Assyrian Australians ( syr, ܐܵܬܘܿܪ̈ܵܝܹܐ ܕܐܘܼܣܛܪܵܠܝܼܵܐ), refers to ethnic
Assyrians possessing Australian nationality. They
are descended from the Northern Mesopotamian region, specifically the
Assyrian homeland. Today, their homeland is a part of North
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, Southeast
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
, Northwest
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and Northeast
Syria.
According to the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
, 40,218 persons are Assyrian, 21,166 identified themselves as having
Chaldean ancestry. The majority of Assyrian Australians have immigrated from
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, Iran,
Syria,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...
.
Of the 61,400 Assyrians in Australia, 40,218 are members of the
Assyrian Church of the East or
Ancient Church of the East
The Ancient Church of the East is an Eastern Christian denomination. It branched from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, under the leadership of Mar Thoma Darmo (d. 1969). It is one of three Assyrian Churches that claim continuity with t ...
and 21,172 are members of the
Chaldean Catholic Church. The
City of Fairfield
The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the cou ...
, in Sydney, has the most Assyrians in Australia, with 75% of Assyrians living in that area. 95% of
Fairfield's Iraqi-born population are of Assyrian ancestry. Fairfield LGA also has one of the most predominant Assyrian communities in the
diaspora, where one in every ten person would be Assyrian. Moreover, in contrast to other migrants, Assyrians have the highest rate of acquiring the
Australian citizenship
Australian nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds Australian legal nationality. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Australian Citizenship Act 2007, which Coming into force, came into force on 1 July ...
.
In the 1980s, the
Iraq-Iran war resulting in significant numbers of Assyrians fleeing Iraq and applying for
refugee status
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. . In the early 2000s, 5% of Australia's
humanitarian immigrants identified as being adherents of
Syriac churches. In May 2013, the
Assyrian genocide
The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...
was recognised by the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
state parliament.
Assyrian-Australians have established various clubs,
social organisation, churches and
language school
A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, for example, communicative competence in a foreign language. Language learning in such schools typically supplements fo ...
s. Representing only 0.13% of
Australia's overall population, Assyrians are considered to be a
successful minority group.
History
Early immigration (1950s–1970s)
The first Assyrians arrived in Australia in the 1950s, to flee from the
1958 revolution in Iraq. By 1965, there were around five Assyrian families and a few individuals living in the Sydney suburbs of
Randwick. Although around 80% of the arrivals lived in the suburbs of Fairfield
LGA in
Greater Western Sydney, some Assyrians settled in the
eastern suburbs, a region on Sydney's coast. During that period 4,500 Assyrians came from Iraq, 2,500 from Iran and 1,000 from Syria and
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
. According to Dinkha Warda, Fairfield was the most popular settlement among Assyrians for reason as follows:
Back in 1966, a small meeting was held between the early settlers to decide the future of Assyrians in this country...In 1966, Fairfield's developed area went west up to the Cumberland Highway
The Cumberland Highway is a long urban highway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The highway links the Pacific Highway (A1/B83) and Pacific Motorway ( M1) at Pearces Corner, Wahroonga in the northeast with the Hume Highway (A22/ ...
. The majority of those attending the meeting agreed to establish the Assyrian community in Fairfield. The reason was to centralise the development of all the Assyrian social, religious and sporting activities, allowing greater access and participation. If we remained in the Sydney city area, we would have scattered. And so, four or five families purchased fibro houses in Fairfield (including myself), and a few bought blocks of land.
In 1969, following the settlement of Assyrians in the Fairfield area, the ''Assyrian Australian Association (AAA)'' was formed. The significance of the ''AAA'' is based primarily on the fact that it was the first registered Assyrian organisation in Australia. Prior to ''AAA'', there had existed an unofficial club called the ''Assyrian Australian Club'' which was established in 1966 and initially based for the Assyrians residing in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney prior to the move to the Fairfield area. The ''Assyrian Australian Club'' was replaced with the Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club in 1972, the second official Assyrian secular organisation to be registered in NSW after the ''AAA''. After a brief period of inactivity, the ''Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club'' was relocated to the Fairfield area after many Assyrians moved during the housing boom in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, where it has remained active since. In the 1970s, a few soccer clubs were established as the Assyrian community began to have a prominence. An Assyrian
language school
A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, for example, communicative competence in a foreign language. Language learning in such schools typically supplements fo ...
was formed in 1974, thanks to the AAA.
