The presence of Turkish people in Australia dates back to the early 1800s, although at the time there was only about 20 Turkish settlers. Their number increased to 300 by the 1911 census however declined during the First World War when the Australians and Turks fought on opposite sides. Large scale of Turkish immigrants began to arrive in Australia once the bilateral agreement was signed between Turkey and Australia in 1967. However, large groups of Turkish Cypriots began to migrate to Australia before the agreement. In 1947 the first Turkish Cypriot man arrived and in 1948 the first Turkish Cypriot woman; numbers of Turkish Cypriots than began to increase in the 1960s due to the Cyprus conflict.

The Turkish community in Australia today is reasonably well-established, largely made up of families who have been settled in Australia for longer than a decade and whose children have grown up in Australia. Turkish migration prior to the 1967 agreement between the Turkish and Australian governments, made to facilitate the provision of assisted migration to Australia for Turks were not in fact Turkish-born but rather Turkish Cypriots. The 1967 agreement coincided with increasing Turkish interest in employment opportunities outside Turkey, particularly in Europe. In 1967, Turkey and Australia signed a bilateral agreement on assisted migration which was an important step toward dismantling the 'White Australia Policy'. The Turks represented the first Asian migrants to be allowed to settle in Australia on a large scale since 1901, they were also the first large Muslim population to settle in Australia.

Historical relations

Although Australia and Turkey fought at Gallipoli, the two countries were said to have held great respect for each other. Turkish flags are shown in ANZAC parades, the only flag of a former enemy that is shown. Kemal Atatürk gained much respect from his former enemies for his chivalry in victory. He has a memorial that has an honoured place in the ANZAC Parade in Canberra. Some Turkish Cypriots who held British passports (Cyprus was part of the British Empire at the time) arrived in Australia after World War II. Large scale immigration of Turkish people to Australia began in 1968 when Australia and Turkey signed a special agreement to establish an assisted migration program.

Demographics

The latest Census in 2006 recorded 30,490 Turkey-born people in Australia, an increase of 2.3 per cent from the 2001 Census. Turkish communities have settled in Melbourne especially around the northern suburbs of Gladstone Park, Greenvale, Roxburgh Park, Meadow Heights and Coburg. Victoria 50.1%, New South Wales 40.9%, Queensland 3.7%, Western Australia 2.5%, South Australia 2.0%, Australian Capital Territory 0.6%, Tasmania 0.1%, Northern Territory 0.1%.

The main languages spoken at home by Turkey-born people in Australia were Turkish 89.6%, English 8.1% and Greek 2.3%. Of the 27,860 Turkey-born who spoke a language other than English at home, 67.2% spoke English very well or well and 31.8% spoke English not well or not at all.

Demographic research highlights that Turkish Australians are mainly Muslim (tend to be more secular and better integrated into Australian society than Muslims from other cultural backgrounds). At the 2006 Census the major religious affiliations amongst Turkey-born were Islam. Of the Turkey-born, 8.6 per cent stated 'No Religion', this was lower than that of the total Australian population (18.7 per cent). 4.7 per cent of the Turkey-born did not state a religion. Religions: Islam 75.8%, No religion 8.6%, Other 7.8%, Eastern Orthodox 3.1% and Not stated 4.7%.

Turkish people have also immigrated to Australia from other countries (2006 census- note that these figures do not include those who are born in Australia): Bulgaria: 270, Cyprus: 3,290, Republic of Macedonia: 125, Greece: 313.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Memorial in Canberra

Source: Wikipedia