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Australian American

Rupert Murdoch, Errol Flynn
Total population
60,965
Regions with significant populations
California, Hawaii, New York

An Australian American is an American of Australian descent.

The first wave of emigration from Australia to the United States came in the 1850s California Gold Rush when mostly Irish migrants who had escaped the Great Irish Famine had previously worked on the Australian goldfields.

The story of Australian American population almost follows the story of both British Americans and Irish Americans, as Australia was a British political territory at the time when they first emigrated and most of the settlers were Irish. In San Francisco, the "Sydney Ducks" as they were known, were in violent conflict with nativist locals. Transpacific immigration then dried up while the American Civil War waged. It picked up during the period of Reconstruction, but faltered again when Australia was hit by a depression in the late 1890s.

Immigration to the United States peaked in the years following World War II, due to America's increased economic activity, and the exodus of 15,000 Australian war brides who married US servicemen. From 1971 to 1990, more than 86,400 Australians and New Zealanders immigrated to the United States.[1]

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Notable Australian Americans 2.1 Business 2.2 Public Service 2.3 Politics 2.4 Writers 2.5 Scientists 2.6 Artists 2.7 Sport 2.8 Music 2.9 Actors/Actresses 2.10 Other 3 References

[edit] Demographics

At the 2000 Census 60,965 Australian born people were enumerated in the United States, of which 15,315 were citizens. Around 40% of Australian Americans had entered the United States before 1980.[2]

Australians are popularly thought to be predominantly white/of the European race and of Anglo-British ancestry, but the facts are Australia is home to many different races and ethnic groups. Some white Australians may have Australian Aborigine ancestry indigenous to the continent, and many other European and later Asian immigrants (i.e. Chinese, Southeast Asians, Indians and Middle Easterners to name a few) settled in the country since the end of World War II.

[edit] Notable Australian Americans

[edit] Business

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Jacques Nasser	1947-	former CEO of Ford Motors	born Lebanon but raised in Australia	lived in US as CEO of major US company
Rupert Murdoch	1931-	CEO of News Corporation	born Australia	in 1985 Murdoch became a naturalized citizen of the United States

[edit] Public Service

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Richard W. Fisher	1949-	Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President	Australian-American father	U.S. citizen at birth
John Henderson		blind activist	native of Australia	came to the U.S. with his parents as a child and settled there
Martin Indyk	1951-	former US Ambassador to Israel	(British born, Australian raised)	US Governmental roles
Norbert Basil MacLean III	1971-	U.S. Navy veteran who championed Supreme Court access for U.S. military personnel	dual citizen by descent (Australian mother)	dual citizen by birth (American father)
James Wolfensohn	1933-	former president of the World Bank	born Australia	in 1980 became a naturalized citizen of the United States

[edit] Politics

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Harry Bridges	1901-1990	International Longshore and Warehouse Union leader	born Australia	became a naturalized US citizen in 1945

[edit] Writers

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Jill Ker Conway	1934-	writer	born Australia	works in US
Sumner Locke Elliott	1917-1991	writer of Careful, he might hear you	born Australia	moved to the United States in 1948 and obtained US citizenship in 1955

[edit] Scientists

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Paul D. Scully-Power	1944-	oceanographer and astronaut	born Australia	became a U.S. citizen in 1982
Andy Thomas	1951-	astronaut	born Australia	became a U.S. citizen in December 1986

[edit] Artists

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Pat Oliphant	1935-	New York Times cartoonist	born Australia	emigrated to the United States in 1964

[edit] Sport

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Darren Bennett	1965-	Australian rules and American Football	born, played in AFL	played in NFL
Jamie Dundee	1971-	Professional Wrestling	born in Australia	moved to the US aged 3
Taylor Dent	1981-	tennis	father is Australian	born United States
Rob Machado	1973-	WCT Surfer	Born in Sydney	grew up and lives in California

[edit] Music

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Flea	1962-	Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist	born Australia	lived America from age 5
John Butler	1962-	[Lead singer of The John Butler Trio	Family moved to Australia at age 11	Born in America; Mother is American
MC Lars	1982-	rapper	father Australian	born America
Rick Springfield	1949-	singer, songwriter, actor	born and raised in Australia	lived and worked in America since the age of 22 and became a naturalised citizen of the US in 2006.
Mark Stoermer	1977-	The Killers' bassist	Father is Australian	Born in the US

[edit] Actors/Actresses

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Jacinda Barrett	1972-	actress	born and raised Australia	Moved to US in the 90s to pursue her acting career and has resided there ever since. Is married to an American, Gabriel Macht and they have a child.
Leon Errol	1881-1951	vaudeville	born Australia	worked and died in America
Errol Flynn	1909-1959	actor	born and raised Australia	Moved to the US finding Hollywood Stardom in the 30s. Became a naturalised US Citizen in 1942. Died in America.
Peter Finch	1916-1977	actor	born UK, raised in Australia	Moved to Hollywood in the 50s. Won a posthumous Best Actor Oscar in 1977, for his performance in the film, Network. Buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Melissa George	1976-	actress	born and raised Australia	Moved the US in the 1990s to pursue her acting career. Became a naturalised US Citizen in 2008.[1]
Mel Gibson	1956-	actor and director	his paternal grandmother was Australian and moved to Australia when he was 12 years old and educated there, honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (he is not an Australian Citizen, but is an Australian resident)	born United States and holds dual citizenship in America and the Republic of Ireland
Anthony LaPaglia	1959-	Without a Trace actor	born Australia	lives and works in America
George Lazenby	1939-	former Bond	born Australia	lived in America and owned real estate there
Keir O'Donnell	1978-	actor	born in Australia	lives and works in America
Nathalia Ramos	1992-	actress	born in Spain, mother is Australian	lives and works in America.
Ann Richards	1917-2006	actress	born Australia	moved to the United States in 1942, worked and died there; father American
Tristan Rogers	1946-	General Hospital actor	born Australia	naturalized US citizen
Portia de Rossi	1973-	actress	born and raised Australia	Moved to the US in the 90s to pursue her acting career and has resided there ever since. Is in a long term relationship with American Ellen DeGeneres. The two were married on 16 August 2008.
Kristen Stewart	1990-	actress	Mother is Australian	Born in the United States however has expressed a desire to live in Australia and become a dual citizen.
Nicole Kidman	1967-	actress	both parents are Australians	Born in United States, with dual citizenship
Heath Ledger	-	actor	Born in Australia.

[edit] Other

Name	Born - Died	Notable for	Connection with Australia	Connection with America
Soledad O'Brien	1966-	television journalist for CNN	father is Australian	born in the US
Brianna Keilar	1980-	television journalist for CNN	born in Australia	grew up in Orange County, California
Marsha Waggoner	1940-	champion poker player	born Australia	lived in America since 1977
Christopher Wilder	1945-1984	serial killer	born Australia	father American; emigrated to the United States in 1969

[edit] References