Indonesian Australian

Indonesian Australian
Total population
47,158
Regions with significant populations
Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia
Languages
Australian English, Indonesian, Javanese, Chinese, Hakka, Indian, Dutch,
Religion
Christianity, Buddhist, Hinduism, Islam
Related ethnic groups
Indonesians, Filipino Australian, Other Austronesians groups (Dayak, Malays, Meratus Dayak and other non-Muslim Pribumi), Chinese Indonesians, Dutch Indonesians

Total population

47,158

Regions with significant populations

Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia

Languages

Australian English, Indonesian, Javanese, Chinese, Hakka, Indian, Dutch,

Religion

Christianity, Buddhist, Hinduism, Islam

Related ethnic groups

Indonesians, Filipino Australian, Other Austronesians groups (Dayak, Malays, Meratus Dayak and other non-Muslim Pribumi), Chinese Indonesians, Dutch Indonesians

Indonesian Australians are Australian citizens and residents of Indonesian origin or descent. The 2001 Australian Census found 47,158 persons of Indonesian ancestry living in Australia.^[1]

History

As early as 1750, seamen from the Indonesian island of Macassar had settled on Australia's northern coast, spending about four months per year there collecting sea cucumbers and taking them back home to trade. By the late 19th century, the pearl hunting industry was recruiting workers from Kupang, while sugar plantations had hired migrant labourers from Java to work in Queensland; Dutch colonial authorities estimated they formed a total population of about 1,000. However, after the federation of Australia, the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, the first part of a series of laws which collectively formed part of the White Australia policy, most of these migrants returned to Indonesia.^[2] Beginning in 1942, thousands of Indonesians fled the Japanese occupation of Indonesia and took refuge in Australia. Exact landing statistics were not kept due to the chaotic nature of their migration, but after the war, 3,768 repatriated to Indonesia on Australian government-provided ships.^[3] The largest portion of the population consists of Dutch persons of pure and partial Indonesian descent who immigrated in the 1970s. A number of Chinese Indonesians entered the country after the fall of Suharto and the ensuing Jakarta riots of May 1998.^{[citation needed]}

Culture

Although Islam is the majority religion in Indonesia, in the 2001 Australian Census, only 8,087 out of 47,158 Indonesians in Australia, or 17%, identified as Muslim; they lack their own mosques, but instead typically attend mosques established by members of other ethnic groups.^[1]

Notable individuals

Further reading

References

^ ^a ^b Saeed, Abdullah (2003). "Who are Australia's Muslims?". Islam in Australia. Allen and Unwin. pp. pp. 11-12. ISBN 1865088641.
^ Penny, Janet; Tuti Gunawan (2001). "Indonesians". in James Jupp. The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People, and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. pp. pp. 439-441. ISBN 0521807891.
^ Lockwood, Rupert (October 1970). "The Indonesian Exiles in Australia, 1942-1947". Indonesia 10: 37–56. doi:10.2307/3350634. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0019-7289(197010)10%3C37%3ATIEIA1%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8. Retrieved on 20 February 2008.
^ "Asia's Top 20 Heartbreakers", Asian Pacific Post (2005-09-22). Retrieved on 20 February 2008.