Papua New Guinean Australians

Last updated

Papua New Guinean Australians
Total population
2021 Census:
29,995 (by birth) [1]
22,664 (by ancestry) [2]
Regions with significant populations
Queensland 14,500
New South Wales 5,428
Victoria 2,534
Western Australia 1,763
Torres Strait Islands 365 (by ancestry), 148 (by birth) [3]
Languages
English  · Tok Pisin  · Motu
Religion
Christianity (Predominantly Roman Catholicism) ·Other

Papua New Guinean Australians (Tok Pisin : pipol bilong Papua Niugini long Ostrelia) are the citizens and residents of Australia (including the Torres Strait Islands, where 6.5% of all people claimed Papua New Guinean ancestry) [3] who were born in Papua New Guinea (PNG) or have Papua New Guinean ancestry.

Contents

History

A handful of people from Papua New Guinea, crew members of boats and mission-sponsored villagers, visited Australia in the 1870s. In the early 1880s, more than 3000 Papuan workers were recruited to work in the sugarcane industry in Queensland. A majority of these labourers later returned to Queensland, but a minority remained in Australia. [4]

From 1914 to 1975, Papua New Guinea was administered by Australia, divided into the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea (a League of Nations mandate). Despite being administered by Australia, the indigenous peoples of the island were nonetheless subject to the White Australia policy. As a result, only limited numbers of Papuans were allowed to enter the rest of Australia, notably to work in the Queensland pearling industry. [5]

The number of Papua New Guineans in Australia is considered relatively small, given the countries are neighbours and PNG's status as a former Australian territory. Other Pacific island countries have much larger populations in Australia.

Demographics

At the time of the 2021 Australian census, there were 22,664 people of Papua New Guinean descent in Australia and 29,995 Papua New Guinea-born people residing in the country. The gap between the two figures reflects the fact that many of those born in PNG were the children of Australian expatriates; only 8,752 (less than one-third) of Australian residents born in PNG reported that they were of Papua New Guinean ancestry. [6]

Notable PNG-Australians

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papua New Guinea</span> Country in Oceania

Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia. It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and its other close neighbors are Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located on its southern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torres Strait</span> Navigable sea passage between Australia and New Guinea

The Torres Strait, also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is 150 km (93 mi) wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mainland. To the north is the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. It is named after the Spanish navigator Luís Vaz de Torres, who sailed through the strait in 1606.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torres Strait Islands</span> Group of islands in the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea

The Torres Strait Islands are an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait, a waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea. They span an area of 48,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), but their total land area is 566 km2 (219 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torres Strait Islanders</span> One of the two categories of Indigenous Australians

Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal peoples of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped with them as Indigenous Australians. Today, there are many more Torres Strait Islander people living in mainland Australia than on the Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thursday Island</span> Island in Queensland, Australia

Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately 39 kilometres north of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boigu Island (Queensland)</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Boigu Island is the most northerly inhabited island of Queensland and of Australia. It is part of the Top Western group of the Torres Strait Islands, which lie in the Torres Strait separating Cape York Peninsula from the island of New Guinea. The mainland of Papua New Guinea is only 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from Boigu. Boigu has an area of 89.6 square kilometres (34.6 sq mi). Boigu Island is also the name of the town and locality on the island within the Torres Strait Island Region. Boigu is predominantly inhabited by indigenous Torres Strait Islanders. In the 2021 census, the population of the island was 199, of whom 189 people or 95% of the population identified as Indigenous Australians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples of Oceania</span>

The Indigenous peoples of Oceania are Aboriginal Australians, Papuans, and Austronesians. These indigenous peoples have a historical continuity with pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories. With the notable exceptions of Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, New Caledonia, Guam, and Northern Mariana Islands, indigenous peoples make up the majority of the populations of Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">States and territories of Australia</span> First-level administrative subdivisions of Australia

The states and territories are the second level of government of Australia. The states are administrative divisions that are self-governing polities that are partly sovereign, having ceded some sovereign rights to the federal government. They have their own constitutions, legislatures, executive governments, judiciaries and law enforcement agencies that administer and deliver public policies and programs. Territories can be autonomous and administer local policies and programs much like the states in practice, but are still legally subordinate to the federal government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saibai Island</span> Suburb of Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia

