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all of this entry re immigration is a complete fabrication Indian Australians or Indo-Australians are
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...
s of
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
ancestry. This includes both those who are Australian by birth, and those born in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
or elsewhere in the
Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of Indi ...
. Indian Australians are one of the largest groups within the Indian diaspora, with 783,958 persons declaring Indian ancestry at the 2021 census, representing 3.1% of the Australian population.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx
In 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that 721,050 Australian residents were born in India. Indians are the youngest average age (34 years) and the fastest growing community both in terms of absolute numbers and percentages in Australia. In 2017-18
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
was the largest source of new permanent annual migrants to Australia since 2016, and overall third largest source nation of cumulative total migrant population behind England and China, 20.5% or 33,310 out of 162,417
Australian permanent resident Australian permanent residents are residents of Australia who hold a permanent visa but are not citizens of Australia. A holder of a permanent visa may remain in Australia indefinitely. A 5-year initial travel facility, which corresponds to th ...
visas went to the Indians who also additionally had 70,000 students were studying in Australian universities and colleges, and Hindi (ranked 8th with 0.7% of total population) and Punjabi (ranked 10th with 0.6% of total population) are among the top 10 languages spoken in Australia.Indian population in Australia increases 30 per cent in less than two years; now the third largest migrant group in Australia
SBS, 2 May 2019.
The largest Indian Australian population is found in the state of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. Among Indian origin religions, which also include non-Indians, are Buddhist (2.4% of total population or 563700 people), Hindus (1.9% or 440300) and Sikhs (0.5% or 125900).Hindi is the top Indian language spoken in Australia
SBS, 26 October 2018.
As of 2016, Indians were the highest educated migrant group in Australia with 54.6% of Indians in Australia having a bachelor's or higher degree, more than three times Australia's national average. The long history of Indian migration to Australia has progressed "from 18th-century sepoys and
lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the ...
s (soldiers and sailors) aboard visiting European ships, through 19th-century migrant labourers and the 20th century’s hostile policies to the new generation of skilled professional migrants of the 21st century... India became the largest source of skilled migrants in the 21st century."''The story of the Indian diaspora in Australia and New Zealand is 250 years old
qz.com, 30 October 2018.


History


Pre-history migration of Indians (2300 BCE–2000 BCE)

A study of
Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
DNA has found that Indigenous Australians may have mixed with people of Indian origin about 4,200 years ago. The same study showed that flint tools and Indian dogs may have been introduced from India at about this time. A 2012 paper reports that there is also evidence of a substantial genetic flow from
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to northern Australia estimated at slightly over four thousand years ago, a time when changes in tool technology and food processing appear in the Australian archaeological record, suggesting that these may be related. One genetic study in 2012 by Irina Pugach and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has suggested that about 4,000 years before the First Fleet landed in Australia (in 1788), some Indian explorers had settled in Australia and assimilated into the local population in roughly 2217 BC. The study by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology found that there was a migration of genes from India to Australia around 2000 BCE. The researchers had two theories for this: either some Indians had contact with people in Indonesia who eventually transferred those genes from India to Aboriginal Australians, or that a group of Indians migrated all the way from India to Australia and intermingled with the locals directly. This also explains with the
Vedda people The Vedda ( si, වැද්දා , ta, வேடர் (''Vēḍar'')), or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Vedd ...
of Sri Lanka; some of their facial features look very similar to the Australo-Melanesians, which are part of the
Australoid Australo-Melanesians (also known as Australasians or the Australomelanesoid, Australoid or Australioid race) is an outdated historical grouping of various people indigenous to Melanesia and Australia. Controversially, groups from Southeast Asia an ...
race. It is now clear that this was the result of Andamanese aborigines intermixing with Indo-Aryan migrants; these same people (referring to the
Andamanese The Andamanese are the indigenous peoples of the Andaman Islands, part of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia. The Andamanese peoples are among the various groups ...
) also shared ancestry with the
Dravidians The Dravidian peoples, or Dravidians, are an ethnolinguistic and cultural group living in South Asia who predominantly speak any of the Dravidian languages. There are around 250 million native speakers of Dravidian languages. Dravidian sp ...
after intermixing with the now extinct Elamites (distinct from the modern
Iranian peoples The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities. The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separat ...
; they also shared ancestry with the
Indo-Aryans Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of Indo-European peoples speaking Indo-Aryan languages in the Indian subcontinent. Historically, Aryan were the Indo-European pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia and intr ...
).