Community growth (1980s–2000s)
In 1980, ''Nineveh Club'', a prominent Assyrian club in Edensor Park, Sydney, was established. Built with artificial
mud brick
A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also been f ...
, the club was
designed after Assyrian royal palace in
Nineveh. The entryway features two
winged bull statues containing the body of a lion, the head of an
Assyrian king
The king of Assyria (Akkadian: ''Išši'ak Aššur'', later ''šar māt Aššur'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria, which was founded in the late 21st century BC and fell in the late 7th century BC. For much of its ear ...
and wings of an eagle. In the late 1980s, the
Church of the East was controversially split – The Church of the East in Australia from that time on now has two denominations; The 'old' (Ancient Church of the East) and the 'new' (Assyrian Church of the East).
As the Assyrian community grew in the late 1980s, the ''Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club'' leased its premises from 1990 onwards, in Fairfield Heights, Sydney and acquired liquor and
gaming license
A gaming control board (GCB), also called by various names including gambling control board, casino control board, gambling board, and gaming commission, is a government agency charged with regulating casino and other types of gaming in a defined ...
s. The club later purchased its current building in 1997, and it was officially opened in 2000. Currently, it is the only Assyrian club in operation after the closure of the ''Nineveh Club'' in 2008. The club co-hosted sports events such as ''The Assyrian Cup'' soccer tournaments and held functions and activities for the community. It has also supported migrants, who arrived in the 1990s, settle in the country and it encouraged education by aiding achievers in the
high school certificate. During the late 1990s, there was an increased level of Assyrian
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
to Australia under the
family reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family congregate. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year.
A typical family reunion will assemble for a meal, some recreation and discussi ...
,
refugee and humanitarian programs. Reportedly, around 903 Assyrian arrivals were allowed under the ''
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...
's Special Humanitarian Program'' and the ''Family Reunion Program''.
In 1997, it was reported that, for the Assyrian youth, lack of English skills was the major impediment for gaining employment, school achievement and becoming socially manoeuvrable in the Australian society. For instance, some
Fairfield High School Assyrians wanted to go to university but felt hopeless because of their poor English. As such, several Assyrian churches developed a number of
youth program
Youth programs are particular activities designed to involve people between the ages of 10 and 25. Activities included are generally oriented towards youth development through recreation, social life, prevention, intervention, or education. During ...
s. For Assyrians with a higher education, the problem was also language and unacceptability of overseas qualifications, which prevented them from pursuing their careers.
The opening of ''St Hurmizd Assyrian Primary School'' in 2002, in Sydney, was the first school from the
ACOE that was established in the international diaspora. In 2006, also in Sydney, ''St. Narsai Assyrian Christian College'' was established. It was the first
ACOE high school to be built in the western world.
Post-Iraqi war (2010s–present)
In August 2010, a memorial monument for the
Assyrian genocide
The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...
was erected in
Bonnyrigg. The statue, being 4.5 meters tall, is designed as a hand of a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
draped in an
Assyrian flag
The Assyrian flag ( syr, ܐܬܐ ܐܬܘܪܝܬܐ or ) is the flag widely used to represent the Assyrian nation in the homeland and in the diaspora.
Its two components, the star of Utu/Shamash, which was a symbol for the god Shamash, and whic ...
. The memorial is placed in a reserve to be named the ''Garden of Nineveh''. The statue and the name for the reserve were proposed in August 2009. After consultation with the community, Fairfield Council received more than 100 submissions, including some from overseas, and two
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...
s. The proposal was condemned by the
Turkish community. Turkey's consul general to Sydney expressed resentment about the monument, while acknowledging that tragedies had occurred to Assyrians in the period as well as
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
.
