Latvian Australians
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Latvian 3,758 (by birth, 2016 Census)[1] 20,509 (by ancestry, 2016 Census)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sydney and Melbourne | |
| Languages | |
| Australian English, Latvian | |
| Religion | |
| Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Lithuanian Australians · Latgalians · Kursenieki · Livonians · Latvians |
Latvian Australians are Australian citizens of Latvian descent, or persons born in Latvia who reside in Australia. At the 2016 Census, 20,509 residents in Australia reported to have Latvian ancestry.[2]
Few Latvians arrived in Australia before 1947.[3]
Between 1947 and 1952, 19,700 Latvian refugees arrived in Australia as displaced persons under the supervision of the International Refugee Organisation.[4] The first voyage under Arthur Calwell's Displaced Persons immigration program, that of the General Stuart Heintzelman in 1947,[5] was specially chosen to be all from Baltic nations, all single, many blond and blue-eyed, in order to appeal to the Australian public.[6] Of the 843 immigrants on the Heintzelman, 264 were Latvian.[7]
Notable Latvian Australians[]
- , Latvian-born Australian Crocodile hunter and alleged inspiration of the Crocodile Dundee film franchise
- Theodore Boronovskis, Australian Latvian judoka
- Peter Dombrovskis, Australian Latvian photographer
- Peter Greste, Australian Latvian journalist
- Konrāds Kalējs, Australian Latvian alleged war criminal
- Ilsa Konrads, Australian Latvian Olympic swimmer
- John Konrads, Australian Latvian Olympic swimmer
- Andrej Lemanis, Latvian Australian basketball coach and former player
- John Spalvins, Australian businessman and former manager of the Adelaide Steamship Company
- Imants Tillers, Australian Latvian painter
- Nadine Wulffius, Australian Latvian ballet dancer
- Feliks Zemdegs, Australian speedcuber
- Andrew Zesers, Australian World Cup-winning cricketer
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b Australian Government Census 2016. "Latvian Australians".
- ^ "Latvia country brief". dfat.gov.au. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
- ^ "History of Immigration from Latvia". Museum Victoria. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
- ^ "Origins: Immigrant Communities in Victoria: History of immigration from Latvia". Museum Victoria Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ "First of the Fifth Fleet". Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ J. Franklin, Calwell, Catholicism and the origins of multicultural Australia, Proc. of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 2009 Conference, 42-54.
- ^ "Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild: USAT General Stuart Heintzelman". Retrieved 27 February 2017.
External links[]
- Robert Crawford - University of Technology, Sydney (2008). "Latvians". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 4 October 2015. [CC-By-SA] (Latvians in Sydney)
- Sydney Latvian Society
- Melbourne Latvian House
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