Facing Fortress Australia: Ceylonese Migrants in the 1950s & 1960s-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Earlson Forbes, whose title in THE CEYLANKAN, vol 27/2, May 2024 is “Fortress White Australia: What early Ceylonese migrants [1949 t0 1969] were up against” … [without most of the author’s pictorial illustrations because of The Editor’s technical inexpertise] The Six Australian Colonies came together on the 1st  of January 1901 to form the independent Nation of the Commonwealth of Australia.  From 1788 (First Fleet arrival at Sydney Cove) to the time of Federation, Australia was populated by convict and free settlers almost exclusively from Britain.  The 1901 census put the population at 3.7 million.   Aboriginals were not counted in this census. A small percentage of the population was made up of Pacific Islanders and Chinese.  The Chinese entered Australia in the second half of the 19th century at the time of the Gold Rush in Australia (mid-19th century) and in the years following. ...

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Captain Cook, the First Fleet & Australia Day: Relevant Facts-by Michael Roberts Sourcce:Thuppahis Earlson Forbes in Sydney in Email Memo to Michael Roberts, 9 February 2024** as a Comment on this TPS Item viz https://thuppahis.com/2024/02/08/anzac-day-outdoes-australia-day-in-the–scales-of-dinky-die-australian-nationalism/ ……….. Note that the highlights in black are those by Earlson, while the other coloured segments are those of Editor Roberts. Whilst the author of this email has made many interesting observations, I think clarification is due on some aspects of the contents. The email in question states. ‘The first fleet arrived in Botany Bay on 18th January. The 26th was chosen as Australia Day for a very different and important reason.  The 26th of January 1949 is the day Australians received their independence from British Rule’. ...

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eLanka Newsletter – 28th January 2024 – 8th Edition Sri Lankans in Australia Click here or on the image below to read this week’s elanka Newsletter 2024 Australia Day Honours List: Professor Buddhima Indraratna – Member of the Order of Australia, AM A sellout crowd feasted on Sri Lankan Hoppers and a fabulous Asian smorgasbord dinner at the Springvale RSL – by Trevine Rodrigo (eLanka) State formation, the politics of capitalist transition and conflicts – by Sunil Bastian Explore eLanka Property: Your Gateway to Sri Lankan Real Estate Ceylon Society of Australia – Meeting for Members and Guests on Sunday 25 February Health & Views – January 3rd issue – By Dr harold Gunatillake ‘Australia Day does not celebrate the arrival of the First Fleet or the invasion of anything. The First Fleet arrived 28th April 1770’ Comments – By Earlson Forbes From Ceylon to Australia: Migrant Journeys, 1860s-to-2010s- by ...

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From Ceylon to Australia: Migrant Journeys, 1860s-to-2010s-by Earlson Forbes Ceylonese/Sri Lankans have entered Australia for a variety of reasons during the past one and a half centuries.  The far greater number of these arrivals occurred in the second half of the twentieth century and first two decades of the 21st century.  Early arrivals go as far back as the last two decades of the nineteenth century. Figure 3  Queensland sugarcane plantation workers. … [placed as frontispiece because of its striking character Early Arrivals Before Australian Federation on 01 January 1901, there is evidence of arrivals from Ceylon, mainly to Queensland and a very small number to Victoria and Western Australia.  In 1882, a sizable number of Ceylonese arrived in Queensland as indentured labour. With the expansion of sugar cane planting in Queensland at that time, there was an ever-present need for labour to work the plantations. In November 1882 nearly 500 Ceylonese arrived ...

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