# Chilean Australians

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Chilean community in Australia

Ethnic group

Chilean Australians Chileno-australiano Total population 37,608 (by ancestry, 2019)[1][2] Regions with significant populations Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Languages English and Spanish; others speak German, Italian, Mapudungun, and Rapa Nui Religion Roman Catholic (Predominantly) Protestant Evangelical Jewish Related ethnic groups other Hispanic and Latin American Australians, Spaniards, other Europeans, Mapuche, Rapa Nui

**Chilean Australians** ([Spanish](/source/Spanish_language): *chilenos australianos*) are [Australians](/source/Australia) of [Chilean](/source/Chile) descent or Chileans who have obtained Australian citizenship. Chileans are the largest group of [Hispanic American Australians](/source/Hispanic_and_Latin_American_Australians), as well as being the second largest group of Latin American Australians (behind [Brazilian Australians](/source/Brazilian_Australians)) residing in the country. The biggest Chilean Australian communities are primarily found in [Sydney](/source/Sydney), [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) and [Canberra](/source/Canberra).[3]

## Demography

According to the 2006 Australian Census, 23,305 Australians were born in Chile[4] while 25,439 claimed Chilean ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry.[5] The Australian 2001 Census reports that 63% of Chilean-born respondents nominated their leading ancestry as [Spaniard](/source/Spain), while others nominated a [Croatian](/source/Croats) (19%), [German](/source/Germans) (8%), [Italian](/source/Italians) (6%) or [English](/source/English_people) (4%) ancestry.[6]

The largest Chilean Australian communities are in [Sydney](/source/Sydney) (10,909 residents, 2006 Census result)[7] and [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) (6,530).[8]

A Chilean government study conducted by the *Chilean National Institute of Statistics* in 2003-04 and published in 2005 found that 33,626 first and second generation Chileans were living in Australia. This figure was gathered by combining the population reported in the 2001 Australian Census and the National Registry for Chileans living abroad.[9][10][11] One estimate of Chilean-Australians (including those born in Chile and those of Chilean descent) is approximately 40,000, another 2006 estimate is as high as 45,000.[12]

## History and cultural background

[Nick Carle](/source/Nick_Carle)

[Ramón Freire](/source/Ram%C3%B3n_Freire)

In 1837, two Chileans arrived in Sydney, the first on record in Australia. One was former Chilean [president](/source/President_of_Chile) [Ramón Freire](/source/Ram%C3%B3n_Freire), exiled from Chile after attempting to re-take power in a coup. He did not settle in Australia, however, and eventually returned to his homeland.[13]

Chilean migration to Australia occurred at different times from the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century. A large wave of Chileans arrived to Australia in the 1850s after the [California gold rush](/source/California_gold_rush) they had [participated in](/source/Chileans_in_the_California_gold_rush). In Australia Chileans joined the [Australian gold rushes](/source/Australian_gold_rushes) that begun in 1851. Along with the Chileans came also mining technologies they had introduced to California such as the [Chilean mill](/source/Chilean_mill) which became common in Australian mining.[14] Not all Chileans stayed and there are estimates of 350 Chileans leaving Australia in the early 1860s to join the gold rush in New Zealand.[14]

The first Labour Party [Prime Minister of Australia](/source/Prime_Minister_of_Australia), and the first leader of a social democratic party to become a national head of government, [Chris Watson](/source/Chris_Watson), was born in [Valparaíso](/source/Valpara%C3%ADso), [Chile](/source/Chile) the son of a Chilean citizen of German descent.[15]

Migration studies demonstrate that late 20th century Chilean migration to Australia occurred in three distinguishable waves.[12]

In the 1960s, especially between the years 1968-70, around 1,500-2,000 Chileans arrived in Australia as a consequence of the economic recession produced during the government of [Eduardo Frei Montalva](/source/Eduardo_Frei_Montalva), and the high level of unemployment at the termination of his administration. The majority of these people were middle class and well educated, and their migration can be seen to have an [economic basis](/source/Economic_migrant).

[Frank Duarte](/source/F._J._Duarte)

The second significant group to arrive was likely motivated by the presidential [election of Salvador Allende](/source/Chilean_presidential_election%2C_1970) in 1970. Allende was the world's first democratically elected [Marxist](/source/Marxist) President of any nation.[16] His ascension to the presidency provoked a high level of uncertainty amongst the wealthy, given his stated platform of [nationalisation](/source/Nationalisation) of mining, industry, and services. The political and economic unrest that followed prompted many Chileans to flee the threat of political and social instability. This group was, again, overwhelmingly middle class, with sufficient resources (education and finance) to establish themselves as small business operators within Australia. By 1971, 3,760 Chilean-born people were registered in Australia. [*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In this group arrived laser physicist and author [Frank Duarte](/source/F._J._Duarte) who became the first South American to graduate with a Ph.D. from an Australian university, and leader of the [Macquarie science reform movement](/source/Macquarie_science_reform_movement).

