African Australians
African Australians are Australians of African ancestry.[1][2] Large-scale immigration from Africa to Australia is only a recent phenomenon, with Europe and Asia traditionally being the largest sources of migration to Australia. In 2005–06, permanent settler arrivals to Australia included 4,000 South Africans and 3,800 Sudanese, constituting the sixth and seventh largest sources of migrants, respectively.
Total population | |
---|---|
380,000 (1.6% of Australian population) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
All capital cities; predominantly Melbourne · Sydney · Perth · Brisbane | |
Languages | |
English, languages of Africa | |
Religion | |
Predominantly: Christianity; minority: Islam, Traditional faiths, Judaism, Hinduism, Irreligion | |
Related ethnic groups | |
other African people |
African Australians are from diverse racial, cultural, linguistic, religious, educational and employment backgrounds.[3] The majority (72.6%) of African emigrants to Australia are from southern and eastern Africa.[4] The Australian Bureau of Statistics classifies all residents into cultural and ethnic groups according to geographical origin.[5]
Africans may have come to Australia as skilled migrants, refugees, through family reunion, or as secondary migrants from other countries.[6]
History
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Coins minted by the Persian medieval kingdom of Kilwa Sultanate have been found on the Wessel Islands. This indicates trade with Africa as early as the 12th century. They are the oldest foreign artifacts ever discovered in Australia.[7] Other people descended from African emigrants later arrived indirectly via the First Fleet and 19th century multicultural maritime industry. Notable examples are Billy Blue, John Caesar,[8][9] and Black Jack Anderson.[10]
Migrants from Mauritius have also been arriving in Australia since before federation in 1901. They came as convicts, prospectors who sought Victoria's goldfields, or skilled sugar workers who significantly helped to develop Queensland's sugar industry.[11]
The Special Commonwealth African Assistance Plan enabled students from Commonwealth African countries, including from Ghana, to travel to Australia during the mid-1960s. More than 70 percent of those from West African countries remained in Australia following military coup d'états in their countries of birth.[12] Ultimately, however, immigration from Africa to Australia generally remained limited until the 1990s.
Demographics
Migration streams
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The largest number of African immigrants in Australia come from South Africa and are largely of Afrikaner and British descent. Many migrants born in Zimbabwe left the country after major land reforms were begun in the 1980s by the Robert Mugabe government. Two thirds arrived after 2001, following economic uncertainty in their country of birth. Of the Zimbabwe-born migrants who moved to Australia, the largest proportion are of English (30.6%) ancestry, with some individuals of Scottish (7.3%) background present as well. More recent migration from Zimbabwe has included increasing numbers of people of Shona and Ndebele ethnicities.[13]
Other immigrants from Africa arrived via humanitarian programs. In the 2011–2012 fiscal year, these individuals were mainly from Burundi (44/79), Congo (143/158), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (370/454), Eritrea (244/294), Malawi (57/71), Rwanda (44/62), and Tanzania (40/67).[6]
Additionally, other immigrants from Africa arrived through a family migration stream. In the 2011–2012 fiscal year, these individuals were primarily from Ethiopia (412/802), Ghana (152/202), Guinea (33/62), Liberia (82/129), Sierra Leone (106/140), Somalia (164/420), Sudan (313/513), and Uganda (37/67).[6]
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A significant number of African migrants have come to Australia through a skill migration stream. In the 2011–2012 fiscal year, these individuals were chiefly from Egypt (417/773), Kenya (188/415), Mauritius (228/303), Nigeria (126/250), South Africa (4,239/6,307), Zambia (35/115), and Zimbabwe (467/848).[6]
Some African immigrants have also arrived via a secondary migration from New Zealand, where they are citizens. In the 2011–2012 fiscal year, these New Zealand nationals were mainly originally from Libya (31/76).[6]
Across Australia's major cities, immigration from Africa is varied depending on country of origin. While Egyptian, Nigerian, and Ghanaian migrants overwhelmingly head for Sydney,[14][15][16] Mauritian and Sudanese migrant communities are largest in Melbourne.[11][17]
As of 2013, the Australian Special Broadcasting Service broadcasts in six new languages spoken by the growing migrant and refugee communities from Africa and Asia. Among these are Dinka of South Sudan, Swahili of Tanzania and the African Great Lakes region, and Tigrinya of Eritrea and Ethiopia.[18]
