Serbian Australians ( sr, / ), are
citizens of
Australia who fully, or partially identify as
Serbian by birth or descent. In the 2021 census there were 94,997 people in Australia of Serbian ancestry, making it a significant group with the global
Serb diaspora
Serb diaspora ( sr, Српска дијаспора/Srpska dijaspora) refers to the diaspora communities of ethnic Serbs. It is not to be confused with the Serbian diaspora, which refers to migrants, regardless of ethnicity, from Serbia. Due to ...
.
History
During the time of
Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
a very small number of Serbs inhabited Australia. Despite a lack of accurate data it is assumed that ethnic Serbs deriving from
Lika,
Dalmatia and
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
did reside in largely
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...
communities throughout the Commonwealth, though exact numbers are unsubstantiated. The first significant, albeit small wave of Serbian migrants, comprising mostly former
POWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
, and
displaced persons
Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
fleeing
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
began arriving in Australia as
post-war immigrants. This initial wave also included members of the royalist
Chetnik movement fleeing political persecution by the
Communist regime of
Josip Broz Tito.
The easing of emigration restrictions by
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
generated a second, larger wave of predominantly
economic migration
An economic migrant is someone who emigrates from one region to another, including crossing international borders, seeking an improved standard of living, because the conditions or job opportunities in the migrant's own region are insufficient. Th ...
throughout the 1960s and 1970s. An agreement between Australia and Yugoslavia facilitated the recruitment of largely unskilled and semi-skilled immigrants, from predominantly rural backgrounds to work in Australia's
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...
and construction industries. The developing political and
economic issues in Yugoslavia during the 1980s, alongside its
disintegration,
ensuing wars,
economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they ma ...
, and
hyperinflation of the 1990s, resulted in the largest Serbian migration to Australia.
Classification issue
For many years Serbian Australians were classified "
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian and Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has b ...
" as flawed
Australian census data failed to recognise the diverse
ethnic groups
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
within the former Yugoslavia. Questions regarding ancestral heritage were not included in any Australian census until 1986. From 1971- 1991 Yugoslavian nationals ranked 4th largest in Australia's post-war migrant intake. Census data has established that Serbs ranked 3rd within the Yugoslav immigrant pool, behind declared
Croat
The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...
and
Macedonian ethnicities.
Demographics
Serbian Australians comprise 0.36% of Australia's population, with 69.67% residing in the states of
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 ...
and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
alone. Serbs reside mainly in state capitals and major metropolitan areas throughout Australia. The largest Serbian communities can be found predominantly in
Melbourne's western and south-eastern suburbs, and in
Sydney's south-eastern suburbs.
Ancestry
The
Australian Bureau of Statistics allows the provision of two ancestries in a multi-response question. In the 2016 census there were 73,901 people in Australia of Serbian descent, 0.31% of the total population. 67.06% of Serbian Australians declared full Serbian ancestry. Individuals identifying as Serbian in the first response comprised 11.84%, whilst 21.09% declared Serbian heritage in the second response.
Countries of origin
Religion
Serbian Australians predominantly belong to the
Serbian Orthodox Church of the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
faith, estimated at approximately 75%. This is due to a statistical discrepancy amongst Serb Australians affiliated within the "Christianity (defined and not defined)" category in the
2016 Australian census. The largest religious body of Serbian Orthodox Australians is the
Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand, located in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
,
Sydney.
17.4% of Serbian Australians declared "
No Religion/Not Stated", 5.7% "
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
" whilst 1.4% professed "other faith's".
Notable people
*
Alex Antic – Australian senator
*
Eli Babalj – Soccer player
*
Milan Blagojevic – Soccer player
*
Pedj Bojic – Soccer player
*
Nick Cotric - Rugby league player
*
Nik Cubrilovic
Nik Cubrilovic is an Australian former hacker and leading internet security blogger.
__NOTOC__
Personal life
Nik Cubrilovic ( sr, Čubrilović) is an ethnic Serb.
Work
In 2011 he successfully forced Facebook to address a privacy flaw whereby t ...
