Italian Immigration To Australia Research Paper

Italians followed relatives that were already established in Australia, many Italians had tried to make a living to be able to send money back to their relatives in Italy that were suffering from severe poverty in post war Italy, or simply just wanted to have a better future for themselves and their families. A lot of Italian migrants travelled to Australia with little to no money, a suitcase and the clothes that they were wearing. Many Italians had been called to work as soon as they had disembarked from the ships they had arrived on. Italians migrated primarily in a search for a better income, but ultimately wanted to establish themselves back in their homeland.

Although many Australians were welcoming to the new Italian immigrants, there were also quite a lot of Australians who were not so pleased with the Italians coming and taking the jobs. The view from some Australians towards Italians was that they were the enemy, and now that they were migrating to Australia and taking a lot of jobs from
Australians, made many hate the Italians. With this hatred there was a fair amount of racism created mainly attacking the Italians.

A large amount of Italians were not very well educated as they had only completed up to the fifth grade, and a lot of Italians did not have a chance to undertake schooling, as they were most of the time straight into work. A typical Italian would have a strong connection and loyalty to their family, and thousands had been separated from family that was left behind in Italy.

Italians Living in Australia during World War Two, were often considered “enemy aliens”, this would also include those that had been born in Australia with Italian parents.
Between 1947–1976, political, social and economic uncertainty in Italy and the Italian government struggling to manage, encouraged around 360 000 Italians to migrate to Australia. Australia had been chosen to migrate to because there was a desperate shortage of workers, and belief that population growth was needed for the country’s future. Many of the new Italian arrivals settled in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. There was a shift from agricultural work to factory work, and men found work in heavy industries, laboring work, building and construction, and as skilled tradesmen. A lot of Italians worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme and also the Warragamba Dam. The women worked in shops or light industry, cafes and other small businesses, and many had soon established their own small
businesses.

Italian migrant families often would act like one big family, in which everyone struggled together to attempt to get ahead. Generally this would have been found in families that ran small businesses, where all family members would work and individual goals.

Even with the government’s effort to keep the Italian migrants, a significant amount returned to Italy or left to another destination. Less than one quarter of post war Italian arrivals between 1947–1980 left again, these relatively high rates were alarming the Australian government so the government encouraged people to take citizenship, with the benefits of government work contracts.

Bibliography

"AIIVA." Italian Immigrants Working In Australia. AIIVA.
Date accessed, 8 June 2013. http://au.aiiva.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=1 Photograph. Australia. Journey to a New Life. Migration Heritage Center, 2011. Date accessed, 8 June 2013. www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au "Racismnoway." Racism. No Way Australian Communities: Italian Australians. Date Accessed, 8 June 2013. http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/factsheets/58.html "Support Materials." Italian Lives. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 June 2013.
http://www.italianlives.arts.uwa.edu.au/__data/page/6997/Kit_Section_3.pdf