The third distinguishable wave of [immigration to Australia](/source/Immigration_to_Australia) was the greatest in number by far, and was characterised in large part by Chileans fleeing their homeland as a consequence of political events following the [1973 military coup](/source/1973_Chilean_coup_d'%C3%A9tat) and subsequent [military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet](/source/Military_dictatorship_of_Chile_(1973%E2%80%931990)). This wave of Chilean migrants was quite homogeneous, comprised in the majority by skilled workers, and at times, their families. In this regard the middle class was represented only in the minority. Political elitists and intellectuals from the left were also small in numbers, due to their preference for [Eastern Europe](/source/Eastern_Europe) and [socialist](/source/Socialist) nations in the Hispanic world. Former president of Chile [Michelle Bachelet](/source/Michelle_Bachelet) briefly lived in Australia with family already present in the country after the coup of 1973 later moving to [East Germany](/source/East_Germany).[17][18] Augusto Pinochet's [dictatorship](/source/Chile_under_Pinochet) over Chile lasted until 1990. During his regime more than 500,000 Chileans fled the country,[19] 21,029 of whom sought sanctuary in Australia. However, several thousand have and are still returning to Chile from all over the world as the economic boom of the country has prospered the nation.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Moreover, since the latter part of the 1980s, many Chileans who had worked for the military government have also emigrated to Australia, leading to a degree of tension with and periodic denunciations from other Chilean Australians.[20]

## Notable Chilean Australians

- [Nick Carle](/source/Nick_Carle)

- [Angelo Costanzo](/source/Angelo_Costanzo)

- [F. J. Duarte](/source/F._J._Duarte)

- [Pia Miller](/source/Pia_Miller)

- [Rodrigo Palomino](/source/Rodrigo_Palomino)

- [Jose Romero](/source/Jose_Romero_(Australian_rules_footballer))

- [Rodrigo Vargas](/source/Rodrigo_Vargas_(soccer%2C_born_1978))

- [Sergio Villagra](/source/Sergio_Villagra)

- [Chris Watson](/source/Chris_Watson)

- [Tim Kelly](/source/Tim_Kelly_(footballer))

- [Michael Lira](/source/Michael_Lira)

## See also

- [Australia portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Australia)
- [Chile portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Chile)

- [Australia–Chile relations](/source/Australia%E2%80%93Chile_relations)

- [European Australians](/source/European_Australians)

- [Europeans in Oceania](/source/Europeans_in_Oceania)

- [Hispanic and Latin American Australians](/source/Hispanic_and_Latin_American_Australians)