- Hacker and internet security expert.
*
Miloš Degenek
Miloš Degenek ( ; sr-Cyrl, Милош Дегенек, ; born 28 April 1994) is a professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Serbian club Red Star Belgrade. Born in Croatia, he represents the Australia national team. He is eligible ...
– Soccer player
*
Biljana Dekic – Chess player
*
Bobby Despotovski
Slobodan "Bobby" Despotovski (born 14 July 1971) is an Australian soccer player who played 12 seasons in the top tier of Australian soccer. He played in National Soccer League (NSL) for Heidelberg United and Morwell Falcons before moving to Pe ...
– Soccer player and coach
*
Bronko Djura - Cricket and Rugby league player
*
Dirty South – Musician
*
Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic ( sr, Јелена Докић, Jelena Dokić; ; born 12 April 1983) is an Australian tennis coach, commentator, writer, and former professional tennis player. Her highest ranking as a tennis player was world No. 4, in August 2002. ...
– Tennis player
*
Dragan Durdevic – Rugby league player
*
Ivan Ergić
Ivan Ergić ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Ергић, ; born 21 January 1981) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a midfielder.
Born in modern-day Croatia and raised in Australia, he began his career at Perth Glory and was briefly with Juventus ...
– Soccer player
*
Vedrana Grbović
Vedrana Grbović ( sr-Cyrl, Ведрана Грбовић) is a Serbian beauty pageant contestant and model who won the title of Miss Serbia in 2006 and represented her country in Miss World 2006. She graduated from the Curtin University of Techn ...
– Model
*
Dan Ilic
Dan Ilic (born 20 November 1981) is an Australian presenter, comedian and filmmaker. Ilic has been known for his parody work, including videos and ''Beaconsfield: The Musical'', which he wrote, and more recently for his work on the show '' Hungr ...
– Comedian
*
Luke Ivanovic – Soccer player
*
Milan Ivanović
Milan Ivanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Ивановић, ; born 21 December 1960 in Sivac, SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a former Serbian Australian football (soccer) player. He also played for Australian national team.
Club career
Iv ...
– Soccer player
*
Marko Jesic
Marko Jesic (born 7 August 1989 in Fairfield, New South Wales) is an Australian football player of Serbian descent who plays for Marconi Stallions FC.
Club career
Jesic grew up on the streets of Bossley Park in Sydney's south west and was pr ...
– Soccer player
*
Robert Jovicic – Immigration case
*
Sam Kekovich
Sam Kekovich (born 11 March 1950) is an Australian media personality, sports commentator, Australian 'Lambassador' and former Australian rules football player.
He is well known for his controversial behaviour, both on and off the field, and mo ...
– Australian Rules footballer & media personality
*
Ksenija Lukich – Model & TV presenter
*
Aleks Marić
Aleksandar "Aleks" Marić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар "Алекс“ Марић, born 22 October 1984) is an Australian-Serbian former professional basketball player. Marić gained a reputation as a winner over the course of his succ ...
– Basketball player
*
Steven Marković
Steven Marković (born 14 March 1985) is an Australian former professional basketball player.
Early life
Marković was born in the Sydney suburb of Liverpool to a Serbian father and an Italian mother.
Professional career
Marković was a develo ...
– Basketball player
*
Zdravko Micevic – Boxer
*
Katrina Milosevic
Katrina Milosevic (born 25 April 1976) is an Australian actress who has appeared in many television programs and theatre productions, including a starring role in the prison drama series ''Wentworth''.
Biography
Katrina Milosevic was born in ...
- Actress
*
Danny Milosevic – Soccer player
*
Nik Mrdja
Nikola "Nik" Mrdja (born 30 November 1978) is an Australian former soccer player, who played as a striker. Mrdja had a career spanning several National Soccer League (NSL) and A-League clubs from 1998 to 2011, as well as a brief spell in Swede ...
– Soccer player
*
Andrew Nikolic – Australian politician and former Australian Army Brigadier
*
Bojana Novakovic
Bojana Novakovic (, sr-Latn, Bojana Novaković) is a Serbian-Australian actress. She is best known for her role as Det. Lizzie Needham on the drama television series '' Instinct'' (2017–2018).
