Zimbabwean Australians are Australian citizens who are fully or partially of Zimbabwean descent or

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

-born people who reside in Australia. They include migrants to Australia of people from

( Rhodesia or

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

until 1980), as well as their descendants. Today, there are over 65,000 Zimbabwean Australians, with significant growth since 2000, coinciding with the sociopolitical crisis there. Australia's Zimbabwean community is now well established, with some of the highest incomes in the country, as well as with community institutions such as Zimbabwean language schools.

Background

Much like South Africans, Zimbabweans began immigrating to Australia in the late 1970s, in modest numbers of mostly white Zimbabweans until the late nineties. Since 2000, the volume of migration has increased and diversified significantly, with a mix of professionals, investors, students and recent graduates choosing to move to Australia. Compared to their contemporaries in South Africa, the Zimbabwean community in Australia is highly educated and firmly within the middle class. The vast majority are skilled and educated, with 74.5% of the Zimbabwe-born aged 15 years and over possessing higher non-school qualifications, compared to 55.9% of the Australian population. Some Zimbabweans had originally moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

or the UK, but decided to settle in Australia instead.

Economic Profile

Zimbabweans form a significant community in Australia with their numbers having grown to over 34,787 Zimbabwe-born as of 2018. When including their Australian and foreign born members, the government estimates at least 80,000 people being equally divided between black and white Zimbabweanshttps://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/mca/files/2016-cis-zimbabwe.PDF The community is now well established, with some of the highest incomes in the country, as well as with community institutions such as Zimbabwean language schools. One in three of Australia's Shona and Ndebele-speakers live in Sydney with other concentrations of Zimbabweans in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

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 ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. Indeed, some 78 per cent of Zimbabwean Aussie adults hold a tertiary degree, making them the best educated group in the country Along with their fellow South African immigrants, the Zimbabwean Australian community has become something of an invisible

model minority A model minority is a minority demographic (whether based on ethnicity, race or religion) whose members are perceived as achieving a higher degree of socioeconomic success than the population average, thus serving as a reference group to outgro ...

in Australia, in part because they are represented as having a high degree of integration within the Australian society as well as economic and academic success.https://samponline.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/brief30.pdf Furthermore, Zimbabweans in Australia on average have a high level of education attainment, as well as higher than average incomes, which can be partially attributed to Zimbabwe's high education rates as well as the growing popularity of Australian universities as an affordable alternative for foreign students. Unlike their counterparts from Asia, they have not formed distinct enclaves within the major cities of Australia and the degree of assimilation is higher than most recent migrants to Australia, due to better cultural, historical, and linguistic similarities with Australia. Despite this, the community is still strongly attached to its homeland while being increasing integrated into Australian society, with many travelling back and forth.

Population distribution

Australia's Zimbabwean population is biggest in Sydney. Historically,

was a popular first stop for recent migrants, thanks to its relative proximity to

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

and its already established South African Australian population, but increasingly modern immigrants are drawn to Sydney and

although a large proportion of Zimbabweans in Australia still reside in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Many

white Zimbabweans White Zimbabweans are people in Zimbabwe who are of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, these Zimbabweans of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers and a small minority ...

have settled in Queensland, whereas people of indigenous

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people * Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today Shona may also refer to: * ''Shona'' (album), 1994 album by New Zealand singer Shona Laing * Shona (given name) * S ...

and Ndebele ethnicities commonly settle in Sydney or Melbourne.

Language

New South Wales

Australians who speak a language indigenous to Zimbabwe at home are most numerous in Sydney. One in three of Australia's Ndebele-speakers and one in three of Australia's Shona-speakers live in Sydney.

Victoria

English, Shona and Afrikaans are the main languages Zimbabwean Australians in Victoria speak at home. 53% of Zimbabwean Australians in Victoria speak English, while 36% speak Shona and 1% speak Afrikaans.

Notable Zimbabwean Australians

* Rob Adams - architect * Greg Aplin - former television manager and politician 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 ...

* Scott Brant *

Hilton Cartwright Hilton William Raymond Cartwright (born 14 February 1992) is a Zimbabwean born Australian international cricketer who plays for Western Australia and the Melbourne Stars. He is a right-handed all-rounder. Cartwright made his Test debut for the ...

