Australia–Estonia relations
Encyclopedia
Australia–Estonia relations are foreign relations between Australia
and Estonia
. Australia first recognised Estonia on 22 September 1921. Australia was among the first countries to re-recognise Estonia's independence on 27 August 1991. Both countries re-established diplomatic relations on 21 November 1991.
Neither country has a resident ambassador. Australia is represented in Estonia through its embassy in Stockholm
(Sweden), and through an honorary consulate in Tallinn
. Estonia is represented in Australia through its embassy in Tokyo (Japan) and through 3 honorary consulates (in Claremont
, Hobart
, and 2 in Sydney).
for 17 months between July 1974 to December 1975 by the Whitlam
government, while most other countries continued to recognise the independent Estonian diplomatic missions. This recognition of the Soviet annexation by the Whitlam government was repudiated by the subsequent Fraser government and relations with the independent Estonian consular representative re-established and maintained until the restoration on independence in 1991.
Following the election of the new Liberal Party – Australian Country Party coalition
in December 1975, the new government withdrew de jure recognition of the incorporation of Estonia into the Soviet Union. On 17 December of that year the Australian government instructed the Australian ambassador in Moscow that he and his staff were not to make any official visits to the Estonian SSR.
visited Australia. An Australian Parliamentary delegation, led by the former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Sue West
, visited Tallinn in October 1999. The most recent high-level visit was by the then Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Mr Philip Ruddock
, in April 2002. Estonian Parliamentary delegation, led by the Speaker of Riigikogu
Ene Ergma
visited Australia in 2008. In 2009 Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet
visited Australia and opened Estonian Honorary Consulate in Perth. In April 2010 Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith participated in the Meeting of ISAF
Foreign Ministers in Tallinn, Estonia.
Australia has signed a Working Holiday Visa
s arrangement with Estonia, which came into effect in May 2005.
In 2009-10, Australia and Estonia negotiated on a new social security agreement.
, Monash University
and Swinburne University of Technology
.
The first Estonians settled in Australia in 1853 and the first Estonian Society was established in Melbourne
in 1914. People settled primarily around Sydney. After Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940 and again in 1944, numerous Estonian exiles settled in Australia, contributing to development of Estonian culture in Australia. Estonian House
s were set up in Sydney (1940), Thirlmere
(1952), Melbourne (1955), Adelaide
(1957) and Perth
(1966). Australia has the fifth largest Estonian community after Russia, Canada, Sweden and the USA. Sir Arvi Parbo
, chairman of three of Australia's largest companies, is one of the best-known Estonians in Australia.
Estonian culture has been presented in Australia by many Estonian artists and musicians, including the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
and composer Arvo Pärt
– honorary doctor of Sydney University. Arvo Volmer
has been the principal conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
since 2004. The Estonian Archives in Sydney were established in 1952 and hold the majority of all printed Estonian works that were published outside of Estonia following World War II
.
29 million in 2007–2008. Merchandise trade between Australia and Estonia has been unstable, partly due to a big distance between the countries. Estonia's biggest import are alcoholic beverages (wines) and Australia's are wood and wood products.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. Australia first recognised Estonia on 22 September 1921. Australia was among the first countries to re-recognise Estonia's independence on 27 August 1991. Both countries re-established diplomatic relations on 21 November 1991.
Neither country has a resident ambassador. Australia is represented in Estonia through its embassy in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
(Sweden), and through an honorary consulate in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
. Estonia is represented in Australia through its embassy in Tokyo (Japan) and through 3 honorary consulates (in Claremont
Claremont, Western Australia
Claremont is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia on the north bank of the Swan River.-History:Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of water, for fishing and for catching waterfowl. In 1830, John Butler, a settler, set up an inn at Freshwater Bay to...
, Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, and 2 in Sydney).
Migration
Australia is host to one of the largest communities of Estonians abroad, with 8,232 people identifying as Estonian in the 2006 Australian Census.Relations during the Soviet occupation
Australia was the only Western country to break ranks and briefly recognise the Soviet annexation of Estonia (and the other Baltic states) as de jureDe jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
for 17 months between July 1974 to December 1975 by the Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
government, while most other countries continued to recognise the independent Estonian diplomatic missions. This recognition of the Soviet annexation by the Whitlam government was repudiated by the subsequent Fraser government and relations with the independent Estonian consular representative re-established and maintained until the restoration on independence in 1991.
Following the election of the new Liberal Party – Australian Country Party coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
in December 1975, the new government withdrew de jure recognition of the incorporation of Estonia into the Soviet Union. On 17 December of that year the Australian government instructed the Australian ambassador in Moscow that he and his staff were not to make any official visits to the Estonian SSR.
