Wikipedia / Welsh Australians
Wikipedia / Welsh Australians
Welsh Australians () are citizens of Australia whose ancestry originates in Wales.
Demographics
According to the 2006 Australian census 25,317 Australian residents were born in Wales, while 113,242 (0.44%) claimed Welsh ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry.
The name Jones, common in Wales, although the name first arrived from England in the middle ages, is one of the most common surnames in Australia, accounting for over 1% of Australians, which suggests a higher rate of Welsh ancestry than indicated by self-identification.
A 1996 study gives the total ethnic strength of Welsh Australians as 243,400. This is made up by 44,100 of un-mixed origin and 683,700 of mixed origin. This would make the Welsh the fifth largest Anglo-Celtic group in Australia after the English, Irish, Scottish and Cornish.
Welsh emigration to Australia
It is believed that the eastern coast of Australia reminded Captain James Cook of the coast of South Wales (especially the Vale of Glamorgan coast, which he knew), hence the name he gave to it, "New South Wales". The first European colony in Australia was in New South Wales, beginning with the First Fleet of 1788. Welsh people numbered amongst these first settlers, and continued to arrive in the new colony through the British policy of penal transportation that was implemented for many criminal acts.
Mass emigration from Wales to Australia began in the nineteenth century with New South Wales and Victoria being popular destinations. Nineteenth-century Welsh settlers were mostly farmers, followed later by gold diggers and coal miners.
A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s, and the Eureka Stockade rebellion in 1854 was an early expression of nationalist sentiment. Amongst its leaders was the Welsh-born Chartist John Basson Humffray, one of a significant group of immigrants that came over from Wales at this time.
List of notable Welsh Australians
Name | Born-Died | Notable for | Connection with Australia | Connection with Wales |
1957 | former prime minister | has lived in Australia since he was three years old | born in England and maternal grandmother was Welsh | |
James Atkin, Baron Atkin of Aberdovey (also known as Lord Atkin) | 18671944 | lawyer and judge | born in Australia | grew up in Wales from age 4; always thought of himself as Welsh |
1943 | artist | lives in Australia | born in Wales | |
18581934 | geologist and explorer (discovered the Hunter Valley coalfield) | spent most of his life in Australia | born in Wales | |
1992 | Musician | Moved to Australia at age ten | born in Wales | |
19141982 | senior officer in the RAF, former governor of Western Australia, recipient of Victoria Cross, most highly decorated serviceman of WW2 | Born in Australia | Welsh parents | |
1991 | Rugby League footballer | Born in Australia | Welsh father | |
1961 | Former prime minister | Migrated to Australia at age five | born in Wales | |
18451920 | former premier of Queensland, chief justice of the High Court; principal author of the Constitution of Australia | migrated to Australia in 1853 | born in Wales | |
19302023 | artist, entertainer and convicted child sex offender | born in Australia, lived in the United Kingdom from 1953 | Welsh parents | |
18621952 | former prime minister | migrated to Australia 1884 | Welsh parents | |
1938 | former senator | migrated to Australia 1969 | Welsh parents and upbringing | |
18181898 | diarist, poet and swagman | resident in Australia 1869-1894 | born in Wales | |
1974 | Rugby League footballer | born in Australia, represented New South Wales and Australia | Welsh grandfather | |
17931873 | retailer and businessman | set up his business in Australia | born in Wales | |
1995 | professional soccer player | born in Australia: member of the Socceroos since 2024 | family and upbringing in Wales; played for Wales U-17, U-19 and U-21 teams | |
19211965 | poet and lecturer | migrated to Australia | born in Wales | |
1967 | Australian rules footballer | migrated to Australia | born in Wales | |
1971 | singer and entertainer | born in Australia | mother born in Wales | |
1968 | singer and actress | born in Australia | mother born in Wales | |
18501933 | former premier of Western Australia | moved to Australia in 1896 | born in Wales | |
18521909 | former premier of South Australia | moved to Australia in 1883 | born in Wales | |
1968 | actress | moved to Australia when she was 15 | lived in Wales between the ages of seven and 14; mother's parents Welsh | |
1994 | first Australian professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League | moved to Australia when he was 3 | born in Wales | |
1988 | professional soccer player | born in and grew up in Australia; member of the Socceroos in 20092010 | Welsh grandparents on his father's side; played for the Welsh under-21 team |
See also
References
Further reading
Lloyd, Lewis. (1988) Australians from Wales Caernarfon: Gwynedd Archives.