In August 2014, more than 6,000 Assyrians marched in
Belmore Park
Belmore Park is a public park at the southern end of the Sydney central business district in the Australian state of New South Wales. Adjacent to the Central railway station, the park is bounded by Hay Street, Eddy Avenue, Elizabeth Stree ...
in
Sydney CBD to protest against the treatment of their Assyrian counterparts in Iraq and Syria by
ISIL
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
. Many wore T-shirts reading the
hashtag ''#WeAreN'', and chanted "we want peace, we want justice" and "save our Christians". They also waved posters, which read "stop genocide against our Christians" and "Stop crimes against humanity". They marched in
Elizabeth Street, through the city to
Martin Place
Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney. . Assyrian Community leaders made passionate speeches soliciting the Australian and other international governments to help those being persecuted in the Middle East.
In 2015, the
Abbott government announced that 12,000 extra humanitarian visas would be given to
persecuted groups in the
war-torn Middle Eastern countries. The Department of Social Services confirmed that 11,400 Iraqi and Syrian refugees (many of whom being Assyrian) were admitted to Australia as part of its one-off humanitarian intake, where they would primarily settle in Fairfield and Liverpool. The Assyrians told
SBS World News
''SBS World News'' is the news service of the Special Broadcasting Service in Australia. Its flagship nightly bulletin is broadcast at on SBS with additional weeknight 'late' bulletins from on SBS. ''SBS News'' is the name of the news app ...
they were in an unswerving state of despair, as they hoped more and more of their kin from the Middle East were brought to the country. Carmen Lazar, manager of the Assyrian Resource Centre, said, "If they can just lend another hand, you know, give us another 12,000 intake, just to release that pressure from what's happening overseas".
Demographics
Distribution
Sydney
In Sydney, Assyrians are the
leading ethnic group in the Fairfield LGA suburbs of
Fairfield,
Fairfield Heights and
Greenfield Park. Ample amount of Assyrians exist in other suburbs in the Fairfield LGA, such as,
Bossley Park
Bossley Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bossley Park is located 36 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. Bossley Park is part of the ...
,
Prairiewood
Prairiewood is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.
Pra ...
,
Wakeley,
Wetherill Park
Wetherill Park is a suburb in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wetherill Park is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Fairfield.
...
,
Abbotsbury
Abbotsbury is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. The settlement is in the unitary authority of Dorset about inland from the English Channel coast. The village, including Chesil Beach, the swannery and subtropic ...
,
Smithfield,
Fairfield West,
Bonnyrigg Heights,
Horsley Park
Horsley Park is a suburb of Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and e ...
and
Cecil Park.
In
City of Liverpool, a LGA that borders Fairfield City, they're found in
Cecil Hills,
Green Valley,
Hoxton Park
Hoxton Park is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hoxton Park is located 38 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool and is part of the Greater We ...
,
Hinchinbrook and
Middleton Grange. In the southern and eastern suburbs, they're mainly found in
Hillsdale,
Matraville, as well as
Maroubra.
Sydney's
local government areas
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory.
The phrase i ...
with the most Assyrians, population and percentage-wise:
Greater Fairfield is home to over 20,000 Assyrians.
*Fairfield City: 13,437 (5.7%)
*Liverpool City: 2,451 (1.3%)
*
Bayside Council
Bayside Council is a local government in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Sydney, around part of Botany Bay, to south of the CBD. It includes suburbs of South Sydney and the St George area separated by the Cooks River. It compris ...
: 635 (1.22%)
*
Blacktown City
Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blackt ...
: 459 (0.15%)
*
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...
: 202 (0.11%)
Melbourne
In Melbourne, Assyrians tend to be found in the northwest region, in the suburbs of
Broadmeadows
Broadmeadows is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Broadmeadows recorded a population of 12,524 at the 2021 census.
Broadmeadow ...
,
Craigieburn,
Meadow Heights,
Roxburgh Park and
Fawkner
Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Fawkner recorded a population of 14,274 at the 2021 census.
The ma ...
. According to the 2016 census, Melbourne had around 13,000 citizens who claimed Assyrian ancestry.
The population of Assyrians in the suburbs of Melbourne (2016 census):
*
Roxburgh Park – 3,281
*
Craigieburn – 2,573
*
Meadow Heights – 1,334
*
Greenvale – 571
*
Coolaroo
Coolaroo is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Coolaroo recorded a population of 3,193 at the 2021 census.
