Spanish Australians

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 123,000 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.

Spanish Australians
Hispano-australianos
Total population
122,952 (by ancestry, 2017)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Primarily capital cities
Languages
Australian English, Spanish. Minority speaks Catalan, Galician, and Basque.
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Spaniards, Castilians, Asturians, Cantabrians, Aragonese, Galicians, Catalans, Basques, other Europeans and Latin Americans
People with Spanish ancestry as a percentage of the population in Sydney divided geographically by postal area, as of the 2011 census
Part of a series on the
Spanish people

Rojigualda (historical Spanish flag)
Regional groups
Other groups
Significant Spanish diaspora
Languages
Other languages
Category
 Spain portal

History

In Victoria

Although Spanish seafarers began exploring the South Pacific in the sixteenth century, it was not until the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s that Spanish immigrants began to arrive in Victoria. The first Spanish restaurant was opened in Melbourne in 1860. By 1871, 135 Spaniards lived in Victoria, 80% of them men. Over the next two decades, the number of Spanish women arriving in Victoria tripled; a few more men also arrived.

Despite a military coup in Spain in 1923 and the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, few Spanish refugees settled in Victoria. Immigration Acts passed in the 1920s restricted the entry of Spaniards and other southern Europeans. By 1947, the Spain-born population of Victoria was only 252.

The Spain-born population dramatically increased from the late 1950s, following the 1958 Spanish-Australian migration agreement. The agreement provided assisted passages to Spanish migrants, many escaping poverty and hunger. The community in Victoria increased from 374 in 1954 to 3,143 in 1966.

During the following decades economic improvements in Spain coincided with a slowing of Spanish immigration to Australia. The Spain-born community in Victoria today has declined from 4,067 in 1986 to 3,523, in 2016.

The Spain-born community in Victoria is also aging: 45% of its population are between the ages of 50 and 75. Living predominantly in the Geelong area, the majority are employed as professionals and tradespeople.

The community is supported by a number of groups and organizations including the Spanish and Latin American Welfare Centre (CELAS), providing counseling, community development and educational programs. Spanish culture in Victoria is further maintained through SBS and community radio and television programs, and publications such as The Spanish Herald.[2]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "The People of Australia – Statistics from the 2011 Census" (PDF). Australian Department of Immigration. 2014. p. 60. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014.
  2. "Immigration History from Spain to Victoria Archived 27 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine"
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