Bulgarian Australians ( bg, австралийски българи, ''avstraliyski balgari'') are Australian citizens of

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

ancestry. According to the 2006

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 ...

, 2,680 residents of Australia were born in Bulgaria. Of these, 850 lived 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 ...

, 840 in Victoria, 340 in Queensland and 340 in South Australia. Some 4,870 people indicated full or partial Bulgarian ancestry.

History

The first traces of Bulgarian emigration to Australia date back to 1876, when an unknown number of Bulgarians fleeing the Ottoman atrocities in the wake of the April Uprising settled in

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 , established_ ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. According to 1891 statistics, only 14 Bulgarians lived in Australia. Following the anti-Ottoman Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1908, around 100 Bulgarians from Macedonia and southern

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

emigrated to Australia. The first more prominent Bulgarian colony was formed 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 is ...

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 ...

, in 1906–07. The first larger organized group of Bulgarian emigrants arrived in Australia in 1907 and consisted of around 100 people, most from the

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

region; 30 of these disembarked in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, 35 in

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 ...

, Victoria and 35 in

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 extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. In 1912, Bulgarian gardeners bought out the swampy lands of

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

near Adelaide and turned these into fruit gardens. The Bulgarian colony in Adelaide was among the fastest-growing Bulgarian colonies in Australia; many settlers from the villages near Veliko Tarnovo arrived in the 1920s to work in the city as gardeners. The Bulgarian community in Melbourne was established in 1910–1911. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, there was an influx of hundreds of Bulgarian political emigrants who did not accept the newly established communist authority in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. It is difficult to establish the exact number of Bulgarian settlers in the pre-World War II period, but one estimate puts the number of emigrants from the Kingdom of Bulgaria at 1,000, with another 5,000 to 6,000 ethnic Bulgarian emigrants from Macedonia,

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

and

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

. It was not until 1950 that Bulgarian Orthodox church communities were officially established. The Bulgarian Orthodox churches in Australia are part of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia. Today, there are three Bulgarian Orthodox churches in Australia: the Saint

John of Rila Saint John of Rila, a.k.a. Ivan of Rila (Bulgarian: Свети преподобни Йоан Рилски Чудотворец, Svеti prеpodobni Yoan Rilski Chudotvorеts; English: Saint (monk) John of Rila the Wondermaker) (876 – c. 946) was ...

Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church in

Macquarie Fields Macquarie Fields is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Macquarie Fields is located 38 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and ...

, Sydney, the Saint Petka Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church in Adelaide, and the Saints Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in Melbourne.

Notable people

Iwan Iwanoff Iwan Iwanoff ( bg, Иван Иванов; 2 July 1919 – 7 October 1986) also known as Iwan Nickolow ( bg, Иван Николов) and Iwan Nickoloff Iwanoff ( bg, Иван Николов Иванов), born in Kyustendil, Bulgaria and died ...

(1919–1986), architect * Yull Brown (1959–2003), Electrical Engineer, Inventor * Anelia Pavlova (Annael) (b. 1956), artist *

Nik Radev Nikolai Radev ( bg, Николай "Ник" Радев; 29 January 1959 – 15 April 2003), nicknamed The Russian, was a Bulgarian career criminal and mobster who was involved in crime in Melbourne, Australia. Biography During his life he was ...

(1959–2003), criminal *

Martin Marinov Martin Marinov ( bg, Мартин Маринов, born 25 October 1967) is a Bulgarian-born Australian flatwater canoeist who competed from the late 1980s and the mid-2000s (decade). A former "Mr Bulgaria" he won two Olympic medals for that co ...

(b. 1967), canoer *

Nik Kosef Nik Kosef (born 6 June 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and second-row forward in the 1990s and 2000s. He was a state and international representative whose club career was spent with the Manl ...

(b. 1974), Rugby League player * Katrin Aladjova (b. 1971), chess player *

Annie Ivanova Antoanetta "Annie" Ivanova ( bg, Антоанета Иванова; Chinese Traditional: 易安妮 ''Yì Ānnī'') is an Australian curator, author, and entrepreneur. Education Annie Ivanova holds MA qualifications in Foreign Affairs and I ...

(b. 1971), curator * Sarah Blasko (b. 1976), musician

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

Bulgarian Australian Society 'Rodina Sydney' Bulgarian Community and Culture Association for Sydney & NSW
{{Bulgarian diaspora *

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...