History
Coolaroo is th ...
– 337
*
Gladstone Park, Victoria – 199
Brisbane
In Brisbane, small Assyrian (and Iraqi Christian) communities are slowly growing around the
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
area such as
Bracken Ridge and
Strathpine including in
Logan City
Logan City is a local government area situated within the south of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and the City of Gold Coast to the south, the City als ...
such as
Woodridge and
Loganlea due to the recent Syrian and Iraqi refugees coming into Australia.
According to the 2016 census, they are 311 Assyrians living in Brisbane which has almost doubled from the 2011 census. 407 Iraqis according to the 2016 census in Brisbane identified as Christian.
General statistics
In the 1996 census, there were 9571 people who spoke Assyrian in the state of NSW, and 2191 in Victoria. 60% of these Assyrians were born in Iraq, 21% in Australia and 13% in Iran. Also in that time, 54% belong to the
Assyrian Church of the East, 27% belonged to the
Chaldean Catholic Church and 7% to the
Orthodox church
Orthodox Church may refer to:
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Oriental Orthodox Churches
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* State church of the Roman Empire
* True Orthodox church
See also
* Orthodox (di ...
. In the
2001 census, 9,520 Fairfield LGA residents stated they were of Assyrian ancestry and 8,879 residents stated they spoke
Assyrian at home. The Assyrian-speakers living in
NSW were 13,241 at that time. In the 2011 Census, Sydney had 21,678 people of Assyrian descent, and Melbourne had 8,057. Assyrians are the third largest language-group residing in the
Fairfield area behind the Arabic and
Vietnamese-speakers, respectively.
According to the 2001 census, 29% of Assyrian migrants in Fairfield were usually made up of large families with five members or more. 13- to 24-year-olds made up 18% of the migrating population and 25–54 years were at 57%. 25% of them did not speak English well. 43% of the Assyrians in the Fairfield LGA owned their home, and they generally worked in manufacturing (39%), trade, accommodation,
hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes ...
and
transport industries (31%).
Whilst the new arrivals are settling in Fairfield CBD and Fairfield Heights, the pre-mid-1990s arrivals have purchased and/or rented houses in the more affluent suburbs of Fairfield City, such as, Bossley Park, Wetherill Park and Greenfield Park, which are around west from Fairfield CBD. Furthermore, some of the recently arrived Assyrian children have had
psychological trauma for the experiences in their countries of origin, which encroached their settlement in Australia.
Culture
Sydney has seven prominent Assyrian
church buildings; St Mary's Church in Smithfield (established in 1975), St Thomas Church in Bossley Park, St Mary's Assumption Church in Fairfield, St Hurmiz Cathedral in Greenfield Park, St Malkeh Church in Greenacre, and St Zaia Cathedral in Middleton Grange.
In Melbourne, the churches are Our Lady Guardian of Plants Chaldean Catholic Church in
Campbellfield, Victoria
Campbellfield is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Hume local government area. Campbellfield recorded a population of 4,977 at the 2021 census.
History
Ca ...
, St. George's Church of the East in
Reservoir, Victoria, Holy Spirit Syriac Catholic Church in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and St Aphrem Syrian Orthodox Church, which also is in
Reservoir, Victoria.
Assyrians, depending on the village/town they belong to commemorate their specific patron saints and celebrate it usually with their families at picnics or halls. For example, the Assyrians from
Batnaya
Batnaya ( ar, باطنايا, syr, ܒܛܢܝܐ) is a village in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. It is located in the Tel Kaif District in the Nineveh Plains.
In the village, there are Chaldean Catholic churches of Mar Quriaqos and Mart Maryam. Th ...
commemorate Mar Oraha. The feast of Mar Oraha is partaken in an annual prayer and celebration. Celebrations include traditional Assyrian dancing with singers, food and people wearing traditional Assyrian clothing from Batnaya.
Assyrians from the town of
Alqosh
Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
commemorate Saint Hurmizd, a monk that established his monastery in Alqosh .
