Ukrainian Australians refers to
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
citizens of
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
descent, or
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
-born people who emigrated to
Australia. They are an ethnic minority in Australia, numbering about 38,000 people according to the 2011 Census. Currently, the main concentrations of Ukrainians are located in the cities of
Sydney and
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
History
![1964-Lidcombe Oval-general](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/1964-Lidcombe_Oval-general.png)
One of the first Ukrainian migrants to Australia was Mykhailo Hryb, who in the 1860s established a sheep farm.
A notable Ukrainian who visited Australia was
Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay
Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Миклу́хо-Макла́й; 1846 – 1888) was a Russian Imperial explorer. He worked as an ethnologist, anthropologist and biologist who became famous as one of ...
, an ethnographer and naturalist who came to Australia in 1878, and besides scientific and ethnographic studies, was responsible for the building of Australia's first biological field station at
Watsons Bay
Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. ...
in NSW.
Prior to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, up to 5,000 Ukrainians migrated to Australia,
with some settling in communities in Brisbane. However, the main body of Ukrainians
emigrated to Australia along with other nationalities in the post-World War II wave of refugees from
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
These refugees were called "
displaced person
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 ...
s" and started arriving in 1948
as part of the
International Refugee Organization
The International Refugee Organization (IRO) was an intergovernmental organization founded on 20 April 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. ...
resettlement agreement or on assisted passages
which included 2-year work contracts with the Australian Government. The 1947
Australian Census
The Census in Australia, officially the Census of Population and Housing, is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic data from all people in Australia on census nig ...
did not list Ukraine as a birthplace, though the 1954 Census recorded 14,757 as Ukraine-born.
The number of migrants from
Soviet Ukraine
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
was minimal, though there was a limited migration of Ukrainians from communities in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
.
In 1991 Ukraine gained independence, and over the next five years the Ukraine-born population increased for the first time in many decades, in Victoria from 2,937 in 1991 to 5,370 in 1996. Many of these new post-independence migrants were young professionals in the fields of science, mathematics and computer technology.
According to the 2011 Census, today there is an active Ukrainian community of about 38,000 people, with most of them living in Melbourne and Sydney. There are active Ukrainian communities and centres in Geelong, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra, with smaller centres in
Queanbeyan,
Hobart, Newcastle,
Moe,
Albury-Wodonga,
Northam and
Noble Park
Noble Park is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 25 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Noble Park recorded a population of 32,257 at the . ...
.
In March 2022, the Australian government granted temporary visas to approximately 5,000 Ukrainians fleeing the
Russian invasion of their country, In total, Australia has granted 8,500 visas to Ukrainian refugees since the war started.
Organisations
![Boyan and Tyravska](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Boyan_and_Tyravska.jpg)
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations is the umbrella organisation that represents the Ukrainian community in Australia. Each State has a number of Ukrainian community associations, or
hromadas. The Ukrainian Council of NSW represents the Ukrainian hromadas in
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 ...
.
The Ukrainian community in Australia was very active in the formation of a variety of cultural organisations, including choirs, folk dancing groups, and arts organisations like the "Ukrainian Artists Society of Australia".
As well, there are Australian versions of Ukrainian youth organisations such as
Plast
The Plast National Scout Organization of Ukraine ( uk, Пласт Національна Скаутська Організація України, ''Plast Natsionalna Skautska Orhanizatsiia Ukrayiny''), commonly called Ukrainian Plast or simply P ...
and the
Ukrainian Youth Association
The Ukrainian Youth Association ( uk, Спілка української молоді, transliterated as , known by the acronym , , pronounced "", and commonly rendered as CYM) is a youth organization in Ukraine, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, ...
.
In addition, an aged care facility exists, called Kalyna Care, catering to cultural and care requirements of elderly community members.
Notable people
*
Maurice Abraham Cohen, educator
*
Rachael Finch
Rachael Finch (born 8 July 1988) is an Australian TV host, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was awarded the 'People's Choice Award' for the 2006 Miss Teen Australia and finished as 3rd runner-up at Miss Universe 2009.
Career Modelli ...
, model
*
Taras Gomulka
Taras Jan Gomulka ( uk, Тарас Гомулка; born 16 September 2001) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a central midfielder for Brisbane Roar.
Club career Adelaide United
Gomulka made his A-League debut for Adelaide ...
, footballer
*
Alex Jesaulenko, Australian rules footballer
*
Michael Kmit
Michael Kmit ( uk, Михайло Кміт) (25 July 1910 in Stryi, Lviv – 22 May 1981 in Sydney, Australia) was a Ukrainian painter who spent twenty-five years in Australia. He is notable for introducing a neo-Byzantine style of painting ...
, painter
*
Harry Messel, educator
*
Dmytro Nytczenko, writer
*
Bohdan Nyskohus, footballer
*
Jared Petrenko, Australian rules footballer
*
Nikita Rukavytsya
Nikita Vadymovych Rukavytsya ( ; uk, Микита Вадимович Рукавиця, translit=Mykyta Vadymovych Rukavytsya; born 22 June 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa. Born in Ukrai ...
, footballer
*
Elen Levon
Elen Levon (born 13 July 1994, in Ukraine) is a Ukrainian- Australian singer, actress and dancer.
Early life
Elen Levon was born on 13 July 1994 in Ukraine and moved to Sydney, Australia with her family shortly after she was born. She started ...
, singer
*
Matthew Guy
Matthew Jason Guy (born 6 March 1974) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia Member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006, representing Northern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council (2006–2014) ...
, Victorian Liberal MP
*
Katia Tiutiunnik
Katia Tiutiunnik (born 19 March 1967 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian composer, scholar and violist. She is of Russian, Ukrainian and Irish descent.
Education
Katia Tiutiunnik's high school education was completed at Our Lady of Mercy Col ...
, Composer
See also
*
Australia–Ukraine 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 ...
*
Ukrainian New Zealanders
*
Ukrainian diaspora
The Ukrainian diaspora comprises Ukrainians and their descendants who live outside Ukraine around the world, especially those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Uk ...
*
Belarusian Australians
*
Polish Australians
References
External links
*
*
ozeukes.com— Ukrainian community in Australia
{{Portal bar, Australia, Ukraine
Immigration to Australia
European Australian
Ukrainian diaspora in Australia