Filipino-Australian
Encyclopedia
Filipino Australians, Fil-Aus or Filos are Australians of Filipino
ancestry. Filipino-Australians are the fifth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipino
s. According to the 2006 census, there are over 160,374 Filipino Australians. In Sydney, people born in the Philippines comprise 5.9% of the population in the City of Blacktown
and it is the largest directly born ethnic group in Blacktown.
immigrant group behind Vietnamese Australian
s and Chinese Australian
s, Females accounted for 65.5% of the Philippine community while males represented 34.5% of the Filipino Australian population. According to census data, 50.2 per cent of the Philippines-born were resident in New South Wales
, followed by 21.6% in Victoria
, 14.9% in Queensland
and 5.2% in Western Australia
.
. As a consequence, their numbers in Australia remained minimal; confined to descendants of those few Filipinos who had migrated to the north west pearling areas of Western Australia and the sugar cane plantations of Queensland prior to 1901; until the abolition of racially selective immigration policies in 1966. The 1901 census had recorded 700 Filipinos in Australia.
Martial law
in the Philippines; declared by former Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos
in 1972 and the renunciation of the White Australia Policy made Australia an attractive destination for Filipino emigrants, particularly skilled workers. Many Filipinos also settled in Australia from the 1970s onward as either migrant, workers, or the spouses of Australian citizens. Marriages between Filipinos and Australians rose very sharply from 1978, peaked in 1986 and remained high as of 2000, despite a dip in the early 1990s. The 1980s were the period of the greatest Filipino immigration, with 1987-1988 being the peak year.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
ancestry. Filipino-Australians are the fifth-largest subgroup of the Overseas Filipino
Overseas Filipino
An Overseas Filipino is a person of Philippine origin who lives outside of the Philippines. This term applies both to people of Filipino ancestry who are citizens or residents of a different country and to those Filipino citizens abroad on a more temporary status.Most overseas Filipinos migrate to...
s. According to the 2006 census, there are over 160,374 Filipino Australians. In Sydney, people born in the Philippines comprise 5.9% of the population in the City of Blacktown
City of Blacktown
The City of Blacktown is a Local Government Area in the heart of Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately 35 km from Sydney CBD. It is bounded by the Local Government Areas of Penrith, Parramatta, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesbury and The Hills Shire. It occupies an area...
and it is the largest directly born ethnic group in Blacktown.
Population
Currently Filipinos are the third largest Asian AustralianAsian Australian
An Asian Australian can be generally defined as a person of Asian ancestry who was born in or is an immigrant to Australia.There is no agreed definition of who an Asian Australian is, although for the purposes of aggregating data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics in its Australian Standard...
immigrant group behind Vietnamese Australian
Vietnamese Australian
A Vietnamese Australian is an Australian either born in Vietnam or is an Australian descendant of the former. Communities of Overseas Vietnamese are referred to as Việt Kiều or người Việt hải ngoại.-History in Australia:...
s and Chinese Australian
Chinese Australian
Chinese Australian is an Australian of Chinese heritage. In the 2006 Australian Census, 669,890 Australian residents identified themselves as having Chinese ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry....
s, Females accounted for 65.5% of the Philippine community while males represented 34.5% of the Filipino Australian population. According to census data, 50.2 per cent of the Philippines-born were resident in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, followed by 21.6% in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, 14.9% in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and 5.2% in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
History
Filipinos were excluded from entering Australia under the White Australia policyWhite Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
. As a consequence, their numbers in Australia remained minimal; confined to descendants of those few Filipinos who had migrated to the north west pearling areas of Western Australia and the sugar cane plantations of Queensland prior to 1901; until the abolition of racially selective immigration policies in 1966. The 1901 census had recorded 700 Filipinos in Australia.
Martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
in the Philippines; declared by former Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
in 1972 and the renunciation of the White Australia Policy made Australia an attractive destination for Filipino emigrants, particularly skilled workers. Many Filipinos also settled in Australia from the 1970s onward as either migrant, workers, or the spouses of Australian citizens. Marriages between Filipinos and Australians rose very sharply from 1978, peaked in 1986 and remained high as of 2000, despite a dip in the early 1990s. The 1980s were the period of the greatest Filipino immigration, with 1987-1988 being the peak year.
Notable people
- Mig AyesaMig AyesaMiguel Alfonso Ramon Legarda "MiG" Ayesa is an Australian rock vocalist.-Biography:Born in Manila, Philippines and raised in Sydney, Australia, and has three-fourths-Spanish maternal ancestry and fourth-Ilonggo paternal and maternal ancestries. His Spanish ancestry came from Preysler lineage...
