Romanian Australians may include those who have immigrated to Australia from

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, and

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 ...

-born citizens of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

descent. According to ABS (2006 census) figures, there are 18,320 people with Romanian ancestry in Australia.Population by ancestry (Australia)
2006 Australian census

Romanians The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym '' Vlachs'') are a Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Romanian culture and ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they live primarily in Romania and Moldova. The 2011 Roman ...

were registered in Australia for the first time more than 80 years ago having emigrated for work seeking a more prosperous economic status, or as missionaries. But the first wave of Romanian emigrants to Australia came after

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 opposing ...

, when Romania was experiencing severe economic and political problems. The Romanians who were then emigrating to Australia principally settled in areas around Sydney,

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

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. The number of Romanians who came to Australia at the time is estimated to be around 2,000 people. The second wave of Romanian emigration to the Australian continent began after the

Romanian Revolution of 1989 The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...

, when the Communist regime fell and citizens received the right to leave

. They came in large numbers for the same reasons as the first-wave immigrants.

Demographics

the largest communities of Romanian-Australians could be found in

(6,482), Sydney (4,145)and

(1,912). In the 2006 Census, among Romanian-born persons, the religious breakdown was as follows: 80.6% Christianity, 5.8% no religion or atheism, 4.4% Judaism, 3.0% other religions and 5.6% did not answer the question.http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/5618AB4511347DC2CA257306000D44C2/$File/2914055002_2006%20(Reissue).xls A small number of Romanian Australians are ethnic Greeks. They founded the Greeks from Romania NSW Association "The Acropolis" based in Sydney.

Notable Romanian Australians

Victor Albert Bailey Victor Albert Bailey (18 December 1895 – 7 December 1964) was a British-Australian physicist. The eldest of four surviving children of William Henry Bailey, a British Army engineer, and his wife Suzana (née Lazarus), an expatriate Romanian li ...

, physicist (his mother was Romanian) * Traian Chirilă, chemist * Carin Clonda, squash player * Greg Conescu, rugby league footballer *

Daniela Costian Daniela Costian (born 30 April 1965) is a former Olympic discus throw bronze medallist. She was born in Brăila, Romania, but became an Australian citizen in 1990. She competed in the discus contest at the 1992 Summer Olympics and won the b ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

bronze medalist; * Andrew Ilie, tennis player * Daniel Ioniță, poet * Lucy Kiraly, model and television presenter *

Ted Theodore Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 – 9 February 1950) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the state Labor Party. He later entered federal politics, serving as Treasurer in ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

Anthony Fisher Anthony Colin Fisher (born 10 March 1960) is an Australian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and a friar of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). Since 12 November 2014, he has been the ninth Catholic Archbishop of Sydney. He served as the ...

, prelate, Archbishop of Sydney *

Hagi Gligor Christopher Josif Hagi Gligor (born 8 April 1995) is a former Australian soccer player, who last played as a central midfielder for Sydney Olympic. Early life He is the son of former Romanian footballer, Tiberiu Gligor, who emigrated to Austra ...

, footballer *

Raimond Gaita Raimond Gaita (born Raimund Gaita; 14 May 1946) is a German-born Australian philosopher and award-winning writer. He was, until 2011, foundation professor of philosophy at the Australian Catholic University and professor of moral philosophy at ...

, philosopher and writer (his father was Romanian) * Daniela Nuțu-Gajić, chess player *

Ajdin Hrustic Ajdin Hrustic ( bs, Hrustić; born 5 July 1996) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Hellas Verona and the Australia national team. Early life Born in Dandenong, Victoria Hrustic played ...

, footballer *

Elsa Pataky Elsa Lafuente Medianu (; born 18 July 1976), known professionally as Elsa Pataky, is a Spanish-Australian model and actress. Pataky is known for her role as Elena Neves in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. She has appeared in the films '' Snake ...

, actress *

Lance Picioane Lance Picioane (born 7 June 1980) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Adelaide, Hawthorn and the Kangaroos during his time in the Australian Football League (AFL). Picioane attended Essendon Grammar and was captain of the Vi ...

, Australian rules footballer * Ion Popa, rower * Rosemary Popa, rower *

Julian Savulescu Julian Savulescu (born 22 December 1963) is an Australian philosopher and bioethicist of Romanian origins. He is Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford, director of the Oxford Uehiro Cent ...

, philosopher and bioethicist *

Lauren Mitchell Lauren Stephanie Mitchell (born 23 July 1991) is an Australian former artistic gymnast. She is the 2010 World champion on the floor exercise and the 2009 World Championships silver medalist on the balance beam and floor exercise. Mitchell i ...

, artistic gymnast *

Mirka Mora Mirka Madeleine Mora (18 March 1928 – 27 August 2018) was a French-born Australian visual artist and cultural figure who contributed significantly to the development of contemporary art in Australia. Her media included drawing, painting, s ...

, prominent artist (her mother was Romanian) * Aida Tomescu, artist *

Xonia Xonia (born Loredana Sachelaru; 25 June 1989) is an Australian-born Romanian singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. Biography 1989–2007: Early life and education Xonia was born 25 June 1989 in Melbourne, Australia to Romanian parents. Her ...

, singer *

Edmond Lupancu Edmond Lupancu, is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Western Sydney Wanderers Youth. Club career He made his professional debut for Melbourne Victory in a FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as ...

, footballer

References

{{Ethnic groups in Australia European Australian Romanian diaspora *Main

Demographics

Notable Romanian Australians

See also

References