Misplaced Pages

Sri Lankan Australians

Total population
145,430 born in Sri Lanka (2021) 95,948 Australians of Sri Lankan Ancestry 58,166 Sinhalese Australians 6,775 Sri Lankan Tamil Australians Over 0.48% of the population
Regions with significant populations
Victoria	55,835
New South Wales	28,713
Queensland	9,756
Western Australia	7,800
South Australia	3,785
Australian Capital Territory	2,774
Northern Territory	447
Tasmania	775
Languages
English, Sinhala, Tamil
Religion
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam
Related ethnic groups
Sri Lankans
Populations based on Sri Lankan born population only, 2016 census.

Sri Lankan Australians (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ඕස්ට්‍රේලියානුවන්, Tamil: இலங்கை ஆஸ்திரேலியர்கள்) are people of Sri Lankan heritage living in Australia; this includes Sri Lankans by birth and by ancestry. Sri Lankan Australians constitute one of the largest groups of Overseas Sri Lankan communities and are the largest diasporic Sri Lankan community in Oceania. Sri Lankan Australians consist of people with Sinhalese, Tamil, Moor, Burgher, Malay and Chinese origins among others.

History

Early arrivals

Recorded Sri Lankan immigration to Australia started in 1816, with the transportation of Drum Major William O'Dean (a Sri Lankan Malay) and his wife Eve (a Sinhalese). Early immigrants from Sri Lanka (at that time known as Ceylon) were generally (unlike the O'Deans) absorbed into the Aboriginal population. Other early references of Sri Lankan migration date back to the 1870s when authorities in South Australia sought out the possibility of importing labour from Ceylon. The first Sinhalese from Sri Lanka arrived in 1870 to work in sugarcane plantations in Queensland. A community was believed to exist on Thursday Island in 1876. In 1882, a group of 500 left Colombo for Queensland, mostly in Mackay.

20th century

Under the White Australia policy, immigration was negligible. It resumed after the Second World War primarily involving migration of Burghers, who fulfilled the then criteria that they should be of predominantly European ancestry and that their appearance should be European. By 1954 around 2000 Sri Lankans had been accepted. Sinhalese migration began in the 1960s but it was after the mid-1970s that large groups arrived, which also included Christians and Buddhists. During the 1970s intake restrictions loosened and Sri Lankan students undertook courses in Australia as part of the Colombo Plan prior to the formal dismantling of the White Australia policy, and after 1973 and from the early 1980s Sinhalese, Tamil and Moor migration resumed and increased.

Present

In The Australian People, S. Pinnawala writes that "social interaction between the various Sri Lankan migrant groups has often been influenced by factors originating in their home country".

In the 1980s, on a reflection of ethnic unrest in Sri Lanka, tensions between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities grew. However, in Pinnawala's opinion, more recently a Sri Lankan identity has developed among the various religious and ethnic migrants.

This has led to many new community organisations being established to promote Sri Lankan culture and traditions. There have also been strong links formed between Sinhalese Buddhists now living in Australia and their co-religionists from Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. Similar trends can be traced between Christian migrants from Sri Lanka who now live in Australia.

Demographics

The city of Melbourne contains just under half of the Sri Lankan Australians. Fewer than 20% are estimated to live outside New South Wales and Victoria.

The number of Sri Lankan Australians counted in 1996, including the second-generation, was 64,068. The 2011 census recorded 86,412 Sri Lankans born in Australia.

The rate of assimilation among Sri Lankan Australians is fairly high: among second-generation immigrants, the 'in-marriage' rate was extremely low – 5.6% for brides and 3.0% for grooms.

Sinhalese Australians have an exceptionally low rate of return migration to Sri Lanka. In December 2001, the Department of Foreign Affairs estimated that there were 800 Australian citizens resident in Sri Lanka. It is unclear whether these were returning Sri Lankan emigrants with Australian citizenship, their Sri Lankan Australian children, or other Australians present on business or for some other reason.

