History
Early years
Singaporean migration began prior to Singapore's independence as a sovereign country in 1965, during Australia's gold rush period (1851–1914). At the time, Singapore was a British colony, and so was Australia. Therefore, movements within the former British Empire's territories in the then known "Far East" were relatively common.[6]
However, Asian immigration to Australia at the time was generally restricted due to the White Australia policy, and so most immigration at this time were people of European or half-European descent (Eurasian), especially British.[6]
20th century
Island transfers
In 1955 and 1958 respectively, the territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands were transferred from Singapore to Australia. As a result, its inhabitants went from conventional Singaporeans to one that is considered to be Singaporean Australians. In the lead up to the transfer, there were some opposition by several legislative members in Singapore who felt that they weren't properly consulted on the matter.[7]
Then Chief Minister of Singapore, Lim Yew Hock, also raised concerns with regards to the citizenship and employment of the islanders. However, the British, who at the time had still managed Singapore's foreign affairs until 1963, still eventually transferred the island over to Australia after claiming that it had addressed certain of the issues.
Students
In the 1960s, as the Australian government began to loosen policies on immigration after the end of the White Australia policy; Australia became a popular choice for Singaporean students to study due to its relatively close distance.
In the late 1980s, it was recorded that 16,400 Australians were of Singaporean origin and it was also during this period of time that Australian universities began having sizeable communities of Singaporean students, recording 1,266 students being enrolled.[8]
In 1995, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported that there were 29,812 people within the Singaporean Australian community, with students accounting for about 40% of population, as the Australian Census of 1996 recorded about 11,000 students from Singapore enrolled in universities in the country. By 1998, the population was estimated to have grown to 35,933 people.[2][8] With the increase in the population of Singaporeans in Australia, a number of Singaporean clubs and associations were set up to support the communities located across the country.[9]
21st century
From 2005 to 2010, the population of the community had increased from 43,070 to 53,550 and it was during this period that the Singapore government had set up an Overseas Singaporean unit to engage overseas communities of Singaporeans as the number of Singaporeans living aboard increased.[10] Singaporean associations and clubs were also allowed to apply for funding through the unit to organise events during important festivals such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa, Deepavali, Vesak Day, Christmas, Good Friday and New Year's Day which are celebrated by the different major racial and religious groups back in Singapore.[9]
Factors for Singaporeans in Australia remained the same, with a majority of them there for education.[11] In recent years, however, more Singaporean students would often return to Singapore after completing their studies as the Australian government introduced stricter policies on immigration, as well as Singapore being an attractive place itself to live and work, with many Singaporean students not seeing the need to remain in Australia after the completion of their studies.[12]