Political
In July 1998 Estonian Prime Minister Mart SiimannMart Siimann
Mart Siimann was the Prime Minister of Estonia from 1997 to 1999. Since 2001, he has been the president of the Estonian Olympic Committee....
visited Australia. An Australian Parliamentary delegation, led by the former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Sue West
Sue West
Suzanne Margaret West was an Australian Labor Party Senator for New South Wales. She was appointed to the Senate in February 1987 following the resignation of Douglas McClelland. Defeated at election later that year, she returned to the Senate in 1990 and was re-elected in 1996. She retired prior...
, visited Tallinn in October 1999. The most recent high-level visit was by the then Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, the Hon Mr Philip Ruddock
Philip Ruddock
Philip Maxwell Ruddock is an Australian politician who is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Berowra, New South Wales, for the Liberal Party of Australia...
, in April 2002. Estonian Parliamentary delegation, led by the Speaker of Riigikogu
Riigikogu
The Riigikogu is the unicameral parliament of Estonia. All important state-related questions pass through the Riigikogu...
Ene Ergma
Ene Ergma
Ene Ergma is an Estonian politician, a member of the Riigikogu , and scientist. She is a member of the political party Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica...
visited Australia in 2008. In 2009 Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet
Urmas Paet
Urmas Paet is an Estonian politician who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia since 2005. He is a member of the Estonian Reform Party. As of September 2010, Paet has been the longest serving minister since the re-establishment of Estonian independence.-Biography:Paet was born in Tallinn...
visited Australia and opened Estonian Honorary Consulate in Perth. In April 2010 Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith participated in the Meeting of ISAF
ISAF
ISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001....
Foreign Ministers in Tallinn, Estonia.
Australia has signed a Working Holiday Visa
Working holiday visa
A working holiday visa is a travel permit which allows travellers to undertake employment in the country issuing the visa for the purpose of supplementing their travel funds....
s arrangement with Estonia, which came into effect in May 2005.
In 2009-10, Australia and Estonia negotiated on a new social security agreement.
Cultural
Australia has two arrangements with Estonia involving the Estonian Business SchoolEstonian Business School
Estonian Business School is a private, higher-education institution situated in Tallinn, Estonia. EBS offers business-related higher education in both bachelor-, master- and doctoral levels...
, Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
and Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology
Swinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...
.
The first Estonians settled in Australia in 1853 and the first Estonian Society was established in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1914. People settled primarily around Sydney. After Soviet occupation of Estonia in 1940 and again in 1944, numerous Estonian exiles settled in Australia, contributing to development of Estonian culture in Australia. Estonian House
Estonian House
An Estonian House is a center of Estonian culture, usually overseas. Numerous Estonian Houses were set up after the Soviet occupation of Estonia led to tens of thousands of Estonian people fleeing the war and the occupation and settling overseas.-London:...
s were set up in Sydney (1940), Thirlmere
Thirlmere, New South Wales
Thirlmere is a small semi-rural town in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. Popularly known for its railway origins, the town is located 89 km south west of Sydney , one third of the distance from Sydney to Canberra...
(1952), Melbourne (1955), Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
(1957) and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
(1966). Australia has the fifth largest Estonian community after Russia, Canada, Sweden and the USA. Sir Arvi Parbo
Arvi Parbo
Sir Arvi Hillar Parbo AC is a business executive who was concurrently chairman of three of Australia's largest companies....
, chairman of three of Australia's largest companies, is one of the best-known Estonians in Australia.
Estonian culture has been presented in Australia by many Estonian artists and musicians, including the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is a professional choir based in Estonia. It was founded in 1981 by Tõnu Kaljuste, who was its conductor for twenty years. In 2001, Paul Hillier followed Kaljuste's tenure, becoming the EPCC's principal conductor and artistic director until September 2008,...
and composer Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt
Arvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer and one of the most prominent living composers of sacred music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs his self-made compositional technique, tintinnabuli. His music also finds its inspiration and influence from...
– honorary doctor of Sydney University. Arvo Volmer
Arvo Volmer
Arvo Volmer is an Estonian conductor.Volmer was principal conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra from 1993 to 2001. Since 2004 he has been music director of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and both music director and principal conductor of the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn...
has been the principal conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded as a 17 player radio ensemble in 1936, in Adelaide, South Australia. The orchestra reformed in 1949 as the 55 member South Australian Symphony Orchestra. It reverted to its original and present title, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, in late 1974, and...
since 2004. The Estonian Archives in Sydney were established in 1952 and hold the majority of all printed Estonian works that were published outside of Estonia following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Economic
Trade between Australia and Estonia was a modest A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
29 million in 2007–2008. Merchandise trade between Australia and Estonia has been unstable, partly due to a big distance between the countries. Estonia's biggest import are alcoholic beverages (wines) and Australia's are wood and wood products.