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Spanish Australians refers to Australian citizens and residents of Spanish descent, or people who were born in Spain and emigrated to Australia. There are approximately 58,271 Australians who are full or partial Spanish descent, most of whom reside within the major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, with lesser but rapidly growing numbers in Brisbane (which has over 15,000) and Perth. Of these, according to the 2006 Australian census, 12,276 were born in Spain.
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History
Torres Strait was discovered by Luis Váez de Torres in 1606.
The Abbey of New Norcia was established by Spanish Benedictines in 1847 as a mission to Aborigines. It is Australia's only monastic town.
Immigration to Australia from Spain was minimal during the 1850s and 1860s resulting from the social disruption of the Carlist civil wars. Larger numbers of Spanish immigrants entered the country in the first quarter of the twentieth century due to the same circumstances of rural poverty and urban congestion that led other Europeans to emigrate in that period, as well as unpopular wars. Many immigrants either moved back to Spain or to another country.