- cricket player for Western Australia and the

Australian national cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

* Rick Cosnett - actor * Chris Ellison - lawyer and former Senator for Western Australia *

Jerome Farah Jerome Farah, is an Australian rapper. Farah co-wrote and co-produced "Waiting" with Kian before releasing his debut single in 2020. Early life Jerome Farah is the son of a Lebanese father and a Zimbabwean mother and grew up in suburban Melbou ...

- musician *

George Gregan George Musarurwa Gregan AM (born 19 April 1973) is a retired Australian rugby union player, and is currently Australia's most capped international player. Gregan was born in Lusaka, Zambia. He played Super 12 (now Super Rugby) for the Brumbies ...

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

winner and former captain of Australia *

Kyle Godwin Kyle Godwin (born 30 July 1992) is a Zimbabwean born Australian rugby union footballer. His regular playing position is centre. He currently represents Western Force in Super Rugby AU. Godwin was part of the Australia under 20 team that com ...

- rugby player for the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. F ...

* Murray Goodwin - cricketer for Zimbabwe and Western Australia * Elizabeth Haran - novelist * Panashe Madanha - professional football player for

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League Men under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was founded in 2003 to fil ...

Tkay Maidza Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza ( ; born 17 December 1995) is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper. Biography Maidza was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her parents are metallurgists. In 2001, her family moved to Australi ...

- singer-songwriter *

Solomon Mire Solomon Farai Mire (born 21 August 1989) is a Zimbabwean former cricketer who represented the Zimbabwe cricket team at international level in Tests, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) before announcing his retire ...

Big Bash The Big Bash League (known as the KFC Big Bash League for sponsorship reasons, often abbreviated to BBL or Big Bash) is an Australian professional club Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia. The Big Bash L ...

and retired Zimbabwean cricketer * Audius Mtawarira - singer and record producer * Andrew Murray - former Senator for the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Austral ...

Janine Murray Janine Murray (born 10 March 1990) is a Zimbabwean born Australian rhythmic gymnast. She won a gold medal in the team event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Personal Nicknamed Jeannie, Mur ...

- rhythmic

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

Pacharo Mzembe Pacharo Mzembe is an Australian actor. He has performed on stage, in several television series and in feature films. Early life Mzembe's parents originate from Malawi, but he was born in Zimbabwe. He migrated to Australia at the age of six t ...

- actor * Tendai Mzungu -

Australian rules footballer Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

for

Fremantle Football Club The Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed the Dockers, is a professional Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. The team was founded in 1994 to represent the port city of Fr ...

and Greater Western Sydney Giants *

Sekai Nzenza-Shand Sekai Irene Nzenza Kanhutu is a Zimbabwean writer, cultural critic and politician. Biography She was born in rural Zimbabwe, where she trained as a nurse, before doing additional nursing studies in England and subsequently going to live in Austr ...

Henry Olonga Henry Khaaba Olonga (born 3 July 1976) is a Zimbabwean former cricketer, who played Test and One Day International (ODI) cricket for Zimbabwe. In domestic first-class cricket in Zimbabwe, Olonga played for Matabeleland, Mashonaland and Manicalan ...

- opera singer and ex Zimbabwean cricketer. ''Voice'' contestant. * Kevin Parker -

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

, producer and lead singer of

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

* Ian Perrie - former Australian rules footballer who played for the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) since ...

David Pocock David Willmer Pocock (born 23 April 1988) is an Australian politician and former professional rugby union player. Raised in Gweru, Zimbabwe, Pocock moved to Australia as a teenager and played for the Australia national rugby team. He played p ...

- player for the Australian national rugby union team * Ian Prior - rugby player for the

* Clive Puzey - racing driver *

Carmouflage Rose Larry Herrington, known by his stage name Carmouflage Rose, is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and rapper. He has played at Australian festivals and events including: Spilt Milk and Groovin The Moo. Larry signed a deal with Sony Mu ...

- stage name of rapper Larry Herrington. *

Thando Sikwila Thandolwethu Emily Nomvula Sikwila, known mononymously as Thando, is a Zimbabwean Australian singer, songwriter and actor based in Melbourne, Victoria. She's most notable for her appearances on ''The Voice Australia''. She was a contestant on ...

- singer, songwriter and actor *

Tando Velaphi Tando Yuji Velaphi (born 17 April 1987) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Kochi United. Club career Early playing career Velaphi trained at the AIS in Canberra on a football scholarship. Perth SC (2 ...

- professional football player for Perth Glory * Alfonso Zvenyika Lambarda * Sara Zwangobani - actress '' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power''

References

{{Zimbabwean diaspora Ethnic groups in Australia * African Australian