Tamils in Australia numbered 19,426 in the 2011 Census. The majority of Tamils born in Sri Lanka came to Australia after 1983 when Sri Lanka faced ethnic turmoil and unrest (Black July). The Western suburbs of Sydney and the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne have a relatively high number of Tamil speaking people. There were 73161 Tamil speakers according to the 2016 Census, with the largest proportion of people across Australia in the Western Sydney suburb of Westmead (1,425 people, or 3.6% of people in that suburb), followed by Toongabbie (1,404 people, or 3.5% of people in that suburb). Numerous Tamil schools and Hindu Temples have been established in all main cities to cater for the growing Sri Lankan Tamil population.

Language

In 2006, there were 29,055 Australians who spoke Sinhalese at home. SBS Radio is available in Sinhalese, and Melbourne television channel Channel 31 runs the Sri Lankan Morning show, which has sections in Sinhalese.

Religion

Religion of Sri Lankan Australians (2021)

In 2016, 40.8% from Sri Lankan Australians population identifying as Buddhists, 20.7% as Catholic, 18.8% as Hindus, 4.2% as Anglican and 3.7% as Irreligion.

Most Sinhalese in Australia are Theravada Buddhists, and a small percentage of Sinhalese follow branches of Christianity. Sri Lankans have established many Theravada Buddhist temples across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia including the Dhamma Sarana Buddhist Temple of Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

The majority of Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindu. The Sydney Murugan Temple was constructed for the needs of the high Tamil population in Western Sydney. Smaller temples have been built in the greater Sydney area. The Siva Vishnu Temple in Carrum Downs south east of Melbourne is also a temple built by Sri Lankan Tamils. The Sunshine Murugan Temple in western Melbourne also caters to the Tamil community. In other cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Townsville, Darwin, Canberra and Hobart, Hindu temples have also been built.

Culture

Popularly celebrated community festivals include Sri Lankan Independence Day (4 February) and Sri Lankan New Year (14 April). Sri Lankan restaurants are becoming a popular feature of shopping strips in Melbourne, Hawthorn, Brunswick, Northcote, Glen Waverley and Dandenong, while Sri Lankan Australian media is also growing with newspapers, television and radio stations broadcasting cultural programs.

Community

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Sri Lankan Australians" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Australia

Events

• Lankan Fest – Sri Lankan cultural show in Melbourne

Organizations

• Sri Lanka Association of NSW Inc.

https://www.slansw.org.au/

• Global Sri Lankan Forum
• Sri Lanka German Technical Training Institute - Old boys Association Australia Inc.
• Sri Lankan Study Centre for the Advancement of Technology & Social Welfare Inc (SCATS), Australia (1992)
• Australia Sri Lanka Council (1994)
• Committee for Sri Lanka (1993)
• Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Australia Inc.
• Multicultural Human Power Incorporated
• United Sri Lankan Muslim Association (1990)

Websites

• slansw.org.au/
• TamilAustralian.com
• srilankadirectory.com.au
• ozsrilanka.com.au
• ausnewslanka.com
• lankacube.com
• ozlanka.com

Canberra

• Sri Lanka Dhamma Vihara Association of Canberra
• Lankans Canberra Foundation
• Sri Lanka High Commissions
• Sinhala Cultural Association of Canberra

New South Wales

Organizations

• Anandians of NSW
• Austra-Lanka Muslims Association (ALMA)
• Sinhala Association of NSW
• Sinhalese Cultural Forum of NSW
• Sri Lankan Australian Malay Association (SLAMA)
• The Sri Lanka Association of NSW
• University of Colombo Alumni Association NSW Inc.

