The Croatians in Sydney

Main Article Content

Walter F Lalich
Luka Budak

Abstract

Croatian settlement in Sydney has a dynamic history of arrivals, desertions, internment, collective departures, and a continuously rich social and political life although only several hundred Croatians lived in Sydney until 1949. At least 5,000 Croatians lived in Australia in 1947, mostly from the coastal region of Dalmatia, mainly from the Makarska area and the island of Korcula. They made up around 80 per cent of all migrants from what was then Yugoslavia and a majority among the approximately 425 ‘Yugoslavs’ who in lived in Sydney in that period. Many more arrived afterwards and at least 118,046 people in Australia, 33,930 in Sydney, were of Croatian ancestry in 2006.3 The experience of Croatians in Sydney is observed through two historical periods, linked by continuous market gardening in the northern suburbs of Mona Vale and Warriewood, and the western suburbs of Cabramatta and Blacktown. Inevitably, it must be understood against the background of the dramatic political and social events that Croatia and Croatians experienced over the twentieth century.

Article Details

Section
Sydney's People
Author Biographies

Walter F Lalich, Macquarie University

Emma is the full time Editorial Coordinator for the Dictionary of Sydney. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from University of Technology, Sydney. She was senior researcher and an editor of Australian Feminism A Companion (OUP, 1998), and has extensive experience in print and online editing and writing.

Luka Budak, Macquarie University

Head, Croatian Studies Centre Macquarie University