Mauritian 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 ...

Mauritian Mauritians (singular Mauritian; ; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a melting pot of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious peoples. Mauritian is made up ...

origin, including

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

-born Australians and Australians of Mauritian ancestry. In 2021, the

Australian census The Census in Australia, officially the Census of Population and Housing, is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic data from all people in Australia on census nig ...

recorded 25,981 Mauritius-born people in Australia, an increase of 6.8 per cent from the 2016 census. As of 2021, the state with the largest population of Mauritius-born Australians was

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

with a population of 12,341, followed by

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 ...

(5,794),

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

(5,208), and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

(1,797).

History

Based on the trading relationship between

and Australia which was established in 1803, the first

migrants arrived in Australia before the 1901

federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

convicts A convict is "a person found Guilt (law), guilty of a crime and Sentence (law), 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 commo ...

, fossickers 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, ...

, or ''sugar men'' who were skilled sugarcane workers who helped to develop

sugar industry The sugar industry subsumes the production, Sugar refinery, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, about 80% of sugar is extracted from sugar cane, grown predominantly in the tropics, and 20% from sugar beet, ...

. Right after

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 ...

the migration of Mauritians to Australia resumed, but was restricted to the privileged minority of white

Franco-Mauritians Franco-Mauritians () form an ethnic group of white people in Mauritius who trace their ethnic ancestry to France and ethnic French people. Franco-Mauritians make up approximately 2% of the country's population. Other than documented European ance ...

due to the White Australia policy which prevailed until 1973. Especially in the years leading to the 1968

Independence of Mauritius Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom on 12 March 1968. The independence process was the culmination of a long struggle involving a number of political parties. Most notably the Mauritius Labour Party (MLP) and the Parti Mauricie ...

there was a significant increase in the number of

Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

, and

Mauritian Creoles Mauritian Creoles are the people on the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agaléga and the Chagos Archipelago and in the wider overseas Mauritian diaspora who trace their roots to continental Africans who were brought to Mauritius under slave ...

who migrated permanently to Australia as a result of the anti-Hindu hegemony fear campaign which was financed by the white Franco-Mauritian owners of sugar estates and implemented by Gaetan Duval's

Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate The Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD, ), also known as the Mauritian Conservative Party, is a political party in Mauritius. Conservative and Francophilic, the PMSD is the fourth biggest political party in the National Assembly and current ...

and the local press. Indeed a climate of fear and uncertainty resulted from the fear campaign which resulted in lynching, murders and racial riots which broke out in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

Cultural background

As Mauritius is a country with a

multicultural Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''ethnic'' or cultural pluralism in which various e ...

and

multiethnic society A multinational state or a multinational political union, union is a sovereignty, sovereign entity that comprises two or more nations or state (polity), states. This contrasts with a nation state, where a single nation accounts for the bulk of the ...

, Mauritians have different and diverse ethnic backgrounds. In the 2021 Census, most Mauritius-born people living in Australia reported being of Mauritian descent (13,673), followed by those of French (5,674), Indian (3,873), and Chinese descent (2,751). Based on ethnic lines, Creole Mauritians (Black and mixed-race) represent 50% of the community in Australia, this group were largest numbers leaving Mauritius after independence from colonial rule (Britain, and previously, France) in 1968. Chinese-Mauritians make up 7%, arriving mostly during the 80s and 90s, those of Indian ancestry are 20-25% and Creoles of African ancestry 20-25%. Most of the Afro-Mauritians and Indians have arrived after the 2000s, and are the fastest growing part of the community. Mauritian-Australians have a growing presence in Australian popular culture, including in music, literature, and television. Aisha in '' The Slap'' is a notable example, identified in the TV series adaptation as 'Mauritian-Australian'.

Havana Brown The Havana Brown was the result of a planned breeding between Siamese cat, Siamese and domestic black cats, by a group of cat fanciers in England, in the 1950s. Early breeders introduced an Oriental Siamese type Russian Blue into their breeding. ...

is a significant Australian musician of Mauritian background.

Language

The main languages spoken by Mauritius-born people in Australia were French (12,545), English (5,665) and

(2,654). Note that Australia has a large French-speaking Mauritian community in relation to percentage of the overall Mauritian community, they represent 1.4% of the Mauritian community, although numbers would be much higher, but most of the second generation speak English. The French speakers using the language as mother tongue represent the white

Mulattos ( , ) is a racial classification that refers to people of mixed African and European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the word is (). The use of this term began in the United States shortly ...

and ''gens de couleur'' (mixed-race Creoles) ethnic groups, making up at least 50% of the Mauritian community in Australia. In comparison, in Mauritius 4.1% of the population speaks French as a first language (mother tongue) with 68.6% using French as a second language making a total of 72.7% French speakers.

Notable people

Dylan Collard Dylan João Raymond Collard Jr. (born 16 April 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Portuguese Liga 3 club Lusitânia. Born in Australia, he plays for the Mauritius national team. Collard played youth football wit ...