Countries of birth
In the 2016 Australian Census, 380,000 residents declared that they were born in Africa.[19]
Country | Population | Main city and proportion who live there |
---|---|---|
South Africa | 104,128 | Sydney (27.3%) |
Egypt | 33,497 | Sydney (48.5%) |
Zimbabwe | 20,157 | Perth (24.7%) |
Sudan | 19,049 | Melbourne (31.0%) |
Mauritius | 18,175 | Melbourne (48.6%) |
Somalia | 10,131 | Melbourne (60.1%) |
Kenya | 9,940 | Perth (26.9%) |
Ethiopia | 5,633 | Melbourne (53.9%) |
South Sudan | 4,825 | Melbourne (63.7%) |
Nigeria | 4,519 | Sydney (59.5%) |
Eritrea | 4,116 | Melbourne (65.1%) |
Zambia | 4,082 | Perth (30.7%) |
Ghana | 2,771 | Sydney (51.0%) |
Tanzania | 1,562 | Melbourne (64.0%) |
Notable African Australians
- Yassmin Abdel-Magied
- Deng Adel
- Faustina Agolley
- Berhan Ahmed
- Aliir Aliir
- Waleed Aly
- Kwabena Appiah-Kubi
- Francis Awaritefe
- Albert Bensimon
- Emelia Burns
- Liz Cambage
- Isaka Cernak
- Cleopatra Coleman
- Kofi Danning
- Majak Daw
- Thomas Deng
- Diafrix
- Bruce Djite
- DyspOra (aka Gabriel Akon)
- Tarik Ejjamai of Bliss n Eso
- Anton Enus
- Abebe Fekadu
- Jason Geria
- David Gonski
- George Gregan
- Dorinda Hafner
- Nuala Hafner
- Bernie Ibini-Isei
- Jamal Idris
- Citizen Kay
- Patrick Kisnorbo
- Daine Laurie
- Cheltzie Lee
- Heritier Lumumba
- Tkay Maidza
- Ater Majok
- Majok Majok
- Thon Maker
- Mangok Mathiang
- Golgol Mebrahtu
- Sisonke Msimang, author[20][21]
- Audius Mtawarira
- Mathiang Muo
- Tendai Mzungu
- N'fa
- Henry Ninio
- Nyadol Nyuon
- Janice Petersen
- Selwyn Pretorius
- Akmal Saleh
- Timomatic
- Tando Velaphi
See also
- African immigration to Europe
- American Australians, a category that includes Australians of African-American descent
- Arab Australians
- Black Australians (disambiguation)
- Congolese Australians
Notes
- "African Australians: A Report on Human Rights and Social Inclusion Issues" (PDF). Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
It is a common misconception that people from African backgrounds are one and the same. While the strong African spirit and pride certainly unifies, people from African backgrounds represent tremendous diversity in ethnicity, race, language, culture and religion. After all, the African continent comprises more than 50 countries. The impression of homogeneity is only one of many misconceptions about African Australians.
- "Joint Submission on the Australian Human Rights Commission Discussion Paper: African Australians: A report on human rights and social inclusion issues" (PDF). NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- "African resettlement in Australia: Conference report" (PDF). African Think Tank Inc. April 2007. Archived from the original (pdf (6.2MB 76 pages)) on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 26 June 2008.
- "Overview: African Australians – Compendium (2010)". Australian Human Rights Commission.
- "Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG), 2011". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- "Settler Arrival Data: Selected Countries of Birth by Migration Stream for the Financial Year 2011–12". Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- "Unravelling the mystery of Arnhem Land's ancient African coins". Australian Geographic. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
- "THE FIRST FLEET, BOTANY BAY AND THE BRITISH PENAL COLONY". NSW Government.
- "A Multicultural First Fleet". University of Wollongong. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
- Pownall, Angela (26 March 2012). "In search of pirate Black Jack". The West Australian. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- "Working together to keep Australia safe" (PDF). Immi.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- "Community Information Summary: Ghana-born" (PDF). Department of Immigration & Citizenship. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2014.
- "Zimbabwe" (PDF). Department of Immigration and Citizenship. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- "Welcome" (PDF). www.immi.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "Welcome" (PDF). www.immi.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Welcome" (PDF). www.immi.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- "SBS unveils new Radio Schedule". sbs.com.au. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex – Australia (2006)
- Wolfe, Alexandra (10 August 2018). "For Sisonke Msimang, a Childhood in Exile Created a Life of Activism". WSJ. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "Sisonke Msimang". ABC: Q+A. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
External links
- AfricanOz – Africa Australia online resource
- Africa to Australia – videos and articles documenting the African migrant and refugee experience within Australia
- Sudanese Stories – an oral history project recording the migration journeys and settlement experiences of southern Sudanese refugees now living in Blacktown, Western Sydney