Indian connection with European exploration of Australia (1627–1787 CE)

In 1627 the south coast of Australia was accidentally discovered by the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
explorer
François Thijssen François Thijssen or Frans Thijsz (died 13 October 1638?) was a Dutch-French explorer who explored the southern coast of Australia. He was the captain of the ship t Gulden Zeepaerdt'' (''The Golden Seahorse'') when sailing from Cape of Good Ho ...
and named t Land van Pieter Nuyts'', in honour of the highest ranking passenger,
Pieter Nuyts Pieter Nuyts or Nuijts (born 1598 – 11 December 1655) was a Dutch explorer, diplomat and politician. He was part of a landmark expedition of the Dutch East India Company in 1626–27 which mapped the southern coast of Australia. He became t ...
, extraordinary Councillor of India. In 1628 a squadron of Dutch East India Company ships was sent by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
Pieter de Carpentier Pieter de Carpentier (19 February 1586 – 5 September 1659) was a Dutch administrator of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) who served as Governor-General there from 1623 to 1627. The Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia is named after him. ...
to explore the northern coast. These ships made extensive examinations, particularly in the Gulf of Carpentaria, named in honour of de Carpentier. The
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
ship, ''
Duyfken ''Duyfken'' (; Little Dove), also in the form ''Duifje'' or spelled ''Duifken'' or ''Duijfken'', was a small ship built in the Dutch Republic. She was a fast, lightly armed ship probably intended for shallow water, small valuable cargoes, bri ...
'', led by
Willem Janszoon Willem Janszoon (; ), sometimes abbreviated to Willem Jansz., was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. Janszoon served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 16031611 and 16121616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of S ...
, made the first documented European landing in Australia in 1606.
Alexander Dalrymple Alexander Dalrymple FRS (24 July 1737 – 19 June 1808) was a Scottish geographer and the first Hydrographer of the British Admiralty. He was the main proponent of the theory that there existed a vast undiscovered continent in the South P ...
(1737–1808 CE), the Examiner of Sea Journals for the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
, whilst translating some Spanish documents captured by Indian
sepoys ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...
during the 1762 CE occupation of Philippines by the British India, found Portuguese navigator
Luis Váez de Torres Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
's testimony which led Dalrymple to discover and publish in 1770–1771 the existence of an unknown continent which he named as
Terra Australis (Latin: '"Southern Land'") was a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries. Its existence was not based on any survey or direct observation, but rather on the idea that ...
(or Southern Continent), this aroused widespread interest and prompted the British government in 1769 to order James Cook in HM Bark ''Endeavour'' to seek out the Southern Continent, which was discovered in June 1767 by
Samuel Wallis Samuel Wallis (23 April 1728 – 21 January 1795 in London) was a British naval officer and explorer of the Pacific Ocean. He made the first recorded visit by a European navigator to Tahiti. Biography Wallis was born at Fenteroon Farm, n ...
in and named by him King George Island. The London press reported in June 1768 that two ships would be sent to the newly discovered island and from there to "attempt the Discovery of the Southern Continent". The British East India Trade Committee recommended in 1823 that a settlement be established on the coast of northern Australia to forestall the Dutch, and Captain J.J.G. Bremer, RN, was commissioned to form a settlement between Bathurst Island and the
Cobourg Peninsula The Cobourg Peninsula is located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 to 30 in five ...
.''
Historical Records of Australia The ''Historical Records of Australia'' (''HRA'') were collected and published by the Library Committee of the Commonwealth Parliament, to create a series of accurate publications on the history of Australia. The records begin shortly before 1788, ...
'', Series III, Vol. V, 1922, pp. 743–47, 770.


Colonial era (1788–1900 CE)

