Post-war immigration to Australia facts for kids

Arthur Calwell with the Kalnins family – the 50,000th New Australian – August 1949

In 1954, 50,000 Dutch migrants arrived

Post-war immigration to Australia describes the large movement of people who chose migration to Australia after World War II. Between 1945 and 1973, millions of people left their home countries to begin a new life down under. The Australian government wanted to grow the country quickly to keep it safe and help build new industries. During these decades, the nation welcomed people from Great Britain, across Europe, and later from all over the world. This big wave of newcomers changed the nation's culture, food, music, and daily life forever.

Why did Australia want more people after World War II?

British migrants on the deck of the Georgic, Australia, 1949

During the Second World War, Australia faced dangerous attacks, including the attacks on Darwin. The leaders of the country worried that Australia had too few people to defend its vast lands. Ben Chifley, who served as Prime Minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949, ordered a study on the nation's population. The report showed that Australia needed many more workers to build roads, factories, and power networks. It suggested that the population should grow by one percent every year through immigration.

To handle this massive task, the government created the federal Department of Immigration in 1945. The first Minister for Immigration was a politician named Arthur Calwell. Calwell used the famous catchphrase "populate or perish" to explain the plan to the public. He meant that Australia needed to grow larger quickly so it could thrive and remain secure.

Calwell also wanted the public to welcome these new arrivals warmly. He called them "New Australians" instead of using unkind nicknames like pommy or wog. Between 1945 and 1985, around 4.2 million people moved to the country. About 40 percent of these travelers came from Britain and Ireland. Over 182,000 other people were helped by the International Refugee Organization (IRO). This group helped families who had lost their homes in Europe during the war find safe places to live. That was even more people than all the convicts transported to Australia during the early colonial times.

The early years of the program

At first, the Chifley government wanted most immigrants to come from the United Kingdom. Their original target was to have nine out of every ten settlers come from Britain. The government set up the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme in 1945 to make tickets very cheap. British adults could sail all the way to Australia for only ten pounds, which earned them the nickname Ten Pound Poms. Children could travel for free.

However, Britain had lost many transport ships during the war, so there were not enough ships to carry everybody. Because of this shortage, Australian leaders began looking for settlers in other places. They agreed to take in thousands of displaced people from Europe who had been displaced by wartime fighting and the march of the Red Army. Many of these families came from places like Riga, Latvia, Poland, and Estonia.

Growth under the Menzies government

Australian Government poster displayed between 1949 and 1951 in reception rooms and dining halls at various migrant reception centres in Australia (image courtesy of the NAA)

In 1949, leadership changed when the Menzies government came into power. The new immigration minister was Harold Holt. The government kept the goal of growing the population each year. In 1955, the one-millionth post-war settler reached Australian shores. By 1959, the total population reached ten million people, jumping up from just seven million people in 1945.

Between 1953 and 1956, large numbers of arrivals came from southern European nations like Italy and Greece. The government created new travel agreements with nations like the Netherlands, Italy, West Germany, Turkey, and the Yugoslavia. Many families moved into temporary housing, such as the famous Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre in Bonegilla, Victoria. Over 300,000 migrants spent time at Bonegilla while learning English and looking for work.

Working on big projects

Newly arrived migrants took on tough jobs to build up the country. Many helped construct the famous Snowy Mountains Scheme, an enormous engineering project in south-eastern Australia. This huge project included sixteen large dams and seven power stations built between 1949 and 1974. It was designed to produce hydroelectricity and supply water for irrigation to help farmers grow crops.

More than 100,000 workers from over thirty different countries worked side by side in the mountains. Around seventy percent of all the workers on the scheme were migrants. They lived in rugged camps, carved tunnels through solid rock, and learned to work as a team. This shared effort helped create modern multicultural Australia, showing how people from different backgrounds could build a nation together.

Ending old rules

For a long time, Australia had strict laws known as the White Australia policy. These rules made it very difficult for people from non-European backgrounds to move to the country. Over time, people saw that these rules were unfair. During the 1960s and early 1970s, the laws were gradually changed.

In 1973, the Whitlam government decided that Australia's immigration rules must be fair to everyone. People could now apply to move to Australia no matter their race, background, or nationality. This change marked the end of the old European-only period. It opened up new pathways for people from Asia and other parts of the world to move to Australia. Later, the Fraser government continued to welcome many new families who needed a safe home.

International agreements and journeys

Australia signed many agreements with overseas governments to help people make the long voyage across the oceans:

• The United Kingdom agreed to offer discounted tickets, creating the famous Ten Pound Poms travel program.
• Special travel programs supported former soldiers from the British Empire and the United States.
• The International Refugee Organization arranged for at least 12,000 displaced people to settle each year after the war.
• Australia later worked with the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help more families relocate.
• Official pacts were made with countries like the Netherlands, Italy, Malta, and Spain.
• Friendly informal agreements also welcomed new settlers from nations like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Important dates in post-war migration

Top countries of origin

Many different communities grew rapidly because of these migration programs:

• Italian Australian communities grew as hundreds of thousands arrived to work in construction, farming, and manufacturing.
• Greek Australian families brought rich traditions, language, and customs to major cities like Melbourne and Sydney.
• German Australian workers helped in many skilled trades and manufacturing plants.
• Dutch Australian migrants settled in regional towns and cities across every state.
• Croatian Australian and other Slavic communities found new opportunities away from post-war hardships.

How migration shaped modern Australia

The post-war migration boom turned Australia into one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world. New settlers introduced tasty foods, fresh arts, popular sporting clubs, and distinct languages. Their children went to local schools, made friends with other kids, and grew up to become teachers, scientists, doctors, and sports stars. Today, a huge part of the population has parents or grandparents who arrived on ships during this transformative chapter of Australian history.

See also

• Demographics of Australia
• European Australians
• Europeans in Oceania
• Immigration history of Australia
• Far-right politics in Australia
• 457 visa

Images for kids

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  Map of settlers arriving between 1941 and 1950

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  Map of settlers arriving between 1951 and 1960

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  Map of settlers arriving between 1961 and 1970

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  Map of settlers arriving between 1971 and 1980