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Macedonian Australians

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Macedonian Australians
Regions with significant populations
Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Perth
Languages
Macedonian,Australian English
Religion
Predominantly Orthodox

Macedonian Australians are Australians of ethnic Macedonian descent. At the 2006 Census 40,655 Australian residents declared they were born in Macedonia[4]. A further 71,994[5] residents declared they spoke the Macedonian language at home. In addition, 83,978 residents declared being of Macedonian ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry[6]

Australian cities with the largest Macedonian-born communities are Melbourne (17,286, in particular the outer suburbs), Sydney (11,630, in particular in the Southern) and Wollongong (4,279 - about 1.6% of the Wollongong population).

Part of a series of articles on
Macedonians
(ethnic group)

File:Republic-of-Macedonia-coat-of-arms.svg

Culture
Language · Literature · Art
Music · Cinema · Folklore
Costume · Cuisine · Sport

Religion
Macedonian Orthodox Church
Catholics · Muslims
Protestants

History
National Awakening
National Liberation War
National Liberation Front

By region or country
Republic of Macedonia
Bulgaria · Albania · Greece
Serbia · Germany · Italy
Australia · Canada · USA
Switzerland · Romania

Overview

Most Macedonian Australians are of the Orthodox Christian faith, although there is a small number of Muslims and Methodists. 36,749 Macedonian-born Australian residents declared they were Christian, and 2,161 stated they were Muslim.

Major Macedonian Influences in NSW are most evident in the Rockdale and Port Kembla area. Most of these areas have 'Macedonian' shops that range from Delis to Burek Shops. Many Macedonians take part in Culture and Folklore-preserving Groups.

Macedonians have set up soccer clubs in all major cities, including: Rockdale Illinden, Bankstown City Lions, Yagoona Lions and Arncliffe (in Sydney); Shellharbour Suns, Wollongong United Barbarians, Coniston, Cringila and Lake Heights (in Wollongong); Preston Lions and Altona Magic (in Melbourne).

Languages

Most Australian Macedonians use the Macedonian language at home (71,994 out of 83,983). The most significant populations of Macedonian speakers as of 2001 were Melbourne - 30083, Sydney - 19980, Wollongong - 7420, Perth - 5772, Newcastle - 1993, Geelong - 1300, Queanbeyan - 1105.

Some suburbs where the Macedonian language is spoken are:

  • Sydney
Rockdale, Kogarah, Banksia, Yagoona, Bankstown
  • Melbourne
Thomastown, Lalor, Preston
  • Wollongong
Cringila, Port Kembla, Warrawong
  • Perth
Dianella

In 2001 Cringila was the "most Macedonian" suburb in all of Australia with 32.8% of the population speaking Macedonian at home.

The Macedonian language is one of the most maintained languages amongst Australia's Migrant Communities. Within second generation Macedonians only 7.9% spoke English at home compared with Italians - 50.3%, Poles - 72.6%, Greeks -16.6% and Germans - 91.2%. [7]

History of ethnic Macedonians in Australia

Macedonians have been arriving in Australia since the late 1880s[citation needed] on Pečalba. Pečalbari (the man in the family) would go and work overseas to earn money then return home with the spoils. This restricted major settlement. The two major waves of early Macedonian migration according to Peter Hill[8] were when, in 1924 [9] America implemented tougher immigration policies and in 1936 when the Ioannis Metaxas regime came into power.After WW2 and the Greek Civil War many Macedonians from Greece came to Australia, these people are known as Aegean Macedonians, they settled in areas including Richmond and Footscray[10].

