Bosnian Australians are

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...

of Bosnian ancestry. At the 2021 census, 28,246 people stated that they had Bosnian ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry). At the 2021 census, 26,171 Australian residents were born in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Inner Sydney by POA - BCP field 1376 Bosnia and Herzegovina Total

History

There have been three major influxes of Bosnians to Australia. The first period occurred in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and the second occurred in the late 1960s/early 1970s following an economic depression and open border policy in the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. The most recent wave of migration was during the 1990s when many Bosnians sought refuge from the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. This migration was assisted under the refugee scheme of the Red Cross in Australia. By 1996, a year after the

had ended, almost 14,000 migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina were living in Australia. Most of the new arrivals settled in Victoria and Bosnia and Herzegovina was the fifth-largest source of migrants to Victoria in 1995-96. By 2011, Victoria was home to 8,486 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a predominant concentration in the Dandenong area. Bosnian migrants who arrived in Australia in the 1960s made important contributions to modern-day Australia through their role in the construction of the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme, also known as the Snowy Hydro or the Snowy scheme, is a hydroelectricity and irrigation in Australia, irrigation complex in south-east Australia. Near the border of New South Wales and Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Demographics

The majority of Bosnians reside in the south-east and west of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and in the south-west of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Bosnian established mosques can be found in Deer Park (VIC), Noble Park (VIC), Penshurst (NSW), Smithfield (NSW), Eight Mile Plains (QLD) and Caversham (WA).

Media

The SBS broadcasts a Bosnian-language program on SBS Radio 2 from 2 PM every Tuesday and a repeat from 3 PM on Sunday. It also broadcasts BHT1 Dnevnik news program every Friday morning from 8 AM to 8:30 AM as part of its WorldWatch programming block. Other community radio stations such as 3ZZZ (Melbourne), 4EB (Brisbane), 6EBA-FM (Perth),

2000FM Radio 2000 is a South African national radio station. Owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and based in Johannesburg, it broadcasts nationally between 97.2, and 100 FM. It is one of several radio stations in South Africa t ...

(Sydney), VOX FM (Wollongong), 1CMS (Canberra), 5EBI (Adelaide) also broadcast in Bosnian.

Language

In Sydney there are 5 Saturday schools for Bosnian Australian youths. *Bosnian Ethnic School (Amity College) – Auburn *Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian & Herzegovinian Cultural Association – Leppington *Bosnian Ethnic School (Liverpool Public School) – Liverpool *Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian Islamic Society Gazi Husrev-beg – Penshurst *Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian Islamic Society Gazi Husrev-beg – Smithfield

Sport clubs

*Balmoral FC Ðerzelez * FC Bossy Liverpool * FC Gazy Auburn *Heatherton United FC *Maribyrnong Greens FC - Bosna Melbourne

Notable people

* Amir Alagic, soccer coach * Jordan Grant, rugby league footballer * Ajdin Hrustic, soccer player * Azra Hadzic, tennis player * Andreja Pejic, model *

Bernard Tomic Bernard Tomic (; , ; born 21 October 1992) is an Australian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Tomic has won four singles titles on the ATP To ...

, tennis player * Ed Husic, politician, Member for Chifley * Reshad Strik, actor * Husein Alicajic, filmmaker * Harley Balic, former AFL footballer *

Hana Basic Hana Basic (born 22 January 1996) is an Australian sprinter who competes in the 100 metres. Basic was selected to represent Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's 100 m event. She studied for a Bachelor of Health and Physical Edu ...

, sprinter * Katarina Carroll, Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service * Dino Djulbic, soccer player * Dijana Alic, academic * Inga Peulich, politician *

Ned Catic Ned Catic (born 2 August 1978) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for the Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters, Wakefield Trinity, Castleford Tigers and the Barro ...

, former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer * Omar Jasika, tennis player * Mirza Muratovic, soccer player * Monika Radulovic, model *

Esma Voloder Esma Voloder is a Bosnian-Australian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World Australia 2017 and represented Australia at the Miss World 2017 pageant. Pageantry Miss Supranational 2013 Voloder represented Austra ...

, model * Sasa Sestic, barista * Selma Kajan, middle-distance runner

Notes

External links

SBS Bosnian (Bosanski)BES - Bosnian Ethnic SchoolEmbassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canberra
{{Portal bar, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Serbian diaspora in Australia Croatian diaspora in Australia

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Australia–Bosnia and Herzegovina relations Muslim communities of Australia