New Australians were non-British migrants to Australia who arrived in the wave of
immigration following World War II. The term initially referred to newly arrived immigrants, generally refugees, who were expected to eventually become mainstream Australians. It was coined by
Arthur Calwell
Arthur Augustus Calwell King's Counsel, KC (28 August 1896 – 8 July 1973) was an Australian politician who served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party, Labor Party from 1960 to 1967. He led the party through three federal elections, l ...
, Australia's first Minister for Immigration, to promote the
assimilation of migrants to Australia from continental Europe. Its use was intended to be positive, and to discourage use of pejorative terms such as "reffo" or "Balt" that were then in frequent use. The term has fallen into disuse since the 1970s.
The
Democratic Labor Party in
Victoria, under state leader
Jack Little, is credited with being the first Australian political party to promote New Australian candidates in parliamentary elections in the period after the end 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 ...
.
[Ainsley Symons (2013), "Jack Little: leader of the DLP", in ''Recorder'' (Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Melbourne Branch), No. 278, December, p.3] Prominent candidates were
Hungarian-Australian Vilmos Kormos for the
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives.
The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...
in 1958, and
Italian-Australian Nino Randazzo for the
electoral district of Fitzroy in the
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...
in 1964.
See also
*
Anglo-Celtic Australian
Anglo-Celtic Australians is an ancestral grouping of Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles - predominantly in England (including Cornish), Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as the Isle of Man and Cha ...
*
White ethnic
White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they we ...
References
External links
Article exploring the term "New Australian" and its use in found footage cinema
Cultural assimilation
History of Australia (1945–present)
History of immigration to Australia
{{Australia-hist-stub