Indian immigration from
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
to Australia began early in history of Australian colony. The first Indians arrived in Australia with the
British settlers The 1820 Settlers were several groups of British colonists from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, settled by the government of the United Kingdom and the Cape Colony authorities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa in 1820. Origins After the ...
who had been living in India. The people of the first British fleet to establish a new colony, which landed on 26 January 1788, included seamen, marines and their families, government officials, and a large number of
convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...
s, including women and children. All had been tried and convicted in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
and almost all of them in England. However, many are known to have come to England from other parts of Great Britain and, especially, from Ireland; at least 12 were identified as black (born in India, Britain, Africa, the West Indies, North America, or a European country or its colony). In 1788, Indian crews from
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
came to Australia on trading ships. Between 1788 and 1868 on board 806 ships in all about 164,000 convicts were transported to the Australian colonies, 1% were from the British outposts in India and Canada, Maoris from New Zealand, Chinese from Hong Kong and slaves from the Caribbean. British colonial convict ships from Britain and elsewhere to Australia frequently stopped over in India, many of which were built in India, and among those ships with convicts started the initial sail from India include '' HMS Duchess of York'' which sailed from
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
in India and arrived at
Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...
on 4 April 1807 carrying merchandise and rice also
transported ''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film. Plot In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she w ...
two military
convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...
, ''Hunter'' arrived on 20 August 1810, ''Indian'' arrived on 16 December 1810, '' Amboyna'' arrived in Australia on 1 January 1822, ''Cawdry'' arrived on 1 January 1826 from India and Ceylon, ''Edward Lombes'' on 6 January 1833, and ''Swallow'' arrived on 23 October 1836. '' Almorah'' sailed from Britain and stopped over at Madras and
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
in 1818.British Library: ''Almorah''.
/ref> In the late 1830s, more Indians started to arrive in Australia as indentured labourers when the
penal transport Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...
of
convicts A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...
to
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
(which at the time also consisted of
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
and
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
) was slowing, before being abolished altogether in 1840. The lack of manual labourers from the convict assignment system led to an increase demand for foreign labour, which was partly filled by the arrival of Indians who came from an agrarian background in India, and thus fulfilled their tasks as farm labourers on cane fields and shepherds on
sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...
s well. In 1844, P. Friell who had previously lived in India, brought 25 domestic workers from
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
to Sydney and these included a few women and children. Among the earliest Indians was a Hindu Sindhi merchant, Shri Pammull, who after arrived in 1850s built a family
opal Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline form ...
trade in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
which still prosperously continues with his fourth-generation descendants. "Initially, the migrants from India were indentured labourers, who worked on sheep stations and farms around Australia. Some adventurers followed during the
gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...
of the 1850s. A census from 1861 indicates that there were around 200 Indians in Victoria of whom 20 were in Ballarat, the town which was at the epicenter of the gold rush. Thereafter, many more came and worked as hawkers - going from house to house, town to town, traversing thousands of kilometers, making a living by selling a variety of products." From the 1860s, Indians, most of them Sikh, worked as merchants, industrialists, and businessmen to operate throughout outback Australia, as 'pioneers of the inland'. The 1881 census records 998 people who were born in India but this had grown to over 1700 by 1891. Between 1860s to 1900 period when small groups of cameleers were also shipped in and out of Australia at three-year intervals, to service
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
's inland pastoral industry by carting goods and transporting
wool bale A wool bale is a standard sized and weighted pack of classed wool compressed by the mechanical means of a wool press. This is the regulation required method of packaging for wool, to keep it uncontaminated and readily identifiable. A "bale of wool" ...
s by
camel train A camel train or caravan is a series of camels carrying passengers and goods on a regular or semi-regular service between points. Despite rarely travelling faster than human walking speed, for centuries camels' ability to withstand harsh condi ...
s, who were commonly referred to as "Afghans" or " Ghans", despite their origin often being mainly from
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, and some even from
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
.australia.gov.au > About Australia > Australian Stories > Afghan cameleers in Australia
. Accessed 8 May 2014.
Majority of cameleers, including Indian cameleers, were Muslims with a sizeable minority were Sikhs from
Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
, they set up camel-breeding stations and rest house outposts, known as caravanserai, throughout inland Australia, creating a permanent link between the coastal cities and the remote cattle and sheep grazing stations until about the 1930s, when they were largely replaced by the
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...
.


Since Federation (1901-present)


During the White Australia policy (1901-1973 CE)