Saibai Island, commonly called Saibai, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, located in the Torres Strait of Queensland, Australia. The island is situated north of the Australian mainland and south of the island of New Guinea. The island is a locality within the Torres Strait Island Region local government area. The town of Saibai is located on the north-west coast of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meriam language</span> Trans-Fly language of the Australian Torres Strait Islands

Meriam or the Eastern Torres Strait language is the language of the people of the small islands of Mer, Waier and Dauar, Erub, and Ugar in the eastern Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. In the Western Torres Strait language, Kalaw Lagaw Ya, it is called Mœyam or Mœyamau Ya. It is the only Papuan language in Australian territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammond Island (Queensland)</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Hammond Island is an island with a town of the same name, in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is the only island within the locality of Keriri Island within the local government area of Torres Strait Island Region. In the 2021 census, Hammond Island had a population of 261 people, of whom 253 (96.9%) identified as Indigenous Australians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coconut Island (Queensland)</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Coconut Island, Poruma Island, or Puruma in the local language, is an island in the Great North East Channel near Cumberland Passage, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. One of the Torres Strait Islands, Coconut Island is 130 kilometres (81 mi) northeast of Thursday Island. Administratively, Coconut Island is a town and Poruma Island is the locality within the Shire of Torres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire of Torres</span> Local government area in Queensland, Australia

The Shire of Torres is a local government area located in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering large sections of the Torres Strait Islands and the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula north of 11°S latitude. It holds two distinctions—it is the northernmost Local Government Area in Australia, and is the only one to abut an international border – it is at one point just 73 kilometres (45 mi) from Papua New Guinea. It is administered from Thursday Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daru Island</span> Island in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea

Daru Island is an island in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the Torres Strait Islands. The eponymous town on the island is the capital of the province, and houses the vast majority of the island's population of 20,524 (2009). Daru Island is elliptical in shape, with dimensions of 5.0 by 3.7 kilometers, an area of 14.7 km2, and an elevation of up to 27 m. The island is separated from the mainland in the north, specifically the mouth of Oriomo River, by the 3.5 km wide Daru Roads. The shortest distance to the larger Bristow Island in the south is 1.3 km.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia–Papua New Guinea relations</span> Bilateral relations

Foreign relations exist between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is Australia's closest neighbour and a former colony of Australia. Both nations share the same continent in the Oceania region. Papua New Guinea has developed much closer relations with Australia than with Indonesia, the only country with which it shares a land border. The two countries are Commonwealth realms. In contemporary times, Papua New Guinea is one of the largest recipients of Australian aid. Some critics have pointed to instances where this has led to an outsized Australian influence on Papua New Guinea politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torres Strait Regional Authority</span>

The Torres Strait Regional Authority is an Australian Government body established in 1994 to administer the Torres Strait Islands. It consists of 20 elected representatives. The primary function of the authority is to strengthen the economic, social and cultural development of the peoples of the Torres Strait area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia (continent)</span> One of Earths seven main divisions of land

The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts by the names Sahul, Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, or Meganesia to distinguish it from the country of Australia, is located within the Southern and Eastern hemispheres. The continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, the island of New Guinea, the Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, most of the Coral Sea Islands, and some other nearby islands. Situated in the geographical region of Oceania, Australia is the smallest of the seven traditional continents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bramble Cay</span> Island in Queensland, Australia

Bramble Cay, also known as Maizab Kaur and Massaramcoer, is a small cay located at the northeastern edge of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands of Queensland and at the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Lying around 50 km (31 mi) north of Erub Island in the Gulf of Papua, it is the northernmost point of land of Australia and marks the end of the Great Barrier Reef.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dauan Island</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Dauan Island is an island in the Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia; it is also known as Cornwallis Island. Dauan Island is also a town and locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Dauan Island had a population of 131 people.

Papua New Guinean New Zealanders are Papua New Guineans, or people of Papua New Guinean descent, who are also citizens and residents of New Zealand.

References

  1. "Birthplace | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
  2. "Ancestry | Australia | Community profile". profile.id.com.au.
  3. 1 2 "2016 Torres Strait Islands, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics".
  4. "Community Information Summary - Papua New Guinea-born" (PDF). Department of Home Affairs. 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  5. "History of immigration from Papua New Guinea". Museum Victoria. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  6. Wolters, Ted (17 March 2016). "Australia-PNG relations: Decades of missed opportunities". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute . Retrieved 23 March 2019.