Radio

• SBS Radio 2 (Sydney 97.7 fm)
• SBS Radio 2 (Wollongong 1035 am)

Victoria

Events

• Lankan Fest – Sri Lankan cultural show in Melbourne

Organizations

• Anandians of Victoria
• Association of Sri Lankan Muslims in Australia (ASLAMA)
• Black & Gold of Victoria – D.S. Senanayake College Old Boys Association
• Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia
• Good Shepherd Convent Colombo Past Pupils' Association
• Katherine Keegel Children's Fund (KKCF)
• Northern Melbourne Sri Lankan Senior's Association Inc.
• Royal College Old Boys Association
• Nalandians In Sydney – Nalanda College Old Boys Association, Sydney, Australia (NIS)
• Nalanda College Old Boys Association, Melbourne, Australia
• Nalanda College Old Boys Association, Queensland, Australia
• Nalanda College Old Boys Association, Perth, Australia
• Sinhalese Cultural and Community Service Foundation
• Society for Peace Unity and Human Rights for Sri Lanka (SPUR)
• Sri Lankan Association of Victoria (formerly the Ceylon Club of Australia)
• Sri Lankan Study Centre for the Advancement of Technology and Social Welfare
• St. Joseph's College Old Boys Union, the biggest alumni association based on a Sri Lankan school in Australia
• ST Peters Old Boys Union Melbourne
• Trinity College Old Boys Association
• United Sri Lankan Muslim Association of Australia (USMAA)
• Maris Stella College OBA Melbourne Branch
• Visakha Vidyalaya Past Pupils Association (VVPPA)
• Kelaniya University Alumni Association Australia
• Anula Vidyalaya Past Pupils Association Victoria (AVPPAV)
• St Benedict's College Old Boys Union

South Australia (Adelaide)

Organizations

• Adelaide Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara
• Adelaide Sri Lankan Community
• Australia Sri Lanka Association (ASLA) https://www.facebook.com/ASLA13/

Western Australia

Organizations

• Anandians of Western Australia
• AusLanka Charity Foundation
• Sri Lankan Australian Youth Association
• Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihara Perth Western Australia
• Sri Lankan Cultural Society of Western Australia
• Sri Lankan Muslim Society of Western Australia Inc.