From federation in 1901 until the 1973 immigration of non-whites, including Indians, into Australia was restricted due to the enactment of the
White Australia policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...
. The laws made it impossible for Indians to enter the country unless they were merchants or students, who themselves were only allowed in for short periods of time. Historians place the number of Indians in Australia at federation in 1901 somewhere between 4700 and 7600. According to the 1911 census, there was only 3698 'Indians' signifying a large decrease, with the trend continuing, with only approximately 2200 'Indians' in the country in 1921. After 1901 Immigration Restriction Act was introduced by the Australian Government the migration f non-white migrantsfrom India was curtailed, but following
India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
from Britain in 1947, the number of Indian-born Anglo-western white British citizens emigrating to Australia increased, along with migration of mixed race European-Indians, such as Anglo-Indians, Dutch Anglo-Indians and Portuguese Indians. The 1901 Immigration Restriction Act, one of the first laws passed by the new
Australian parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
, which was the centrepiece of the
White Australia Policy The White Australia policy is a term encapsulating a set of historical policies that aimed to forbid people of non-European ethnic origin, especially Asians (primarily Chinese) and Pacific Islanders, from immigrating to Australia, starting i ...
aimed to restrict immigration from Asia, where the population was vastly greater and the standard of living vastly lower and was similar to measures taken in other settler societies such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand. While Labor Party wanted to protect "white" jobs and pushed for clearer restrictions, Free Trade Party's MP
Bruce Smith Bruce Bernard Smith (born June 18, 1963) is an American former football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he was ...
said he had ''"no desire to see low-class Indians, Chinamen or Japanese...swarming into this country... But there is obligation...not (to) unnecessarily offend the educated classes of those nations"''.Bruce Smith (Free Trade Party) Parliamentary Debates cited in D.M. Gibb (1973) ''The Making of White Australia''. p. 113. Victorian Historical Association. ISBN During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
(1914–1918 CE) Indian and Australian troops were deployed together in several sectors, including in Europe, Middle East, Africa, Egypt and Turkey., pp 67–68., pp. 5–8. During Gallipoli Campaign the Australians and New Zealanders troops were deployed to take part in the operation, although they were outnumbered by the British, Indian and French contingents, a fact which is often overlooked today by many Australians and New Zealanders., p. 93. Australian nurses also staffed 10 British colonial hospitals in India., pp.188, 516–517. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
(1939-1945 CE) the hundreds of Australians were posted to British units in Burma and India. Hundreds of Australians also served with RAF units in India and Burma, and in May 1943 330 Australians were serving in forty-one squadrons in India, of which only nine had more than ten Australians.. p. 369. In addition, many of the RAN's corvettes and destroyers served with the British
Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...
where they were normally used to protect convoys in the Indian Ocean from attacks by Japanese and German submarines. Indian, Australian and British troops made a disorganised last stand at Singapore, before surrendering to Japan and Indian National Army of Subhas Chandra Bose's
Azad Hind The Provisional Government of Free India (''Ārzī Hukūmat-e-Āzād Hind'') or, more simply, ''Azad Hind'', was an Indian provisional government established in Japanese occupied Singapore during World War II. It was created in October 194 ...
on 15 February 1942, which led to weakening of British empire and eventual independence of India in 1947.


Since the end of the White Australia policy (1973-present)

The end of White Australia policy saw a boom in migration of middle-class skilled professionals, by 2016 over 2 in every 3 migrants who arrived were skilled professionals mainly from India, UK, China, South Africa and Philippines, ''"to work as doctors and nurses, human-resources and marketing professionals, business managers, IT specialists, and engineers...who were not fleeing war or poverty. The Indians in Australia are predominantly male, while the Chinese are majority female."'' Indians are the largest migrant ethnic group in Melbourne and Adelaide, fourth largest in Brisbane, and likely to jump from third place to second place in Sydney by 2021. In Melbourne, the suburbs of Docklands, Footscray, Sunshine and Tarneit have higher concentration of Indians specially the students. In Sydney,
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
Harris_Park_ Harris_Park_is_a_suburb_of_Greater_Western_Sydney,_in_the_state_of_New_South_Wales,_Australia._Harris_Park_is_located_19_kilometres_west_of_the_Sydney_central_business_district_in_the_local_government_area_of_the_City_of_Parramatta_and_is_part_o_...
_and_Westmead,_New_South_Wales.html" ;"title="Harris_Park,_New_South_Wales.html" "title="nd neighbouring suburbs such as Harris Park, New South Wales">Harris Park Harris Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Harris Park is located 19 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Parramatta and is part o ...
and Westmead, New South Wales">Westmead, etc.] have higher concentration of migrants.Australasia rising: who we are becoming
The Sydney Morning herald, 2 January 2019.
By 2019, the number of Indians grew at nine times the annual national average growth, and number of overseas student visas and post-study work visas also exploded. "We're not Asia's 'white trash' but we must be careful"
''The Australian'', 10 September 2019.
Between 2007 and 2010, the
violence against Indians in Australia controversy Since the beginning of the 21st century, the media of Australia, mostly in Melbourne, Sydney, and India publicised reports of crimes and robberies against Indians in Australia that were described as racially motivated. Rallies were organis ...
took place, and a subsequent Indian Government investigation concluded that, of 152 reported racially motivated assaults against Indian students in Australia in 2009, 23 involved racial overtones. In the year 2007–2008, 1,447 Indians had been victims of crime including assaults and robberies in the state of Victoria in Australia. In either case, the Victorian police refused to release the data for public scrutiny, the stated reason being that it was "problematic: as well as 'subjective and open to interpretation'". Indian media have accused the Australian authorities of being denialist. On 9 June 2009, Indian Prime Minister, addressing the Indian Parliament said that "he was 'appalled' by the senseless violence and crime, some of which are racist in nature," Indian students held protests in Melbourne and Sydney, which were sparked by an earlier attack on Indians by
Lebanese Australian , langs = Australian English, Lebanese Arabic, Standard Arabic, French, Armenian , rels = Majority: Christian: Maronite Catholic, Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Protestant (55%), Minority: Islam: Shia Islam, Sunni Islam, Alawite (37%), Jewish ...
men.


