Recent from talks
Croatian Australians
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Croatian Australians
Croatian Australians (Croatian: Hrvatski Australci), Australian Croats (Australski Hrvati) or Croats in Australia (Hrvati u Australiji) are Australians of Croatian ancestry. Croatia has been a source of migrants to Australia, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s.
Croats were first encouraged to migrate to Australia during the gold rushes of the 1850s taking place in the British colonies of Victoria and New South Wales. Although migration was relatively small, Croatian travellers and sailors employed on merchant vessels played a significant role in spreading the news of the opportunities possible in Australia.
In an interesting occurrence in October 1875, sixteen Croatian sailors aboard the vessel Stefano, became shipwrecked on the Ningaloo Reef along the West Australian coast. Ten survived to reach the shore where the local Yinikutira people gave them food and water, and found their map of the coast among the shipwreck's debris. By January 1876, all but two had died from hunger or exposure. The two survivors, Baccich (aged 16) and Jurich (aged 19), became part of a Yinikutira clan and spent the following three months living with them around the North West Cape. They were rescued by a pearler looking for Aboriginal labour in April 1876 and, after a few months in Fremantle, they returned to Europe.
The Western Australian gold rushes in the 1890s started a significant migration of Croats (mainly from Dalmatia) to Australia and by the early part of the 20th century, there were around 2000 to 3000 people of Croatian origin in Australia, 80% of these residing in Western Australia.
Croats in Australia began to socially organize in 1910, when the Peasant Party (Seljačka stranka) was founded, which operated under the influence of the Radić brothers. Party published the newsletter Seljačke novosti ('Peasant News'), and ceased to exist in 1922. In Boulder-Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, the Croatian-Slavic Society (Hrvatsko-slavjansko društvo) was founded in 1912 .
Around 100 Australian Croats fought for the Allies during World War I. However, during this war around 600 non-naturalised Croats were interned at the Holsworthy Internment Camp where 20 died and about 500 were later deported from Australia in 1919.
During World War II, the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler established the fascist puppet-state of the Independent State of Croatia. Croatian Australian representatives during this time deplored this development as a tragedy for the Croatian people and condemned the quisling Ante Pavelić as a traitor.
Tom Starcevich, a Croatian Australian born in Subiaco, Western Australia was a recipient of the Victoria Cross medal for bravery during World War II.
Hub AI
Croatian Australians AI simulator
(@Croatian Australians_simulator)
Croatian Australians
Croatian Australians (Croatian: Hrvatski Australci), Australian Croats (Australski Hrvati) or Croats in Australia (Hrvati u Australiji) are Australians of Croatian ancestry. Croatia has been a source of migrants to Australia, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s.
Croats were first encouraged to migrate to Australia during the gold rushes of the 1850s taking place in the British colonies of Victoria and New South Wales. Although migration was relatively small, Croatian travellers and sailors employed on merchant vessels played a significant role in spreading the news of the opportunities possible in Australia.
In an interesting occurrence in October 1875, sixteen Croatian sailors aboard the vessel Stefano, became shipwrecked on the Ningaloo Reef along the West Australian coast. Ten survived to reach the shore where the local Yinikutira people gave them food and water, and found their map of the coast among the shipwreck's debris. By January 1876, all but two had died from hunger or exposure. The two survivors, Baccich (aged 16) and Jurich (aged 19), became part of a Yinikutira clan and spent the following three months living with them around the North West Cape. They were rescued by a pearler looking for Aboriginal labour in April 1876 and, after a few months in Fremantle, they returned to Europe.
The Western Australian gold rushes in the 1890s started a significant migration of Croats (mainly from Dalmatia) to Australia and by the early part of the 20th century, there were around 2000 to 3000 people of Croatian origin in Australia, 80% of these residing in Western Australia.
Croats in Australia began to socially organize in 1910, when the Peasant Party (Seljačka stranka) was founded, which operated under the influence of the Radić brothers. Party published the newsletter Seljačke novosti ('Peasant News'), and ceased to exist in 1922. In Boulder-Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, the Croatian-Slavic Society (Hrvatsko-slavjansko društvo) was founded in 1912 .
Around 100 Australian Croats fought for the Allies during World War I. However, during this war around 600 non-naturalised Croats were interned at the Holsworthy Internment Camp where 20 died and about 500 were later deported from Australia in 1919.
During World War II, the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler established the fascist puppet-state of the Independent State of Croatia. Croatian Australian representatives during this time deplored this development as a tragedy for the Croatian people and condemned the quisling Ante Pavelić as a traitor.
Tom Starcevich, a Croatian Australian born in Subiaco, Western Australia was a recipient of the Victoria Cross medal for bravery during World War II.