Romanian Australians may include those who have immigrated to Australia from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

, and

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 ...

-born citizens of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

descent. According to ABS (2006 census) figures, there are 18,320 people with Romanian ancestry in Australia.Population by ancestry (Australia)
2006 Australian census

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

were registered in Australia for the first time more than 80 years ago having emigrated for work seeking a more prosperous economic status, or as missionaries. But the first wave of Romanian emigrants to Australia came after

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, when Romania was experiencing severe economic and political problems. The Romanians who were then emigrating to Australia principally settled in areas around Sydney,

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 me ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. The number of Romanians who came to Australia at the time is estimated to be around 2,000 people. The second wave of Romanian emigration to the Australian continent began after the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred ...

, when the Communist regime fell and citizens received the right to leave

. They came in large numbers for the same reasons as the first-wave immigrants.

Demographics

the largest communities of Romanian-Australians could be found in

(6,482), Sydney (4,145)and

(1,912). In the 2006 Census, among Romanian-born persons, the religious breakdown was as follows: 80.6% Christianity, 5.8% no religion or atheism, 4.4% Judaism, 3.0% other religions and 5.6% did not answer the question.http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/5618AB4511347DC2CA257306000D44C2/$File/2914055002_2006%20(Reissue).xls A small number of Romanian Australians are ethnic Greeks. They founded the Greeks from Romania NSW Association "The Acropolis" based in Sydney.

Notable Romanian Australians

* Victor Albert Bailey, physicist (his mother was Romanian) * Traian Chirilă, chemist *

Carin Clonda Carin Lydia Clonda (born 1 March 1961) is an Australian former professional squash player and sports administrator. Early life Clonda was born in the Sydney suburb of Manly, to an Estonian mother and Romanian father. Squash playing career She ...

, squash player * Greg Conescu, rugby league footballer *

Daniela Costian Daniela Costian (born 30 April 1965) is a former Olympic discus throw bronze medallist. She was born in Brăila, Romania, but became an Australian citizen in 1990. She competed in the discus contest at the 1992 Summer Olympics and won the br ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medalist; *

Andrew Ilie Andrew Ilie (born 18 April 1976) is a former tennis player. Ilie fled Romania at age 10 with his family, spending a year at a refugee camp in Austria before emigrating to Australia. He turned professional in 1994 and became a citizen of Austr ...

, tennis player * Daniel Ioniță, poet * Lucy Kiraly, model and television presenter *

Ted Theodore Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 – 9 February 1950) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the state Labor Party. He later entered federal politics, serving as Treasurer in ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Anthony Fisher Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the ...

, prelate, Archbishop of Sydney * Hagi Gligor, footballer * Raimond Gaita, philosopher and writer (his father was Romanian) *

Daniela Nuțu-Gajić Daniela Nuțu-Gajić (born Daniela Silvia Nuțu; 8 June 1957) is a Romanian Australian chess Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and chess trainer. She represented Romania in seven Chess Olympiads, winning five medals, including two individual gold me ...

, chess player *

Ajdin Hrustic Ajdin Hrustic ( bs, Hrustić; born 5 July 1996) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Hellas Verona and the Australia national team. Early life Born in Dandenong, Victoria Hrustic playe ...

, footballer * Elsa Pataky, actress *

Lance Picioane Lance Picioane (born 7 June 1980) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Adelaide, Hawthorn and the Kangaroos during his time in the Australian Football League (AFL). Picioane attended Essendon Grammar and was captain of the V ...

, Australian rules footballer * Ion Popa, rower *

Rosemary Popa Rosemary Popa (born 30 December 1991) is an Australian national champion rower, Olympic gold medalist, and former rower for the University of California, Berkeley. A dual citizen of Australia and the United States, she has represented both coun ...

, rower *

Julian Savulescu Julian Savulescu (born 22 December 1963) is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist of Romanian origins. He is Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, director of the Oxford Uehiro Ce ...

, philosopher and bioethicist * Lauren Mitchell, artistic gymnast * Mirka Mora, prominent artist (her mother was Romanian) *

Aida Tomescu Aida Tomescu (born October 1955) is a Romanian and Australian contemporary artist who is known for her abstract paintings, collages, drawings and prints. Tomescu is a winner of the Dobell Prize for Drawing, the Wynne Prize for Landscape and th ...

, artist * Xonia, singer * Edmond Lupancu, footballer

References

{{Ethnic groups in Australia European Australian Romanian diaspora *Main

Demographics

Notable Romanian Australians

See also

References