Armenian migration, settlement and adjustment in australia with special reference to the armenians in Sydney
Abstract
Immigration to Australia has been very substantial since World War
II. Some of the more recent arrivals have come from the Middle East. The
Armenians are one such group, nine-tenths of whom have settled in Australia
since 1962. This thesis has been a study of this Armenian migration and
settlement in Australia with particular reference to their residential,
occupational, social and psychological adjustment since arrival.
Because the Armenians are a rare population on which very little
information - including any official statistics - was available, it was
necessary to undertake a social survey for the collection of data. The
Sydney Armenians, the largest population group in Australia, was selected
for this Survey to make it as representative as possible of the overall
Australian Armenian population.
Data collection was conducted in two stages - a postal questionnaire
"census" of all known Sydney Armenian households and a follow-up fieldwork
period of six months during which intensive interviews were conducted. In
all, a study population of 890 respondents was obtained, of whom 97 were
interviewed. The Armenian population of Sydney at the time of the Survey
was estimated at no more than 7,000 individuals, while a generous estimate of
the Australian Armenian population would have been no more than 10,000.
Although quite diverse and having originated in 43 different countries
at arrival in Australia they were for the most part urban dwellers of skilled
and white-collar occupations and with a fair amount of formal schooling
(considering their countries of origin). Moreover, most had acquired some
facility with the English language before arrival. These characteristics,
combined with the fact that most of the Armenian migration was of the nature
of family reunion or chain movement, have resulted in a very rapid adjustment
to life in Australia. Becoming satisfactorily adjusted in the various
spheres of life, however, does not mean these first generation immigrants
v
have tended to assimilate into Australian society. In fact, just the
opposite appears to have occurred. Rapid and successful adjustment,
characterized by the reestablishment to the greatest extent possible of
their overseas existence, has tended to serve as a barrier to assimilation
by not requiring them to change to become more like Australians. It is
unlikely therefore that the Sydney Armenians, as a group, will undergo
substantial assimilation until the second or subsequent generations