Asian Australians

Gold rush

Early Chinese migration stemmed from the phenomenon of the Victorian gold rush. This was met with some considerable opposition due to existing sinophobia and anti-Chinese sentiment. Racial tensions escalated into several riots at Lambing Flat and Buckland. Later, entry taxes, killings and segregation in the short term and became the foundations of the White Australia policy.

Immigration restriction

In the 1870s and 1880s, the trade union movement began a series of protests against foreign labour. The union movement was critical of Asians, mainly Chinese, who did not join unions, and who were prepared to work for lower wages and conditions. Wealthy land owners in rural areas countered with the argument Asians working on lower wages and conditions were necessary for development in tropical Queensland and the Northern Territory. It was claimed that without Asian workers these regions would be abandoned. Under growing pressure from the union movement, each Australian colony enacted legislation between 1875-1888 excluding further Chinese immigration.

Post-war immigration

The government began to expand access to citizenship for non-Europeans in 1957 by allowing access to 15-year residents, and in 1958 by reforming entry permits via the Migration Act 1958. In March 1966, the immigration ministry began a policy of allowing the immigration of skilled and professional non-Europeans, and of expanding the availability of temporary residency to these groups. These cumulatively had the effect of increasing immigration numbers from non-European countries. In 1973 Whitlam took steps to bring about a more non-discriminatory immigration policy—temporarily bringing down overall immigration numbers. The eventual evolution of immigration policy has been along a trajectory of non-discrimination, dismantling European-only policies, and the broadening of pathways to citizenship for Asians. During the Fraser government, with the increasing intake of Vietnamese refugees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Australia experienced the largest intake of Asian immigrants since the arrival of the Chinese gold miners during the gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s. In 1983, the level of British immigration was below the level of Asian immigration for the first time in Australian history.

Demographics

Chinese, Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese are the most commonly nominated Asian ancestries in Australia. Chinese Australians are 4 percent of the Australian population (2011) and Indian Australians are 2 percent of the Australian population (2011). 30% of Asians in Australia go to university, 20% of all Australian doctors are Asian, and 37% of Asian Australians take part in some form of organised sport. Second and third generation Chinese and Indian Australians are already present in large numbers. Sydney and Melbourne have made up a large proportion of Asian immigration, with Chinese Australians constituting Sydney's fourth largest ancestry (after English, Australian and Irish). Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese-Australians are among Sydney's five largest overseas-born communities.

Between the 2006 and 2011 censuses, the proportion of the Australian population born in Asia increased by one percentage point from 5 percent to 6 percent. Some suburbs have seen a sharper increase in Asian born population, where it increased by 10 percentage points.

Asian Australians by Greater Sydney region (2011 census):

Asian Australians by Melbourne region (2011 census):

Notable Australians of Asian descent