Why did the Irish immigrate to Australia?

The Irish famine of the 1840s caused large numbers of people to migrate due to poverty and difficult living conditions. They worked in Victoria as whalers, fishermen and farm hands and in townships as labourers and factory workers.

How did Irish people migrate to Australia?

They came to Australia from the late eighteenth century as criminals but most were prisoners of war, mainly those who fought in the 1798 Irish rebellion for independence and settlers who could not find a life during the Irish famine and the harsh years in Ireland afterwards.

When did the Irish and how many migrate to Australia?

Since 1791, Irish people have emigrated to Australia. Emigration initiatives such as the Earl Grey scheme for orphan girls in the 1840s, and events such as the Irish Famine in 1847, saw different waves of people arrive on Australian shores in the 1800s.

Why did the Irish orphans come to Australia?

The scheme was devised by Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies, to relieve overcrowding in the Irish workhouses and to meet the demand for domestic labourers and single young women in the colonies. Under the scheme, a total of 4,114 Irish orphans arrived on 20 ships over a two-year period.

What did the Irish bring to Australia?

What was of greatest significance during this time was the central role Irish-Australians played in the development of the Catholic Church in Australia. There is general agreement that up until the end of the Second World War, and well beyond, the Australian Catholic church was essentially an ‘Irish’ Catholic church.

How did the Irish potato famine affect Australia?

were evicted from their homes during the potato blight, and 1,500,000 starving and destitute people emigrated to America, Britain and Australia, often on board rotting, overcrowded “coffin ships”. Between the years 1845-55 two million people had emigrated, after which there was a gradual decline.

Did Europe sent criminals to America?

It is estimated that some 50,000 British convicts were sent to the Americas this way, and the majority landed in the Chesapeake Colonies of Maryland and Virginia. Transported convicts represented perhaps one-quarter of Britons that left the country during the 18th century.

Where can I find emigration records from Ireland to Australia?

Look under Emigration and Immigration on the Irish Home Page, for the listing and the years covered, then Australia. The National Archives of Ireland has a searchable index database on the Internet for transportation records of Irish convicts sent to Australia between 1788 and 1868.

Who are some famous Irish immigrants to Australia?

She has published and spoken extensively on immigration, particularly the nineteenth-century Irish. She has led or co-led nine successful tours to Ireland and currently works at St John’s College at the University of Sydney. She will also be one of the speakers at the [Irish history] conference on the weekend.

How many Irish immigrants went to Australia during the famine?

As many as two million Irish emigrated during the famine; most went to the United States, but many thousands went to Australia. The number of Ireland-born Australians continued to increase until 1891, when it peaked at more than 228,000.

When did the first immigrants come to Australia?

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Europeans immigrated to Australia with more than three million people immigrating from Europe during the late 1940s till the 1960s. The Immigration Minister, Arthur Calwell, introduced the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme in 1945.