Novakovic's film roles include '' Drag Me to He ...
– Actress
*
Abdullah Numan – Mufti of Serbia
*
Tom Opacic - Rugby League player
*
Andreja Pejic – Model.
*
Vedrana Popovic – Soccer player
*
Monika Radulovic – Model
*
Rale Rašić – Soccer coach,
player and media personality
*
Nikola Roganovic – Soccer player
*
Tom Rogic – Soccer player
*
Siluan - Metropolitan of Australia and New Zealand
*
Karl Stefanovic
Karl Stefanovic ( sr-Cyrl, Карл Стефановић; born 12 August 1974), also spelt Karl Stefanović, is an Australian television presenter and journalist for the Nine Network.
Stefanovic is currently a co-host of the Nine Network's ...
– TV presenter & journalist
*
Peter Stefanovic – TV presenter & journalist
*
Daniel Subotic – Socialite
*
Aleksandar Šušnjar – Soccer player
*
Vuko Tomasevic
Vuko Tomašević (born 13 May 1980 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian footballer.
Biography
Tomasevic is best known for putting into the net one of the all-time great National Soccer League goals with the Northern Spirit ...
– Soccer player
*
Nick Cotric - Rugby league player
*
Jake Trbojevic – Rugby league player
*
Tom Trbojevic – Rugby league player
*
Doug Utjesenovic - Soccer player
*
Holly Valance
Holly Rachel Candy (; born 11 May 1983), known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian actress and singer. Valance began her acting career on the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', as Felicity Scully (1999–2002, 2005, 2022). ...
– Actress, singer and model
*
Olympia Valance – Model and actress
*
Dragan Vasiljković – Serbian paramilitary leader
*
Lazar Vidovic – Australian rules footballer
*
Tyla-Jay Vlajnic
Tyla-Jay Vlajnic ( sr-cyr, Таjла Џеj Влаjнић; born 6 November 1990) is an Australian-born Serbian footballer who plays for A-League Women club Western United and the Serbia women's national team. She previously played for Melbour ...
- Soccer player
*
Nick Vujicic
Nicholas James Vujicic ( ; born 4 December 1982) is an Australian American Christian evangelist and motivational speaker of Serbian descent, born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of arms and legs.
Ea ...
– Christian evangelist
*
Danny Vukovic – Soccer player
*
B. Wongar – Writer
*
Ursula Yovich – Actress and singer
*
Lew Zivanovic – Rugby league player
*
Alexandar Popovic – Soccer player
Sports
*
List of Serbian soccer clubs in Australia
See also
*
Australian-Serbian relations
*
European Australians
European Australians are citizens or residents of Australia whose ancestry originates from the peoples of Europe. They form the largest panethnic group in the country. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses categorised within E ...
*
Europeans in Oceania
European exploration and settlement of Oceania began in the 16th century, starting with the Spanish ( Castilian) landings and shipwrecks in the Mariana Islands, east of the Philippines. This was followed by the Portuguese landing and settling tem ...
*
Immigration to Australia
The Australian continent was first settled when ancestors of Indigenous Australians arrived via the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and New Guinea over 50,000 years ago.
European colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of a ...
*
Serbian New Zealanders
*
Serbian diaspora
Serbian diaspora refers to Serbian emigrant communities in the diaspora. The existence of a numerous diaspora of Serbian nationals is mainly a consequence of either economic or political (coercion or expulsion) reasons.
There were different wa ...
*
Serbian Americans
*
Serbian Canadians
The community of Serbian Canadians ( sr, Канадски Срби/Kanadski Srbi) includes Canadian citizens of Serb ethnicity, or people born in Serbia who permanently reside in Canada. Serbs (and Serbians) have migrated to Canada in various wa ...
Annotations
References
External links
Ancestry by Birthplace – Results of 2001 Australian census
{{Serbian diaspora
Serbian diaspora
Immigration to Australia
European Australian
Serb diaspora