Alqosh
Alqosh ( syr, ܐܲܠܩܘܿܫ, Judeo-Aramaic: אלקוש, ar, ألقوش, alternatively spelled Alkosh or Alqush) is a town in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq, a sub-district of the Tel Kaif District and is situated 45 km north of the ...
naye celebrate the Feast of Saint Hurmizd, known as 'Shara'd Rabban Hurmizd' around the world. This event is celebrated through picnics or halls, like many other Shereh (Feasts). People from Alqosh, like many other Assyrian towns/villages wear their traditional clothing at these events which commemorate their patron saints and celebrate the history of their towns.
Some ACOE adherents in Sydney annually commemorate
Saint Zaia (''Shara 'D Mar Zaia'') at ''Blaxland Crossing Reserve'' in the suburb of
Wallacia on September. Hundreds attend the occasion, including
Assyrian singers who perform for the event. Visitors would generally
picnic,
barbecue or relax in the
Australian bush
"The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with ''wikt:backwoods, backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora containe ...
, and they would usually participate in
Assyrian folk dance
Assyrian folk dances are sets of dances that are performed throughout the world by Assyrians, mostly on occasions such as weddings, community parties and other jubilant events.
Assyrian folk dances are mainly made up of circle dances like ball ...
. This is the second largest Assyrian social gathering in Sydney after the New Year celebration in Fairfield Showground.
Both ''Nineveh Club'' and ''Assyrian Sports and Cultural Club'' support and showcase local Assyrian talents, such as singers, actors, musicians, painters and sculptors. The clubs contain
reception halls and they usually host singer concerts (including
lounge singer
Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...
s), festive parties, weddings,
theatrical plays and other forms of social entertainment for the Assyrians in Sydney.
The Assyrians in Sydney lavishly celebrate the
Assyrian New Year
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyria ...
annually on 1 April, in ''Fairfield Showground'' in Prairiewood. Thousands attend the New Year festival and it usually features music and theatrical performances,
traditional dancers, food stalls and
fireworks
Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...
.
Former Australian prime minister
Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Abbott was born in Londo ...
and other politicians such as
Chris Bowen
Christopher Eyles Guy Bowen (born 17 January 1973) is an Australian politician who has been Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese government since June 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was first ele ...
,
Craig Kelly
Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian politician, who represented the Division of Hughes as a Liberal Party and later United Australia Party MP from 2010 to his defeat at the 2022 Australian federal election.
Kelly initially ...
,
Tanya Plibersek
Tanya Joan Plibersek (born 2 December 1969) is an Australian politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Labor Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. She has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sydney since 1998 ...
,
Chris Hayes
Christopher Loffredo Hayes (; born February 28, 1979) is an American political commentator, television news anchor, activist, and author. Hayes hosts '' All In with Chris Hayes'', a weekday news and opinion television show on MSNBC. Hayes also ...
and former
NSW premier Bob Carr
Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...
have attended the festival and made a speech.
Fairfield's large Assyrian community has had the media describe the suburb as 'Little Iraq' or 'Little Assyria'. Assyrian businesses have opened in Fairfield, mostly in Ware Street and Smart Street, and in Fairfield Heights in The Boulevarde. These businesses include everything from jewellery shops to restaurants and
convenient stores, making the area favourite entertainment and shopping hot spot for the Assyrian community.
Church split controversy
In 1989, there was a major church split in the ''
Church of the East'' in Fairfield, which shook and divided the community. The notorious event resulted in
legal proceeding
Legal proceeding is an activity that seeks to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. Although the term may be defined more broadly or more narrowly as circumstances require, it has been noted that " e term ''legal proceedings'' i ...
s over
property right
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically ...
s and it even received national
media coverage
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...
. After the
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...
ruled in favour of bishop
Mar Meelis Zaia, the
Assyrian Church of the East diocese of Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, to take ownership of St Mary's Church, Assyrians of the
Ancient Church of the East
The Ancient Church of the East is an Eastern Christian denomination. It branched from the Assyrian Church of the East in 1964, under the leadership of Mar Thoma Darmo (d. 1969). It is one of three Assyrian Churches that claim continuity with t ...
sect protested since they found the court's ruling highly objectionable and unjust, as their sect claimed the St Mary's Church beforehand. A few of them eventually got involved in a frantic
brawl outside the courthouse with those part of the Assyrian Church of the East sect.
