African Australian

"'Ethnic group
group = Australians of African descent


caption = Notable African Australians: Bruce Djite • Billy Blue • J.M. Coetzee • Harry O'Brien
population = 248,605 (by country of birth, 2006) [ [http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POLTD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Person%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Birthplace& 20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Australia (2006)] ] |popplace= All capital cities
predominately Melbourne, Sydney and Perth
langs =English, Afrikaans, Arabic, Dinka, Swahili
rels =Predominantly Christianity, Islam
related =White South African, African American, Black British, Black Canadian, African Caribbean, African European.Immigration from Africa to Australia is only a recent phenomenon, with Europe and Asia traditionally being the largest sources of migration to Australia. In 2005-06 permanent settler arrivals to Australia included 4,000 South Africans and 3,800 Sudanese, constituting the sixth and seventh largest sources of migrants respectively [ [http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/bb8db737e2af84b8ca2571780015701e/EF8DA58E2C7A1E47CA2573D200110282?opendocument Australian Year Book 2008] ] . There is no clear definition of what constitutes being an "African Australian" (or "Afro-Australian"). The Australian Bureau of Statistics records people according to their birthplace and their self-described ancestry, although aggregated data for Africa is split between "Sub-Saharan" and "North Africa and the Middle East" [ [http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1837ADE79569F330CA2572680017FE07?opendocument Australian Bureau of Statistics 1269.0 - Standard Australian Classification of Countries (SACC), 1998 (Revision 2.03)] ]

African-Australians are not a homogenous group, but include people of diverse cultural, linguistic, religious, educational, and employment backgrounds. Migrants to Australia from the African continent in recent times are typically from a refugee background.cite web|url = http://www.att.org.au/documents/African%20Resettlement%20Report.pdf|format = pdf (6.2MB 76 pages)|title = African resettlement in Australia: Conference report |publisher = African Think Tank Inc.| date = April 2007| accessdate = 2008-06-26]

Convicts transported to Australia included Afro-Caribbeans. [cite web|url = http://www.api-network.com/cgi-bin/ach/ach.cgi?issue=21 |title = To The Islands: Australian and the Caribbean|editor = Russell McDougall (ed.)] One of the most notable was the convict tuned bushranger John Caesar who arrived with the First Fleet [cite news|url = http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2006/s1676217.htm|title = Research brings new perspective to Australia's convict past: Interview with Cassandra Pybus concerning her book "Black Founders: The Unknown Story of Australia's First Black Settlers"|date = 2006-06-30|accessdate = 2008-06-26|publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation| work = Radio National: PM] and who had been a slave on a sugar plantation in his early life, most likely born in the West Indies. [cite web|url = http://www.convictcreations.com/history/caesare.htm|title = Negro Convicts in Australia|publisher = convictcreations.com| accessdate = 2008-06-26] [cite web|url = http://www.nedkellysworld.com.au/bushrangers/caesar_j.htm|title = John Caesar (alias Black Caesar) |work = Australian Bushrangers| publisher = Glen Rowen Cobb & Co Pty Ltd| date = 1999| accessdate = 2008-06-26]

However immigration from Africa to Australia remained limited until the 1990s.

Most Africans in Australia come from South Africa and are largely of Afrikaner and British descent. Other South Africans emigrate courtesy of skilled migration programs. Opportunities in Australia, as well as push factors such as rising crime, unemployment and complications arising from the Black Economic Empowerment policies in their home country, have prompted many South Africans to migrate. Earlier Australia had taken in Zimbabwe migrants who left under following the end of white minority rule [ [http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/subscriber.nsf/log?openagent&34120do0001_200607.xls&3412.0&Data Cubes&6A3757E70A332F03CA25741700117EA1&0&2006-07&26.03.2008&Latest ABS 3412.0 Permanent arrivals, Country of birth, 1975-76 to 2006-07] ]

Recent conflicts in various parts of Africa, particularly around the Horn of Africa, have prompted people to migrate through humanitarian programs.

Australia also has taken in refugees who left due to conflicts that emerged in the 1990s, such as in Sierra Leone, Burundi, Liberia, Congo and Rwanda.

Demographics

At the 2006 Census 248,605 residents declared that they were born in Africa [ [http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POLTD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Person%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Birthplace& 20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Australia (2006)] ]

While most Africans reside in the largest cities, there are pockets of refugee Africans who have been resettled in country areas, such as Shepparton and Tamworth. In Sydney South Africans have taken to living in Bondi and St IvesFact|date=April 2008.

ee also

* Sudanese Australian
* Ethiopian Australian
* Egyptian Australian
* Zimbabwean Australian

Notes