Migration Timeline

  • .

    Indigenous

      population

      estimated

      at

      300,000– 750,000.
     
  • .

    From

     1788-­‐1868,

      160,000
     convicts
      were

     shipped

     to

      the
     Australian

      colonies

     from
     the

      United

     Kingdom.
     
      From

     the

     early

      1790s,

     free
      immigrants

     also
      began

     coming

     to

      Australia.

     
  • .

    During the Gold Rush

     era

     of

     1851
     to

      1860,

     around

      500,000
     people

      migrated

     to

      Australia.

     The

     main
      migrant
      communities
     were
      from

     England,
      Ireland,

     Scotland,

      Wales,

     China

     and

      the
     USA.
     
  • .

    From 1860 1900,
      labourers

     from
      Melanesia

      (Pacific

      Islands)

     were
      recruited

     to

      work

     on

      Queensland

      sugar

      plantations.

     
  • .

    From 1850–1900,

      Afghani,

     Pakistani

      and
     Turkish

     camel

      handlers

     played

     an

      important

     part
     in

      opening
     up

     central

      Australia,

     helping

      in

     the

     building
     of

      telegraph

     and

      railway
     lines.
  • .

    In

     the

     late
      1800s,

      Japanese

      fishers
      were

      important

      in

     the

      pearling

      industry.
  • .

    1901

     –

     With
     Federation,

      the
     Immigration

      Restriction
     Act

     was

      passed

     which

     made
     it

      very

     difficult

     for

     non-­‐ English

     speaking
      immigrants

     to

     come
     to

      Australia.

     This
     was

     the

      beginning

     of

     the

     White

      Australia

     Policy

     that
      existed
     until

     1973.

     
  • .

    After World War 2 during

     the

     1950
     and

      1960s,

     large

     numbers

      of

     migrants
     came
     to

      Australia

     from
     the

      Netherlands,

     Greece,

      Italy,

     Malta,

     Germany

      and
     Turkey.

     This
     was

      part

     of

     the

     ‘Populate

     or

      Perish’

     migration

      policy.
     
  • .

    Hungarian

      refugees

      fled

      fighting

     in

      their

      country.

     
  • .

    In 1968 Czech

      refugees

     fled
      fighting.

     
  • .

    In

     1973,

     refugees
      came

     to

      Australia

     from
      Chile

     following

      the
     overthrow

     of

      the
     elected

      government.
     
  • .

    From

     1975-­‐1985,

      over

     90,000

      refugees

     came
     to

      Australia

     from
      Indochina

     (Vietnam,

      Cambodia

     and

     Laos)

      after

     the

     end

     of

     the

      Vietnam
     War.
     
  • .

    Form 1976-1981,
      approximately

      16,000

     Lebanese
      refugees

     fled
      civil

     war.
     
  • .

    From 2000 Australia
     has

     taken

     in

      people

     from
     a

     broad

     range

     of

      countries

     including

     Iraq,

      Myanmar,

     Afghanistan,
     Sudan,

      India

     and

     Sri

     Lanka.

     However,
     the

      majority

     of

     settlers
     are

     from
     New

      Zealand
     and

     the

     UK.