Demographics

783,958 persons declared Indian ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry) at the 2021 census, representing 3.1% of the Australian population.https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/AUS/download/GCP_AUS.xlsx
In 2019, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that 721,050 Australian residents were born in India. At the 2021 census the states with the largest number of people nominating Indian ancestry were: Victoria (276,770), New South Wales (261,103), Queensland (93,648), Western Australia (77,357) and South Australia (43,598). In 2009 there were an additional 90,000 Indian students studying at Australian tertiary institutions according to Prime Minister Rudd.


Historical population trends

This table only reflects the people who were born in India, and not all the people who have the Indian ancestry such as the second generation Indian Australians or the first generation Indian Australians from Indian diaspora nations e.g. Fiji, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Suriname, Guyana, etc. Prior to 1947 India's Independence and simultaneous partition, the
Pakistani Australian Pakistani Australians are Australians who are of Pakistani descent or heritage. Most Pakistani Australians are Muslims by religion, although there are also sizeable Christian, Hindu and other minorities. History in Australia An anthropological ...
and Bangladeshi Australian as nations did not exist as these were part of British India, hence these are also included in the demography of Australian Indians till 1947.


Indian languages

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
and
Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 ...
s, with 159,652 and 132,496 speakers, are among top 10 language spoken at home in Australia. Other Indian languages and their respecting speaker in Australia are
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
(73,161),
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
(54,566),
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
(53,206),
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
(52,888), Telugu (34,435), Marathi (13,055),
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
(9,701), Konkani (2,416), Sindhi (1,592), Kashmiri (215), and Odia (721). Number of Hindi speakers by state in 2018, were NSW (67,034), Victoria (51,241), Queensland (18,163), Western Australia (10,747), South Australia (7,310), ACT (3,646), NT (852), and Tasmania (639). 81% of Punjabi speakers are Sikhs, 13.3% are Hindus and 1.4% are Muslims.


Indian origin religions

According to the 2016 census, majority of Indian Australians are Hindus with about 444,000 individuals who profess Hinduism. Hinduism is also the fastest growing religion in Australia. There are minority of Indian Australians who also follow Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism and others. Hindus in Australia grew to 3698 by 1911, 21000 by 1981, 41730 by 1986, 43000 by 1991, 67270 by 1996, 95000 by 2001, 145000 by 2006, 275000 by 2011, and 2% of the Australian population by 2016. In 1971 first ISKON Hare Krishna centre in Sydney was established by Swami Prabhupada, and in 1977 the first
Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...
of Australia the Sri Mandir Temple was built in Auburn in NSW, followed by the establishment of Sydney Lord Murukan temple in 1985. In 2015, Daniel Mookhey becomes the first Australian MP to be sworn into office by swearing his/her oath on the Bhagavad Gita. In 2018, Kaushaliya Vaghela becomes the first Indian-born Hindu Member of Parliament in any Australian Parliament. According to the , the Sikhism in Australia population numbered 125,909 individuals, of whom 39% live in Greater
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, 21% in Greater Sydney, and 10% in Greater
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
. The states and territories with the highest proportion of Sikhs are
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
(0.89%) and the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...
(0.54%), whereas those with the lowest are the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
(0.28%) and Tasmania (0.10%).


Socio-economic status

In 2016, it was revealed 54.6% of Indian migrants in Australia hold a bachelor's degree or a higher educational degree, more than three times Australia's national average of 17.2% in 2011, making them the most educated demographic group in Australia. India annually contributes the largest number of migrants to both Australia and New Zealand. According to census figures from 2016, among India-born residents in Australia, the median income was $785, higher than the corresponding figure for all overseas-born residents at $615, and all Australia-born residents at $688.


