Iranian Australian
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Iranian_Australian".

Iranian-Australians including those who are expatriates in exile or permanent immigrants.

History

Denied entry as early as 1948, Iranian Bahá'ís seeking to emigrate to Australia were classified as "Asiatic" by Australia's White Australia policy, and were denied entry and the policy largely remained in place until the 1960s and was lifted in 1973.^[1] In 1981 the Minister for Immigration announced a Special Humanitarian Assistance (SHP) Program for Iranians to seek refuge in Australia. See also Bahá'í Faith in Australia. Government agencies have observed closely the resettlement of Iranian refugees in Australia. One report observed many were professionally qualified and displayed a determination to re-establish themselves quickly; they tended to remain in migrant hostels for short periods; they had high expectations of successful settlement, and strong career ambitions. General Iranian immigration to Australia mostly occurred from 1980s to late 1990s. The Iranian-Australian community has produced a sizable number of individuals notable in many fields, including medicine, engineering, and business. The community expanded predominantly in the early 1980s in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and the fall of the former regime.

Demography

Large concentrations of Iranian Australians live in the state of New South Wales, particularly around Sydney, Newcastle, and Wollongong. There are also large concentrations in Melbourne.

Iranian communities in Australia also have varying religious populations among each city. Overall 55% are Muslim, 35 % are Bahá'í, followed by 7% Christian and 3% Jewish. Sydney' Iranian population - the nation's highest concentration Iranian people community - is representative of all of Iran's religious groups. Noticeably, the majority of Jewish Iranians living abroad are in Sydney, after Israel and Los Angeles respectively

Iranian-Australian Census

In 2004, 18,798 people in Australia claim to be of Iranian ancestry^[2]. The largest populations of Persian-Australians can be found in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and Queensland.

Iranian-Australians have founded and/or participated in senior leadership positions of many major companies, including many Fortune 500 and Australian branch of companies such as GE, Intel, Verizon, Motorola, and AT&T.

Famous Iranian Australians

Kazem Abhary, a university professor residing in Adelaide, is an Iranian intellectual who has authored numerous books and articles on scientific issues and also on Persian language and heritage.

See also

• British Iranians
• Iranian Americans
• Iranian-Canadian
• Iranian Kuwaitis
• Persian Canadians
• Persian Jews

References

1. ^ Hassall, Graham & (ed.) Ata, Abe (1989), Religion and Ethnic Identity, An Australian Study, Melbourne: Victoria College & Spectrum, pp. Chapter "Persian Bahá'ís in Australia", <http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=hassall_persian_bahais_australia&language=All> 
2. ^ Khoo, Siew-Ean (2004-05-24). "Australian' Ancestries" (pdf). Australian Census Analytic Program. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved on 2008-07-20.

External links

OzPersia, A Persian Australian Community Website [1]