history
By Erik Jensen, former Danish Consul General in Victoria
Australia is truly a country of immigrants - the indigenous population, the aborigines, arrived in this vast island continent some 50,000 years ago walking all the way from somewhere near India across the land bridge which then existed between Papua New Guinea and North-Eastern Australia.
Later came the British settlers and since then Australia has been the destination for many cultures around the world. Until the 1960s Australia maintained a policy allowing only Europeans to settle here - that has changed dramatically with immigration from Asia and - to a minor extent Africa - and Australia today is truly a multicultural society with people from some 200 countries all forming part of this highly developed, modern country. Today, almost one in four Australians have been born outside Australia and even more are first or second generation Australians.
Later came the British settlers and since then Australia has been the destination for many cultures around the world. Until the 1960s Australia maintained a policy allowing only Europeans to settle here - that has changed dramatically with immigration from Asia and - to a minor extent Africa - and Australia today is truly a multicultural society with people from some 200 countries all forming part of this highly developed, modern country. Today, almost one in four Australians have been born outside Australia and even more are first or second generation Australians.
gold, gold, gold
This indigenous population consisted only of a few hundred thousands until 1788 when Britain established the first settlement in Australia - initially to send convicts from Britain out here and also to establish provisioning stations for shipping heading for Asian destinations. Soon afterwards free settlers from Europe found their way to Australia - this traffic increased significantly when large deposits of Gold were discovered - in Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales in the 1850's and 60's.
Danish emigration has, of course, been small relative to total emigration, but Danes have travelled to this distant land right from the beginning of European settlement.
The first major movement of Danes occurred during the 1850-60s as a result of two factors. The push factor was the effect of the unsuccessful war against Prussia in 1864 when 35 percent of Denmark was lost to Prussia (all of Schweswig and Holstein). Most of the immigrants were therefore Danes in Sønderjylland (Northern Schleswig) who did not wish to remain there under German rule. As was the case for most other settlers at the time, the strong pull factor, however, was the news that huge deposits of gold had been discovered.
Danish emigration has, of course, been small relative to total emigration, but Danes have travelled to this distant land right from the beginning of European settlement.
The first major movement of Danes occurred during the 1850-60s as a result of two factors. The push factor was the effect of the unsuccessful war against Prussia in 1864 when 35 percent of Denmark was lost to Prussia (all of Schweswig and Holstein). Most of the immigrants were therefore Danes in Sønderjylland (Northern Schleswig) who did not wish to remain there under German rule. As was the case for most other settlers at the time, the strong pull factor, however, was the news that huge deposits of gold had been discovered.
the first danes
The infamous Jørgen Jørgensen |
Before the gold discovery, the first settlers included a limited number of Danes including Jørgen Jørgensen, a colourful Dane whose story can be read here.
Danish migrants fleeing the disastrous war between Denmark and Prussia in 1864, mainly from the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, were - in most cases - registered out here as Germans although the reason for their emigration was that they did not wish to remain under German rule. |
the "modern" danish migrant
A steady flow of Danes have continued to emigrate to Australia throughout the 20th and 21st centuries in search of adventure and fortune.
Despite the relatively small numbers (less than 0.5% of the population), many Danes have lived interesting lives in Australia and contributed significantly to the development of this country across a wide range of fields - the arts, politics, business, education and so on. We can truly claim that the Danes in Australia, and their descendants, have been punching above their weight (and continue to do so) and we invite you to read the biographies of people such as Sir Edward Knox, Grethe Hjort, Sir William Refshauge and many many more.
Despite the relatively small numbers (less than 0.5% of the population), many Danes have lived interesting lives in Australia and contributed significantly to the development of this country across a wide range of fields - the arts, politics, business, education and so on. We can truly claim that the Danes in Australia, and their descendants, have been punching above their weight (and continue to do so) and we invite you to read the biographies of people such as Sir Edward Knox, Grethe Hjort, Sir William Refshauge and many many more.