Richard Carleton
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
from
60 minutes covered the story in a studio that contained around 200 Assyrians who opposed the bishop. Carleton belligerently faced the few men who were involved in the brawl and asked if they were
apologetic
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
about their actions, which the men stated they were merely acting in "
self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...
" and "fighting for
their rights" (as the court neglected their perspective). The Bishop described the actions of his raucous opponents as "primitive". Author and journalist David Leser criticised the 60 Minutes portrayal of Assyrians in his book ''The Whites of Their Eyes'', saying, "12 minutes of
prime-time baiting of a community that had been law-abiding and peaceful prior to and subsequent to that event.
There was no one millisecond devoted to explaining the intricacies of the dispute".
Sport
Assyrian Australians, like many other Assyrians from around the world, are mainly fond of soccer, and have established various football clubs in Australia. ''Fairfield Bulls Soccer Club'', based in Sydney, is the most prominent soccer club in the country. It was established in 1971 and it has involved hundreds of children and teenagers in different age teams. Legislated by
Football NSW
Football NSW is the governing body for soccer in the Australian state of New South Wales, with the exception of the northern regions of NSW (the governing body for which is Northern New South Wales Football). Football NSW is a member of the nati ...
,
Fairfield Bulls
Fairfield Bulls Football Club is an Australian amateur (formerly semi-professional until 2012) football club based in Fairfield, New South Wales. The club is currently playing in the Southern Districts Football Association. Fairfield Bulls have ...
became a standalone club in 2005. The Soccer Club was linked with ''Nineveh Sports and Community Club''. Another conspicuous Assyrian soccer club in Sydney, established in the early 1970s, is the ''Nineveh Eagles''. In Melbourne, two Assyrian soccer teams exist, being; Moreland United FC and Upfield FC. Many
Assyrian people cheer for their teams, local and international. The teams include the
Assyriska FF
Assyriska Fotbollsföreningen, also known simply as Assyriska FF, is a Swedish football club based in Södertälje, Stockholm County. The club, formed in 1974 by Assyrian immigrants, has advanced through the league system and is currently play ...
, as well as the Iraqi, Syrian and Iranian national teams. Sydney's Assyrian community assembled in Fairfield to celebrate Iraq qualifying for the
Asian Football Cup finals in 2007. More than 7000 people, including
Iraqi Arabs, joined in street celebrations around Fairfield on Sunday 29 July 2007 after Iraq won the Asian Cup finals.
Media
Most Assyrian-Australian media is aired on the
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
. Assyrian radio has a variety of themes and topics which consist mainly of
Assyrian music and interviews with prominent Assyrian individuals, and politics, current events, weather, sport and history. These subjects are usually affiliated with Assyrian people, their culture and homeland. In the late 90s through to 2004,
channel 31, a
community channel, broadcast in Assyrian one to three hours a week.
Radio
*''
SBS Radio
SBS Radio is an Australian radio network owned by the Special Broadcasting Service directed towards newly arrived immigrants in Australia. SBS Radio originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded ...
'', which airs in Sydney and Melbourne, broadcasts in the Assyrian language every Saturday and Tuesday evenings from 8 pm to 9 pm.
*''
2000FM'', a
Sydney radio station, airs in the Assyrian language every Monday mornings for three hours, on the frequency of
98.5 FM
The following radio stations broadcast on FM frequency 98.5 MHz:
Argentina
* 985 radio in Punta Alta, Buenos Aires
* Cielo in San Bernardo, Buenos Aires
* Meridiano in Coronel Charlone, Córdoba
* Momentos in Grutly, Santa Fe
* Orfeo in C ...
.
*''
2GLF
2GLF is a Community radio station located in Liverpool, a suburb of Sydney. It is on 89.3 FM and caters to the communities of Liverpool and Fairfield LGA's.
Etymology
''GLF'' is an acronym which is the first letter of the two cities and commun ...
'', a
community radio station
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...
in Sydney's suburb of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
, on the frequency of
89.3 FM, broadcasts a number of Assyrian shows. ''Nohadra Radio'', established in 1998, is the most prominent Assyrian radio show on the station, which airs Sunday nights from 8 pm to 10 pm.