- [Immigration to Australia](/source/Immigration_to_Australia)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Estimación de personas extranjeras residentes habituales en Chile al 31 de diciembre 2019"](https://www.ine.cl/docs/default-source/demografia-y-migracion/publicaciones-y-anuarios/migraci%C3%B3n-internacional/estimaci%C3%B3n-poblaci%C3%B3n-extranjera-en-chile-2018/estimaci%C3%B3n-poblaci%C3%B3n-extranjera-en-chile-2019-metodolog%C3%ADa.pdf?sfvrsn=5b145256_6) (PDF) (in Spanish). [National Statistics Institute](/source/National_Statistics_Institute_(Chile)). March 2020. p. 21. Retrieved 25 April 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Estimaciones y proyecciones 1992–2050, país (base 2017)"](http://www.ine.cl/docs/default-source/proyecciones-de-poblacion/cuadros-estadisticos/base-2017/ine_estimaciones-y-proyecciones-de-poblaci%C3%B3n-1992-2050_base-2017_tabulados.xlsx?sfvrsn=68eefb1_9) (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 April 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Jupp_3-0)** [Jupp, James](/source/James_Jupp) (1 October 2001). [*The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins*](https://books.google.com/books?id=wgoFxfSTfYAC&pg=PA195). Cambridge University Press. pp. 195–7. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-80789-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-80789-0). Retrieved 23 November 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ABS_Country_of_Birth_4-0)** ["20680 - Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Australia, 2006 census"](http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POLTD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Person%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Birthplace&) (XLS). *[Australian Bureau of Statistics](/source/Australian_Bureau_of_Statistics)*. Retrieved 27 May 2008.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ABS_Ancestry_5-0)** ["20680 - Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex - Australia"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080310121707/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/download?format=xls&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Ancestry%20%28full%20classification%20list%29%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&areacode=0). *2006 Census*. [Australian Bureau of Statistics](/source/Australian_Bureau_of_Statistics). Archived from [the original](http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?breadcrumb=POLTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details&collection=Census&javascript=true&topic=Ancestry&action=404&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&order=1&period=2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true&) (XLS) on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 2003 : Population characteristics: Ancestry of Australia's population"](http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/af5129cb50e07099ca2570eb0082e462!OpenDocument). [Australian Bureau of Statistics](/source/Australian_Bureau_of_Statistics). 3 June 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2008. On the other hand, people arriving in Australia from the same birthplace may have different ethnic and cultural affiliations. For example, the ancestries of East Timor-born people living in Australia were Chinese (61%), Timorese (40%) and Portuguese (10%). Of people born in New Zealand, 14% stated Maori as their ancestry, while English (52%) and New Zealander (21%) were the most common responses. As with those born in New Zealand and Australia, ancestries given by those born in some other countries often include a national ancestry and one associated with a colonial power. Thus, a large proportion of those born in Chile reported their ancestry as Chilean (63%), but Spanish was also relatively common (29%).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Sydney"](http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=105&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=105&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POTLD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Person%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Birthplace&). Australian Bureau of Statistics.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Melbourne"](http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=205&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=205&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POTLD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Person%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Birthplace&). Australian Bureau of Statistics.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** (in Spanish) [https://web.archive.org/web/20060213213457/http://www.gobiernodechile.cl/chilenos_exterior/registro_chilenos_exterior.pdf](https://web.archive.org/web/20060213213457/http://www.gobiernodechile.cl/chilenos_exterior/registro_chilenos_exterior.pdf)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** (in Spanish)[https://web.archive.org/web/20090416055506/http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20050816/pags/20050816125322.html](https://web.archive.org/web/20090416055506/http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20050816/pags/20050816125322.html)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Luz Rivera, Carmen. ["Radiografía a los Chilenos en el Mundo"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080622010408/http://www.chile.com/tpl/articulo/detalle/ver.tpl?cod_articulo=68730) [Radiograph of Chileans in the World] (in Spanish). Chile.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.chile.com/tpl/articulo/detalle/ver.tpl?cod_articulo%3D68730) on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-immigration_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-immigration_12-1) ["Chilean Immigration"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070503051218/http://www2.embachile-australia.com/en/community/migration.html). *Embassy of Chile in Australia*. 2 June 2006. Archived from [the original](http://www.embachile-australia.com/en/community/migration.html) on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2008.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["Origins: History of immigration from Chile"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080730051444/http://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=8). Museum Victoria Australia. Archived from [the original](https://museumvictoria.com.au/origins/history.aspx?pid=8) on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nuevom_14-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nuevom_14-1) Herrera Canales, Inés (2015). ["Trabajadores y técnicas mineras andinas en las fiebres del oro del mundo en el siglo XIX"](https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/67746). *Nuevo Mundo* (in Spanish). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.4000/nuevomundo.67746](https://doi.org/10.4000%2Fnuevomundo.67746).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Nairn, Bede (1990). "Watson, John Christian (Chris) (1867–1941". [*Australian Dictionary of Biography*](https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/watson-john-christian-chris-9003/text15849). Vol. 12. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 24 March 2017 – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["11 September, 1973 - The Day Democracy Died in Chile"](https://web.archive.org/web/20021030063935/http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A716591). bbc.co.uk. 12 April 2002. Archived from [the original](https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A716591) on 30 October 2002.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Reel, Monte (12 March 2006). ["Bachelet Sworn In As Chile's President"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/11/AR2006031101381.html). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved 28 April 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Breaking News, World News & Multimedia"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060513111435/http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/11/america/web.1211profile.php). International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 11 December 2005. Archived from [the original](http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/11/america/web.1211profile.php) on 13 May 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Doña, Cristián; Levinson, Amanda (1 February 2004). ["Chile: Moving Towards a Migration Policy"](http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/chile-moving-towards-migration-policy/). Migration Policy Institution. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Chile hopes to extradite Sydney nanny implicated in Pinochet-era torture allegations"](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-25/adriana-rivas-sydney-woman-wanted-for-extradition-chile/5342476). *[Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation)*. 25 March 2014.

## External links

- Veronica Quinteros (2011). ["Chileans"](https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/chileans). *[Dictionary of Sydney](/source/Dictionary_of_Sydney)*. Retrieved 4 October 2015. (Chileans in Sydney) [CC-By-SA](/source/Creative_Commons_license)

v t e Chilean diaspora Argentina Australia Brazil Falkland Islands Finland France Mexico Sweden United Kingdom United States Venezuela

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chilean Australians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Australians) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Australians?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.