Northern Territory

• The Buddhist Society of the N.T.
• Sri Lanka Australia Friendship Association

Notable Sri Lankan Australians

See also

• Australia–Sri Lanka relations
• Colombo Plan
• Tamil Australians

Notes

1. Areas with a high concentration of Sri Lankans in Australia, according to the 2006 Census.

References

1. "2021 People in Australia who were born in Sri Lanka, Census Country of birth QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics".
2. "Community Information Summary Sri Lanka-born" (PDF). Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
3. "People of Sri Lanka" (PDF). The Ministry of National Coexistence, Dialogue and Official Languages. March 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
4. "People in Australia who were born in Sri Lanka". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
5. ^ "SBS Radio - Sinhalese". radio.sbs.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009.
6. ^ "Sri Lankans". eMelbourne. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
7. "Ancestry – Sri Lankan /Sinhalese/Tamil". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
8. "ஆஸ்திரேலியாவின் எந்த suburb-இல் தமிழர்கள் அதிகமாக வாழ்கின்றனர்? | SBS Your Language". www.sbs.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017.
9. "2011 Census of Population and Housing". Table Builder. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
10. "2006 Census - Australia - Language". Retrieved 22 March 2010.
11. "SBS Schedule". Retrieved 22 March 2010.
12. "Channel 31 - Sri Lanka Morning Show". Retrieved 22 March 2010.
13. "Sri Lankan - Population Statistics".
14. "2016 People in Australia who were born in Sri Lanka, Census Country of birth QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
15. "Dhamma Sarana Buddhist Temple". Retrieved 22 March 2010.
16. "2011 Census QuickStats : Pendle Hill (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
17. "2006 Census QuickStats : Homebush (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
18. "2006 Census QuickStats : Homebush West (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
19. "2006 Census QuickStats : Endeavour Hills (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
20. "2006 Census QuickStats : Dandenong (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
21. "2006 Census QuickStats : Strathfield South (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
22. "2006 Census QuickStats : Lynbrook (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
23. "2006 Census QuickStats : Hallam (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
24. "2006 Census QuickStats : Lyndhurst (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
25. "2006 Census QuickStats : Dandenong North (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
26. "2006 Census QuickStats : Hampton Park (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
27. "2006 Census QuickStats : Noble Park (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
28. "2006 Census QuickStats : Glen Waverley (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
29. "2006 Census QuickStats : Clayton South (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
30. "2006 Census QuickStats : Clayton (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
31. "2006 Census QuickStats : Oakleigh East (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
32. "2006 Census QuickStats : Keysborough (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
33. "2006 Census QuickStats : Lidcombe (State Suburb)". Censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
34. ^ Lankan Fest
35. "SCATS: One of the oldest Sri Lankan community organisations in Melbourne, celebrating of its 25th year anniversary".
36. "usmaa.org.au". usmaa.org.au. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
37. "The Sri Lanka Dhamma Vihara Association of Canberra(SLDVAC) Inc". Dhammavihara.org.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
38. "alma.org.au". alma.org.au. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
39. ^ "SBS Radio - Sinhalese". radio.sbs.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009.
40. "Black & Gold of Victoria - D.S. Senanayake College Old Boys Association". Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
41. "Good Shepherd Convent Colombo Past Pupils' Association". Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
42. "Katherine Keegel Children's Fund (KKCF)". Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
43. "Sri Lankan - Northern Melbourne Sri Lankan Senior's Association Inc. - - - Community Directory - City of Whittlesea". Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
44. "Royal College Old Boys Association". Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
45. Nalanda College Old Boys Association, Sydney, Australia
46. "OLD NALANDIANS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA (ONAA, Melbourne". Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
47. "Nalanda Old Boys Association Queensland Inc". Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
48. "Old Nalandians Association of Western Australia Inc". Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
49. St. Joseph's College Old Boys Union
50. "usmaa.org.au". usmaa.org.au. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
51. "Adelaide Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara". Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
52. "Adelaide Sri Lankan Community". Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
53. Sri Lankan Australian Youth Association
54. Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara Perth Western Australia
55. "Sri Lankan Muslim Society of Western Australia Inc". Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
56. "The Buddhist Society of the N.T." Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
57. "Sri Lanka Australia Friendship Association". Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2024.

Further reading

Information about Sri Lankans in Australia can be obtained from the following publications.

• Gamage, S. 'Curtains of culture, ethnicity, and class: changing composition of the Sri Lankan community in Australia, Journal of intercultural studies, vol 19(1), 1998,pp. 37–56.
• Gamage, S. 2001. Sinhalese in Australia, in The Australian people – An Encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins(ed) James Jupp, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, pp, 684–685.
• Gamage, S. 2002. Adaptation Experiences of Sri Lankan Immigrants and their Children in Australia in the Context of Multiculturalism and Anglo-Conformity, in Annette Richardson and Michael Wyness (eds) Exploring Cultural Perspectives: Integration and Globalization, International Cultural Research Network (ICRN) Press, Edmonton, pp. 3–29.
• Gamage, S. 2014. Life of Sri Lankans in Australia: identity, lifestyle and dilemmas of living between two cultures, Island (29.01.2014), Colombo.
• Reeves, P. 2014. The Encyclopedia of the Sri Lankan Diaspora, Editions Didier Millet Pty Ltd. Singapore.