, Theatre actor and rock vocalist - Merlinda BobisMerlinda BobisMerlinda Carullo Bobis is a contemporary Philippine-Australian writer and academic.Born in Legaspi City, in the Philippines province of Albay, Merlinda Bobis attended Bicol University High School then completed her B.A. at Aquinas University in Legaspi City...
, writer - Romy Cayabyab, web publisher
- Anne CurtisAnne CurtisAnne Ojales Curtis-Smith, also known as Anne Curtis is a Filipino-Australian actress, model, television host, singer and VJ currently active in the Philippines....
, actress and model - Kate CeberanoKate CeberanoKate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
, singer - Kathleen de Leon JonesKathleen de Leon JonesKathleen de Leon Jones is an Australian actress, dancer, and singer of Filipino descent. She was an original cast member of the ARIA Award winning Australian children's television program, Hi-5.-Personal life:Born in Manila in 1977, Kathleen moved to Australia with her family in 1978...
, former Hi-5 member - Natalie Jackson MendozaNatalie MendozaNatalie Jackson Mendoza is a Hong Kong-born Australian-British-Filipina classical theatre-trained actress and musician. She is best known for her role as one of the main characters, Jackie Clunes in the British TV drama Hotel Babylon and as tough girl Juno in the acclaimed horror thriller The...
, actress (Hotel BabylonHotel BabylonHotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
) - Craig WingCraig WingCraig Wing is an Australian rugby union player. He currently plays rugby union in Japan. A former rugby league player for New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international utility player, Wing played for South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters.-South Sydney Rabbitohs:Craig Wing was a...
, Australian Rugby League player (South Sydney RabbitohsSouth Sydney RabbitohsThe South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
) - Flip SimmonsFlip SimmonsFlip Simmons is an Australian actor and musician. He is a graduate of Brent Street School of Performing Arts.He has performed with artists such as George Benson, John Farnham, Delta Goodrem, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and the Rogue Traders, Christine Anu, Paulini, Sharon and Christine Muscat , Rob...
, Theatre actor and musician - Bobby Morley, actor from Home and AwayHome and AwayHome and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
TV series - Rose PorteousRose PorteousRose Porteous , a Filipino-born Australian, is best known for her marriage to Lang Hancock, a West Australian iron ore mining magnate, and the protracted legal battle with her step-daughter, Gina Rinehart, over the circumstances that lead to the death of Hancock, and the distribution of his estate...
, socialite - Mick PennisiMick PennisiMichael Alfio Pennisi , better known as Mick Pennisi, is a Filipino-Australian professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association who currently plays for the Barako Bull Energy. He was automatically hired by Red Bull in 2000...
, basketball player - Edd Aragon, cartoonist
- Iya VillaniaIya VillaniaRaelene Elaine Ebaler Villanía , better known as Iya Villania, is a Filipino-Australian actress, host, singer, dancer, and model. She has hosted on TV shows like ASAP Mania, Us Girls and as a VJ for MYX music channel.-Early life:Villanía was born in Camperdown, Australia but grew up in Sydney...
, actress and singer - Israel CruzIsrael (singer)Israel Cruz is an Australian singer-songwriter and record producer.-Albums:-Singles:- Songwriting credits :*Elen Levon**"Naughty" *Jessica Mauboy**"Been Waiting" **"What Happened to Us"...
, singer - Robert James Reid, teen celebrity
- Chris CayzerChris CayzerChris Cayzer is a Filipino-Australian soul, R&B and acoustic singer, actor, DJ and VJ...
, actor and singer - Sef GonzalesSef GonzalesSef Gonzales is an Australian who was convicted and sentenced in the Supreme Court of New South Wales to life imprisonment for the murder of his father Teddy Gonzales, 46, mother Mary Loiva Josephine, 43, and sister Clodine, 18....
, murderer - Jason Day, Golfer
- Jasmine Curtis, actress and model
- Julia Cortez, actress
- Lolita Farmer, community leader
- Aljin AbellaAljin AbellaAljin Abella , also known as Alin Abella, is an Australian actor of Filipino descent, who is best known for playing Theo Martin, the Blue Ranger on Power Rangers: Jungle Fury.-Film and television roles:...
Blue Jungle Fury Ranger - Christine Cuaresma, Superannuation Industry Advocate