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Demographic Change in Australia's Rural Landscapes pp 259–280Cite as

Immigration and Multicultural Place-Making in Rural and Regional Australia

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Part of the book series: Landscape Series ((LAEC,volume 12))

Abstract

There has been comparatively little research on the relationship between immigrants and place in the context of rural and regional Australia. Considering that immigration to regional and rural Australia has been given important national importance we argue that the contemporary research on rural ethnic landscapes should be broadened to discuss the impact of different ethnic groups on the built environment of rural townships. The immigrants settling down in rural areas have transformed rural landscapes through the construction of public and private spaces expressing their cultural heritage. These sites can significantly impact the dynamics of social cohesion and intercultural relations in multicultural rural communities. They can also have a role in attracting and retaining immigrants in non-metropolitan areas. This chapter links the built environment and immigration in rural Australia and explores the potential role of the sites built by rural ethnic minorities in facilitating intra-group and inter-group social encounter, trust and networks. The chapter then outlines the empirical findings from applying these concepts to the sites built and used by non-Anglo-Celtic immigrants to Griffith, a regional city in south-western New South Wales (NSW), and Katanning, a small rural community south-east of Perth in Western Australia (WA).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A total of 17 interviews were carried out across the two locations. Interviews were carried out in Griffith in January and February 2007, with interviews in Katanning completed in November of the same year. Interview participants included individuals closely associated with the specific buildings being studied (such as members of management committees), users of the sites, local council staff and local councilors. Ten visitor surveys were completed at Griffith’s Festa Delle Salsiccie in August 2006. The surveys were anonymous. Interview participants are reported here under pseudonyms.

  2. 2.

    Katanning’s Cocos and Christmas Malay populations are often spoken of (and refer to themselves) as immigrants and they have retained a strong and distinct culture and religious practices. Many speak Malay at home and some of the older residents have never learnt English. However, a significant proportion of the first-generation arrivals are not immigrants. Both the Cocos and Christmas Islands are Australian external territories. Those who were born on Christmas Island after it became an Australian territory in 1958 are Australian citizens by birth and are included in the Australian-born census count (Pereira 2008). The same is true of Cocos Islanders who came to Australia after 1978, when almost all residents of the Cocos Islands opted to take Australian citizenship (Bell 1981, p. 13).

Abbreviations

ABS:

Australian Bureau of Statistics

ACG:

Allen Consulting Group

NESB:

Non-English Speaking Background

NSW:

New South Wales

SSMM:

State-specific Migration Mechanism

WA:

Western Australia

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Acknowledgments

This study is financially supported by the Australian Research Council, the National Trust of Australia (WA) and the National Trust of Australia (NSW).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Finance and Economics, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Kirrily Jordan & Jock Collins

  2. Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia

    Branka Krivokapic-Skoko

Authors
  1. Kirrily Jordan
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  2. Branka Krivokapic-Skoko
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  3. Jock Collins
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Correspondence to Kirrily Jordan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Land, Water & Society (ILWS), Charles Sturt University, Albury, 2640, New South Wales, Australia

    Gary W. Luck

  2. Inst. Land, Water & Society (ILWS), Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Rosemary Black

  3. Inst. Land, Water & Society (ILWS), Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia

    Digby Race

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Jordan, K., Krivokapic-Skoko, B., Collins, J. (2010). Immigration and Multicultural Place-Making in Rural and Regional Australia. In: Luck, G., Black, R., Race, D. (eds) Demographic Change in Australia's Rural Landscapes. Landscape Series, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9654-8_11

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