South African Australians


South African Australians are citizens or residents of Australia who are of South African descent.
According to the 2006 Australian census, 104,128 Australians were born in South Africa. Also in the Census 79,513 residents claimed South African ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry. Immigration from South Africa to Australia, particularly by professionals, accelerated in the 1990s. The large majority of South African immigrants to Australia have been of British descent; only a very small percentage, around 2-3% have been of Afrikaans origin.
divided geographically by postal area, as of the 2011 census
More than half of the South African Australians arrived following the election of Nelson Mandela in 1994. A behaviour stigmatised by white South Africans who remained in their homeland as "Packing for Perth". "Packing for Perth" was also a humorous dig and reference to supporters of the Progressive Federal Party - a political party formed in 1977 that drew support mainly from liberal English-speaking white people.
In 2007-08 4,000 South Africans permanently settled in Australia, a number that is slightly lower than previous years.
The 2011 data showed that Sydney has the largest number of South African-born residents, followed by Perth, Melbourne.

Notable people