In popular media

"Indians and the Antipodes: Networks, Boundaries and Circulation" 2018 book edited by Sekhar Bandyopadhyay and Jane Buckingham "is the first book that seeks to juxtapose histories of Indian migration to Australia and New Zealand in a comparative framework to show their interconnectedness as well as dissimilarities. Side by side with stories of collective suffering and struggles of the diaspora, it focuses on individual resilience, enterprise and social mobility. It analyses 'White Australia' and 'White New Zealand' policies of the early twentieth century to point to their interconnected histories. It also looks critically at the more recent migration, its changing nature and the challenges it poses to both the migrant communities and the host societies."Indians and the Antipodes: Networks, Boundaries, and Circulation


Notable Indian Australians


Indian ancestry

*Anupam Sharma- Film maker, Australia Day Ambassador, film entrepreneur *Aravind Adiga- Novelist, winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize *Purushottama Bilimoria, Professor at Deakin University *Anusha Dandekar, Actress *Shibani Dandekar, Actress *Chennupati Jagadish Order of Australia, AC, pioneer in nanotechnology *Zinnia Kumar Scientist and International Fashion Model *Kersi Meher-Homji, Journalist and Author *Mahesh Jadu, Actor *Maria Thattil, Activist, Beauty Queen and Model of South Indian descent who was crowned Miss Universe Australia 2020 and placed Top 10 at Miss Universe 2020 *Marc Fennell, film critic, technology journalist, radio personality, author and television presenter *Tharini Mudaliar, Singer and Actress who played a role in ''The Matrix Revolutions'' (movie) and ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' *Indira Naidoo, Newsreader *Neel Kolhatkar Comedian *Pankaj Oswal, controversial businessman, accused of embezzlement *Vimala Raman, Actress *Chandrika Ravi, Actress *Pallavi Sharda, Actress *Partho Sen-Gupta - Filmmaker *Lisa Sthalekar, Captain of Australia Women's cricket team *Mathai Varghese, Mathematician and Professor at the University of Adelaide *Peter Varghese, Diplomat and Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) *Akshay Venkatesh, Mathematician * Kaushaliya Vaghela, MP Victoria state parliament, community leader. *Dr. Manjula O'Connor, Psychiatrist, social worker, leading activist and campaigner against dowry deaths and domestic violence in Indian community in Victoria & Australia. *Guy Sebastian, 2003 Australian Idol, Singer and Songwriter. *Dave Sharma, Australian Politician.


European-Indian ancestry

*Christabel Chamarette, Senator from Western Australia from 1992 to 1996 *Stuart Clark, Australian Cricketer *Chris Crewther, former Liberal MP for Dunkley *Samantha Downie, Australia's Next Top Model Contestant, Model *Jeremy Fernandez, ABC Reporter *Lisa Haydon, Bollywood Actress *Samantha Jade, Singer, Songwriter and Actress *Daniel Kerr, Australian Rules Footballer *Roger Kerr (footballer), Roger Kerr, Australian Rules Footballer *Jordan McMahon, Australian Rules Footballer *Lauren Moss, ALP MP for Electoral division of Casuarina, Casuarina in the Northern Territory *Clancee Pearce, Australian Rules Footballer for Fremantle Football Club *Eric Pearce (field hockey), Eric Pearce, former Hockey Player who represented Australia in 4 Olympics *Julian Pearce (field hockey), Julian Pearce, former Hockey Player who represented Australia in 45 international matches *Rex Sellers (cricketer), Rex Sellers, Cricketer and Leg Spinner who played for Australia in India in 1964 *Dave Sharma, Liberal MP for Wentworth *Lisa Singh, ALP Senator representing Tasmania *Terry Walsh (field hockey), Terry Walsh, Australian Hockey Player and Coach *Anne Warner (politician), Anne Warner, former Minister for Aboriginal and Islander Affairs, Queensland Labor Government *Rhys Williams (soccer, born 1988), Rhys Williams, Professional Footballer


See also

* Australia–India relations * Fijian Australians, Fijian-Indian Australians * Non-resident Indian and person of Indian origin *Pakistani Australians *Bangladeshi Australians *Punjabi Australians * Australian Sikh Heritage Trail * Man Mohan Singh (pilot) * Romani people in Australia


References


External links


Indian Magazine and Newspaper in Australia

Indians Living in Australia

Indian Communities in Australia
{{Portal bar, Australia, India Immigration to Australia Indian diaspora in Australia, Australia Australian people of Indian descent, Asian Australian