When the Yugoslav policies that encouraged its citizens to work overseas was started many Ethnic Macedonians within Yugoslavia left for Australia. The peak of this migration was in the early 1970s. They settled in mainly industrial districts, particularly in Wollongong and Newcastle, in the Melbourne suburb of Thomastown and the Sydney suburb of Rockdale. Many Ethnic Macedonians from Yugoslavia would also settle in isolated parts of Australia such as Port Hedland. Most of these immigrants were from a agricultural background. Macedonian migration sharply stopped by the 1980s only to restart in the early 1990s after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

In 1994 the Victorian state premier Jeff Kennett ordered government departments and agencies to use the term 'Slav Macedonian' to describe such people. Some analysts considered the measure was an effort to shore up electoral support from Victoria's large Greek Australian community[11]. A court eventually repealed the decision in 1998 and since then the prefix "slavo-" has been dropped.

Organizations

Media and Newspapers

Macedonian Newspapers have been a common sight in many Australian Newsagencies for close to thirty years. Notable Newspapers are:

There are many Macedonian Radio stations throughout Sydney, Melbourne, Wollongong, Newcastle, New South Wales, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

There are two Macedonian Theatres operating in Australia they include; "Illawarra Macedonian Theatre" and "The Melbourne Macedonian Theatre" who have produced videos such as: Vujna ot Melbourne,Vujche ot Amerika and Stari Kraj so Jumbo Jet.

Social Information

Second Generation Macedonians are the most likely to own or to be purchasing a housing according to a ABS study. Of the Second Generation 83% of 25-34 year olds and 91% of 35-44 year olds were in the process of buying a house or already own one, compared to second generation New Zealanders - 53% and 65%, second generation Germans - 63% and 75%.[12]

Apart from second generation Lebanese, second generation Macedonians were the least likely to co-habit with only 1% of females and 6.5% of males co-habiting (in a couple situation), compared to Germans - 24.2% and 27.3% respectively and Australians - 22% and 29% respectively.[13]

Second Generation Macedonians also had divorce/separation/widow rates which were nearly half the national average at 20%. Macedonians (10%) were followed by Lebanese 11% and Chinese 11.5%[14]

List of notable Macedonian Australians

Artists and media

Sports

Politics

References

  1. ^ 2006 Census - birthplace
  2. ^ >ABS 2006 Census - ancestry
  3. ^ ABS 2006 Census - ancestry
  4. ^ 2006 Census Data : View by Location
  5. ^ http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/TopicList?newmethod=Location+on+Census+Night&newtopic=Language&newproductlabel=Language+Spoken+at+Home+by+Sex&submitbutton=View+Census+Table+%3E&collection=Census&period=2001&areacode=0&geography=&method=Location+on+Census+Night&productlabel=&producttype=Census+Tables&topic=Language&navmapdisplayed=true&javascript=true&breadcrumb=LPT&topholder=0&leftholder=0&currentaction=301&action=401&textversion=false
  6. ^ ABS 2006 Census - ancestry
  7. ^ Portes, A and Schauffler, R., 1994. “Language and the second generation: bilingualism yesterday and today.” International Migration Review, vol. 28 (4): 640- 661.
  8. ^ Hill,Peter.Macedonians in Australia.1990.
  9. ^ Migration Heritage Centre: A Multicultural Landscape: National Parks and the Macedonian Experience: 4. Macedonian migration to Australia
  10. ^ Migration Heritage Centre: A Multicultural Landscape: National Parks and the Macedonian Experience: 4. Macedonian migration to Australia
  11. ^ [http://scatt.bilegrip.com/rjr2.htm THE "RESIGN, JEFF!" REVIEW 1994
  12. ^ McDonald, P., 1991. ‘Migrant family structure’, in Funder, K. (ed.), Images of Australian Families, Melbourne: Longman-Cheshire.
  13. ^ Jones, F. 1994a. ‘Multiculturalism and ethnic intermarriage: melting pot or nation of tribes?’ Paper presented to the Conference of the Australian Population Association, Canberra, September 1994.
  14. ^ Second Generation Australians Report for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs,Siew-Ean Khoo, Peter McDonald and Dimi Giorgas Australian Centre for Population Research Research School of Social Sciences The Australian National University
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