Thai Australians refers to

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the con ...

who trace their ancestry to Thailand or

Thais Thais can be the plural of ''Thai'' and refer to: * The Thai people, the main ethnic group of Thailand * The Thai peoples or Tai peoples, the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia In the singular, Thais may refer to: People Ancien ...

who trace their ancestry to Australia. 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 45,635 Australians with Thai ancestry in the 2011 census.

History of Immigration from Thailand

In 1911, the master of the Thai royal stables visited Australia and bought 126 horses. This started a trend of royal envoys from Thailand visiting Australia on horse-buying and other economic missions.Pollock, Z. (2007)
Pai Nai Ma (Where Have You been?)
Retrieved 6 January 2014, fro
New South Wales Migration Heritage Centre
/ref> Melbourne's Museum Victoria (2013) reveals that the first notable Thai to arrive in Australia was Butra Mahintra, sent by

King Rama VI Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his effor ...

during the early 1920s to purchase racehorses. Connections with Thai royalty developed further with the arrival of Prince Purachatra in 1927, leading a group to observe Australian agriculture and infrastructure Museum Victoria (2013)
History of immigration from Thailand
Retrieved 6 January 2014 The number of Thais officially counted in New South Wales stayed under 50 until the 1950s. In January 1950, the Australian government launched the

Colombo Plan The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...

, an aid program for sponsoring Asian students to study or train in Australian tertiary institutions. The main objectives of the plan were to dispel the negative impression of Asian countries toward 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 ...

and to counter communism in Asia. Students from developing countries were brought to Australia to study. The idea was that when they had finished their studies students would return to use the skills and knowledge they had acquired to help their own people. Approximately 450 Thai students travelled to Australia on the

between 1954 and 1989. Most did not settle in Australia permanently, but they increased awareness of Australia when they returned to Thailand. Between the 1950s and 1970s the majority of new arrivals from Thailand in Australia continued to be students, as well as spouses of Australians and those sponsored under military traineeships. The number of migrants in Australia grew significantly when the Immigration Restriction Act was repealed in 1973. In 1975, Australia accepted many Vietnamese, Lao and Cambodian refugees for settlement. Included in this group of

Indochinese Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

refugees were non-Thais born inside Thailand. By 1986, the Thailand-born population in Australia had risen to 6,998 people, but only half of these were of Thai ancestry. This means that the Thai-born population of Thai ancestry in Australia at that time was less than one-twelfth of today's figure. The latest

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

in 2011 recorded 45,465 Thailand-born people in Australia, an increase of 48.8 per cent from the 2006 Census. The 2011 distribution by state and territory showed New South Wales had the largest number with 17,541, followed by Victoria (10,766), Queensland (7,022) and Western Australia (5,662). Among the total Thailand-born in Australia at the 2011 Census, 23.1 per cent arrived between 2001 and 2006 and 32.8 per cent arrived between 2006 and 2011.

Thailand-Born Resident Population in Australia

Australian Census 2011 demographic map - Inner Sydney by POA - BCP field 1840 Thailand Total

Estimated Thailand-Born Resident Population, by State, 1996–2016

Estimated Thailand-Born Resident Population, 1992 to 2014

Notable Thai Australians

* Kenneth Dougall, Australian soccerplayer *

Geoff Huegill Geoffrey Andrew Huegill (born 4 March 1979) is an Australian swimmer and dual Olympian who won seventy-two international medals, including two medals in Olympics and six world champion titles, throughout his career. He held eight world records, i ...

, swimmer *

Anchilee Scott-Kemmis Anchilee Scott-Kemmis, ( th, แอนชิลี สก็อต-เคมมิส; born 30 July 1999) is a Thai model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2021 and represented Thailand at the Miss Universe 20 ...

Miss Universe Thailand Miss Universe Thailand (formerly known as Miss Thailand Universe) is a beauty pageant that has been held annually since 2000 to select Thailand's representative to the Miss Universe pageant. The competition is a continuation of the Miss Thailand ...

2021 *

Mechai Viravaidya Mechai Viravaidya (born 17 January 1941, th, มีชัย วีระไวทยะ; ) is a former politician and activist in Thailand who promoted condoms, family planning and AIDS awareness in Thailand. Since the 1970s, Mechai has been ...

, politician and activist *

Chai Romruen Chai Hansen (born Surachai Romruen, February 8, 1989) is a Thai-Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Sun Wukong, Monkey in ''The New Legends of Monkey'', Zac in ''Mako: Island of Secrets, Mako Mermaids'', Ilian in ''The 100 (TV ser ...

, actor *

Marion Grasby Marion Grasby (born 29 September 1982) is a Thai-Australian cook and food entrepreneur. She is also a television presenter, cookbook author and food journalist. Early life and education Grasby was born in Darwin, Northern Territory. At the ag ...

, TV presenter, cookbook author and food journalist * Sudjai Cook, Australian rules footballer *

Adam Aitken Adam Aitken is an Australian poet. Early life Australian writer Adam Aitken was born in London in 1960. He spent his early childhood with relatives in Thailand, and was educated at a convent in Malaysia, then a school in Perth Western Australi ...

Australian poet The poets listed below were either citizens or residents of Australia or published the bulk of their poetry whilst living there. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q–R S T V W Y–Z See also ...

Gemma Pranita Gemma Pranita (born 18 December 1985) is a Thai-born Australian actress. Pranita was encouraged to join the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) by her drama teacher, and from 1999 to 2003, she competed at state level in the Sha ...

, actress *

Phon Martdee Phon Martdee (born 17 May 1958 in Saraburi, Thailand) is a Thai-born Australian Muay Thai instructor and promoter and a former Muay Thai boxer. Martdee is one of the best-known Muay Thai trainers in Australia, training over 30 champions of sta ...

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterise ...

instructor & promoter *

Jackie Barnes Jackie James Barnes (born 4 February 1986) is an Australian drummer and singer. He has been performing since the age of four and has appeared on over 60 releases since 1990. He is the third child and only son of Jimmy Barnes and his wife Jane ...

, musician *

Mahalia Barnes Mahalia Violet Barnes (born 12 July 1982) is an Australian singer, songwriter and the daughter of Scottish-Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes and Jane Mahoney. She began performing as part of children's pop group The Tin Lids with siblings, ...

, singer-songwriter *

Paula Taylor Punlapa Margaret Taylor-Buttery (January 20, 1983), also known as Paula Taylor ( th, พอลล่า เทเลอร์) or Thai name Punlapa Supa-aksorn ( th, พัลลภา ศุภอักษร; ), is a Thai actress, model, and ...

, model, actress, TV host, and former Channel VJ

References

External links

Pai Nai Ma: Thai Australian Experiences
online exhibition)
Australia-Thailand Institute
{{Ethnic groups in Australia Asian Australian Immigration to Australia Thai-Australian culture