Assyrian Australians
*
Emil Shimoun Nona – Current bishop of the
Chaldean Catholic Church in Australia & New Zealand.
*
Mar Mari Emmanuel
Mari Emmanuel (born 19 July 1970) is an Iraqi-born Assyrian Australian Metropolitan bishop of the Ancient Assyrian Church of the East who presides over the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand.
Early life
Mar Mari Emmanuel was born Robert Sh ...
– Metropolitan bishop of the
Ancient Assyrian Church of the East who presides over the Diocese of Australia and New Zealand.
*
Sham Khamis – Plays for
Canberra United FC
Canberra United Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the southern Canberra suburb of Wanniassa, Australian Capital Territory. Founded in 2008 by Capital Football, the club was an inaugural member of the W-League and ...
in the Australian W-League.
*
Ninos Khoshaba – Politician and is a former member of Parliament of New South Wales.
*
Cindy Sargon
Cindy Sargon is an Australian chef, entrepreneur, television presenter and voice over artist.
Career Television
Sargon was a co-presenter on the third and fourth seasons of ''Surprise Chef'', and has hosted '' Melbourne Woman'', – TV chef and business woman.
*
Meelis Zaia – Assyrian Church of the East's
metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
Originally, the term referred to the ...
of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon.
*
Andrew Rohan – A politician, who was a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
representing
Smithfield for the
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...
from 2011 to 2015.
*
Leena Khamis – Plays for
Sydney FC in the Australian W-League and the
Matildas.
*
Mario Shabow – Plays for
Central Coast Mariners FC in the
A-League.
*
Sue Ismiel – Founder and owner of
Nad's.
*
Michael Denkha - Actor known for films such as
The Combination
The Combination was a league during the early days of English football. It had two incarnations; the first ran only for the 1888–89 season for teams across the Northern England and the Midlands, and was wound up before completion. The secon ...
and popular Australian TV show
Here Come the Habibs
''Here Come the Habibs'' is an Australian television comedy series produced by Jungle Entertainment. A sitcom featuring a Lebanese Australian family who win the lottery and move to the posh eastern suburbs of Sydney, the show premiered on th ...
*Anwar Khoshaba – Former Mayor of
Fairfield.
*Robin Zirwanda – Singer most known from his Assyrian Latin dance band
Azadoota
*Ashur Shimon - Australian comedian, TV personality and lead role on
Fat Pizza
*Joseph Haweil - Mayor of Hume city Melbourne
See also
*
Iraqi Australians
*
Mandaean Australians
Mandaean Australians are Australians of Mandaean descent or Mandaeans who have Australian citizenship.
Australia has the second-highest Mandaean population in the world, after Sweden.
Sydney metropolitan area
The Sydney metropolitan area in ...
*
Lebanese Australians
, langs = Australian English, Lebanese Arabic, Standard Arabic, French, Armenian
, rels = Majority: Christian: Maronite Catholic, Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Protestant (55%),
Minority: Islam: Shia Islam, Sunni Islam, Alawite (37%), Jewis ...
*
Syrian Australians
*
Greek Australians
*
Jewish Australians
*
Armenian Australians
Armenian Australians refers to Australians of Armenian national background or descent. They have become one of the key Armenian diasporas around the world and among the largest in the English-speaking world.
While the Armenian community in Aust ...
*
Iranian Australians
*
Israeli Australians
*
Australian Jews
Australian Jews, or Jewish Australians, ( he, יהודים אוסטרלים, translit=yehudim ostralim) are Jews who are Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia. In the 2016 census, there were 21,175 Australians who identifi ...
References
External links
Assyrian Churches in AustraliaNohadra RadioSt. Narsai Assyrian CollegeSt Hurmizd Assyrian Primary SchoolAshurSatFairfield Bulls Soccer ClubTony Abbott – Prime Minister of Australia speaks at Assyrian New Year 2015Assyrian Radio Schedule, 2GLFSt Thomas The Apostle Chaldean and Assyrian Catholic Diocese of Australia and New ZealandSt Zaia Cathedral, Sydney
{{Ethnic groups in Australia
Assyrian ethnic groups
Immigration to Australia
Assyrian diaspora