- footballer * Marlee Francois- footballer * Tyrese Francois- footballer * Jake Adelson- footballer * Nick Sullivan- footballer * Nikolai Topor-Stanley- footballer, former Socceroo *

Jordi Valadon Jordi Francis Valadon (born 4 March 2003) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for A-League Men club Melbourne Victory. Early life Raised in Melbourne, Victoria, Valadon played youth football for ...

- footballer * Miguel Di Pizio- footballer * Ludovic Boi- footballer * Orwin Castel- footballer *

Jean-Paul De Marigny Jean-Paul de Marigny (born 21 January 1964 in Mauritius) is a football coach and former player who currently works as assistant coach with the Australia women's national team. Managerial career Melbourne Victory de Marigny served as an assist ...

- footballer, Football Manager, former Socceroo * Marcus Dimanche- footballer * Patrick Kisnorbo- footballer, Football Manager, former Socceroo * Cooper Legrand- footballer * Doug Ithier- footballer * Stacey Alleaume- Australian soprano singer * Ivan Astruc- Australian rules footballer *

Angry Anderson Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson (born 5 August 1947) is an Australian rock singer, songwriter, television personality and actor. He has been the lead vocalist and the longest-tenured remaining member of the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976 ...

- rock singer-songwriter, television presenter-reporter and actor * Ralph Babet- Senator *

Shalom Brune-Franklin Shalom Brune-Franklin is a British and Australian actress. She is known for playing Private Maisie Richards in the BBC series '' Our Girl'', Umm Khulthum in ''The State'', Ella in '' Love Me'' and Aoife in the Australian series ''Doctor Doctor' ...

- actress *

- DJ, singer, recording artist, record producer and dancer. * Denis Constantin- badminton player *

Edward Duyker Edward Duyker (born 21 March 1955) is an Australian historian, biographer and author born in Melbourne. Edward Duyker's books include several ethno-histories – ''Tribal Guerrillas'' (1987), ''The Dutch in Australia'' (1987) and ''Of the Star ...

- historian, biographer and author * Drozena Eden- Australian rules footballer * Laurina Fleure- Model and TV Personality *

Andrew Florent Andrew Florent (24 October 1970 – 16 August 2016) was an Australian professional tennis player. Florent was born in Melbourne to parents who had migrated from Mauritius. He enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During h ...

- tennis player *

Oliver Florent Oliver Florent (born 22 July 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Sydney Swans with their first selection and eleventh overall in the 20 ...

- Australian rules footballer * Genevieve Gregson- Athlete *

Mahesh Jadu Mahesh Jadu (born 26 October 1982) is an Australian actor. He is best known for the role of Dr. Doug Harris in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' and the role of Ahmad in Netflix original series ''Marco Polo''. He also portrayed the supporting rol ...

- actor *

Bob Joshua Robert Joshua, MC (6 June 1906 – 2 June 1970) was an Australian politician, and a key figure in the 1955 split in the Australian Labor Party which led to the formation of the Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) and, subsequently, the D ...

- politician *

Bert La Bonté Bert LaBonté (born in either 1974 or 1975) is an Australian stage, film and television actor. With a career that has spanned over 20 years, LaBonté's most known roles include ''Five Bedrooms'', ''The Newsreader'' and many more. Early life L ...

- actor *

John La Nauze John Andrew La Nauze (9 June 1911 – 20 August 1990) was an Australian historian from Western Australia. He was born in the Goldfields town of Boulder. Shortly after his fourth birthday, his Mauritian-born father Captain Charles La Nauze wa ...

- historian *

Fabrice Lapierre Fabrice Lapierre (born 17 October 1983 in Réduit, Mauritius) is a Mauritian-born Australian long jumper. Lapierre placed 4th at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany, behind another Australian, Mitchell Watt, who took th ...

- long jumper * Jerome Laxale- politician * Frederick Manton- politician * Disco Montego- R&B & Dance group * Thomas Shadrach Peersahib- herbalist, teacher, activist * Lloyd Rees- painter * Aaron Rouge-Serret- Athlete *

Anabelle Smith Anabelle "Belle" Smith (born 3 February 1993) is an Australian diver. She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion in the 3 metre synchronized springboard. She competed in the 3 m springboard synchronized event at the 2012, 2016 and 2020 Summer ...

- Diving *

Arthur Stace Arthur Malcolm Stace (9 February 1885 – 30 July 1967), known as Mr Eternity, was an Australian soldier. He was an alcoholic from his teenage years until the early 1930s, when he converted to Christianity and began to spread his message b ...

- soldier * Starley- singer and songwriter * Anne-Marie Schwirtlich- Director-General of the National Library of Australia * Julian Barbara Waugh- Mayor and Politician *

Bernard Zuel Bernard Zuel (born 1965) is an Australian music journalist. Zuel wrote for Fairfax Media newspapers ''The Age'' and ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' from 1992 to 2017. He became their senior music writer and reviewer. Zuel is a judge of the Austral ...

- journalist

References

{{Ethnic groups in Australia African diaspora in Australia

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 ...

History

Cultural background

Language

Notable people

See also

References