film and television actress | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Mark Schwarzer | 1972 | Footballer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Gert Sellheim | 1901 | Artist | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Lithuania to ethnically-German parents |
Wayne Sievers | 1957 | Politician (Australian Democrats) and social justice activist | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Wolfgang Sievers | 1913 | Photographer | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Carl Strehlow | 1871 | Lutheran missionary | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Ted Strehlow | 1908 | Anthropologist | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Shane Warne | 1974 | Cricketer | Born in Australia | German mother |
Shane Webcke | 1974 | Rugby player | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Mark Webber | 1976 | Racing car driver | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
Judith Zeidler | 1968 | Olympic rower | Emigrated to Australia | Born in Germany |
Markus Zusak | 1975 | Writer | Born in Australia | German ancestry |
See also
- German settlement in Australia
- Temple Society Australia
- Forty-Eighters
- Barossa German
- Ethnic Germans
- Australian place names changed from German names
- Lutheran Church of Australia
- History of the Lutheran Church of Australia
- Goethe-Institut
References
- ^ a b "20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Australia" (Microsoft Excel download). 2006 Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-06-02. Total count of persons: 19,855,288.
- ^ a b "20680-Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex - Australia" (Microsoft Excel download). 2006 Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-06-02. Total responses: 25,451,383 for total count of persons: 19,855,288.
- ^ a b "Immigration: Federation to Century's End 1901–2000" (pdf (64 pages)). Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. 2001. p. page 25. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs: Settler arrivals by birthplace data not available prior to 1959. For the period July 1949 to June 1959, Permanent and Long Term Arrivals by Country of Last Residence have been included as a proxy for this data. When interpreting this data for some countries, it should be noted that in the period immediately after World War II, there were large numbers of displaced persons whose country of last residence was not necessarily the same as their birthplace.
- ^ Note this period covers 11 years rather than a decade.
- ^ "Estimates of Australian Citizens Living Overseas as at December 2001" (PDF). Southern Cross Group (DFAT data). 2001-02-14. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
External links
- Zivil Lager (Internment Camp): World War One Prisoners Of War At Trial Bay (online exhibition)
- The Enemy At Home: German Internees in World War One Australia (online exhibition)
- Interview with Sophie Schütt about South Australian Documentary (in German)
- South Australia on German TV - article about Sophie Schütt travel documentary
- German Australian Aliens of Militarism