External links

• The Australian People
• Dispersion of Sri Lankan Australians in Australia
• First Ceylonese family to Australia
• DIMIA – Community Information Summary
• The Sri Lanka-born Community
• Sri Lankan Cultural Profile

v t e Sri Lankan diaspora
Asia	Hong Kong India Japan Lebanon Malaysia Singapore United Arab Emirates Pakistan Indonesia
Europe	France Italy Switzerland United Kingdom London
North America	Bermuda Canada Toronto United States
Oceania	Australia New Zealand
Africa	South Africa
See also	Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

v t e Asian Australians
Central Asia	Afghan Hazara Armenian Azeri Georgian Kazakh Kyrgyz Pathan Tatar Tajik Turkmen Uzbek Uyghur
East Asia	Chinese Fuzhou/Hokchiu Hakka Hoklo Hong Konger Tibetan Japanese Korean Mongolian Taiwanese
South Asia	Bangladeshi Bengali Bhutanese Indian Indo-Fijian Bengali Gujarati Malayali Punjabi Sindhi Tamil Telugu Maldivian Nepalese Pakistani Baloch Pashtun Punjabi Sindhi Sri Lankan Tamil
Southeast Asia	Burmese Mon Chin Cambodian East Timorese Filipino Hmong Indonesian Javanese Madurese Sundanese Acehnese Balinese Karen Laotian Malaysian Bruneian Kadazan Temoq Mien Singaporean Thai Vietnamese
History	General Immigration
Topics	Organized crime Politics Stereotypes East Asians South Asians
According to Australian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) Category Commons

v t e Ancestry of Australians
Ancestral background of Australian citizens
Indigenous	Aboriginal Australians Torres Strait Islanders
Africa	Angolan Beninese Burundian Cameroonian Congolese Eritrean Ethiopian Gabonese Gambian Ghanaian Guinean Ivorian Kenyan Liberian Malawian Malian Mauritian Nigerian Rwandan Senegalese Sierra Leonean South African Tanzanian Togolese Ugandan Zambian Zimbabwean
Americas	American Canadian Caribbean and West Indian Australian Hispanic and Latin American Argentine Bolivian Brazilian Chilean Colombian Cuban Ecuadorian Guatemalan Honduran Mexican Panamanian Paraguayan Peruvian Puerto Rican Salvadoran Uruguayan Venezuelan Jamaican Trinidadian and Tobagonian
Asia	Afghan Hazara Pashtun Armenian Azerbaijani Bangladeshi Bengali Bhutanese Burmese Chin Karen Mon Cambodian Chinese Hmong Hong Kong Cantonese Mien Taiwanese Hakka Fuzhou/Hokchiu Hoklo Tibetan Uyghur East Timorese Filipino Georgian Indian Bengali Gujarati Indo-Fijian Malayali Punjabi Sindhi Tamil Telugu Indonesian Acehnese Balinese Javanese Madurese Sundanese Japanese Kazakh Korean Kyrgyz Laotian Malaysian Bruneian Kadazan Temoq Maldivian Mongolian Nepali Pakistani Baloch Hazara Pashtun Punjabi Sindhi Pathan Singaporean Sri Lankan Tamil Tajik Tatar Thai Turkmen Uzbek Vietnamese Hmong Mien
Europe	Albanian Anglo-Celtic Cornish English Irish Northern Irish Scottish Welsh Austrian Belgian Belarusian Bosnian Bulgarian Croatian Cypriot Czech Danish Dutch Estonian French Finnish German Greek Hungarian Icelandic Italian Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian Maltese Montenegrin Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romani Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovene Spanish Swedish Swiss Ukrainian
Middle East and North Africa	Arab Algerian Bahraini Egyptian Emirati Iraqi Jordanian Kuwaiti Lebanese Libyan Moroccan Palestinian Saudi Somali Syrian Tunisian Assyrian Bari Berber Coptic Chaldean Darfur Dinka Iranian Israeli/Jewish Kurdish Mandaean Nubian Nuer South Sudanese Sudanese Turkish Yezidi
Oceania	Fijian Indo-Fijian Niuean Ni-Vanuatu New Zealander Māori Papua New Guinean Samoan South Sea Islander Tongan
according to Reflecting a Nation: Stories from the 2011 Census, 2012–2013 and Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia - Stories from the Census, 2016

• Asian diaspora in Australia
• Australian people of Sri Lankan descent
• Sri Lankan diaspora
• Australia–Sri Lanka relations