Australian Immigration History
Australian immigration history is quite rich. During the Gold Rush era of 1851 to 1860, early migration peaked at arrivals of around 50 000 people a year. During this period, Chinese immigrants were the largest non-British group. Since 1945, around 6.9 million people have come to Australia as new settlers. A large scale program of migration began at the end of World War II when millions of people in Europe were displaced from their homeland. At the same time in Australia, there was a growing belief that substantial population growth was essential for the country's future.
With a large number of arrivals including those on the government assisted passage, a post -war immigration boom was under way by 1947. Immigration was encouraged by many countries at this time.
By 1950, almost 200 000 people had arrived. A million more migrants arrived in each of the following four decades. Today, nearly one in four of Australia's more than 21 million populations consist of Australian immigrants.