European Australians are citizens or residents ofAustralia whose ancestry originates from the peoples ofEurope. They form the largestpanethnic group in the country.^[7] At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses categorised within European ancestral groups as a proportion of the total population amounted to more than 57.2% (46%North-West European and 11.2%Southern andEastern European).^[1][2] It is impossible to quantify the precise proportion of the population with European ancestry. For instance, many census recipients nominated two European ancestries, tending towards an overcount. Conversely, 29.9% of census recipients nominated "Australian" ancestry (categorised within theOceanian ancestry group, although most of them are likely to be ofAnglo-Celtic orEuropean ancestry),^[4][2] tending towards an undercount.

Since the early 19th century, people of European descent have formed the majority of the population in Australia. Historically, European immigrants had great influence overAustralian culture and society, which results in the perception of Australia as a European-derived country.^[8][9]

The majority of European Australians are ofBritish Isles –English,Irish,Scottish, orWelsh – ancestral origin. While not an official ancestral classification, they are often referred to asAnglo-Celtic Australians. Other significant ancestries includeItalian,German,Greek,Dutch,EuropeanNew Zealanders,Polish,Maltese, andScandinavian.^[10][11]

TheAustralian Bureau of Statistics andAustralian Census does not collect data based on race. Instead, it collects information on distinct ancestries, of which census respondents can select up to two. For the purposes of aggregating data, theAustralian Bureau of Statistics in itsAustralian Standard Classification of Cultural and Ethnic Groups (ASCCEG) has grouped certain ancestries into certain categories, including the following two broad European groupings:^[2]

• North-West European Australians, includingAustrian Australians,Belgian Australians,Danish Australians,Dutch Australians,English Australians,Finnish Australians,French Australians,German Australians,Icelandic Australians,Irish Australians,Norwegian Australians,Scottish Australians,Swedish Australians andWelsh Australians
• Southern andEastern European Australians, includingAlbanian Australians,Belarusian Australians,Bosnian Australians,Bulgarian Australians,Croatian Australians,Cypriot Australians,Czech Australians,Estonian Australians,Greek Australians,Hungarian Australians,Italian Australians,Latvian Australians,Lithuanian Australians,Macedonian Australians,Maltese Australians,Montenegrin Australians,Polish Australians,Portuguese Australians,Romanian Australians,Russian Australians,Serbian Australians,Slovak Australians,Slovene Australians,Spanish Australians andUkrainian Australians

While officially part of the North-West European classification, Australians ofEnglish,Irish,Scottish,Welsh orCornish ancestral origins are often informally referred to asAnglo-Celtic Australians.

TheAustralian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most people nominating "Australian" ancestry have at least partialAnglo-CelticEuropean ancestry, although they are officially categorised as part of theOceanian group.^[2]

The first records of European mariners sailing into 'Australian' waters occurs around 1606, and includes their observations of the land known as Terra Australis Incognita (unknown southern land). The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutchman,Willem Janszoon.^{[citation needed]}

Between 1606 and 1770, an estimated 54 European ships from a range of nations made contact. Many of these were merchant ships from the Dutch East Indies Company and included the ships ofAbel Tasman. Tasman charted parts of the north, west and south coasts of Australia which was then known as New Holland.^{[citation needed]}

Seebaer van Nieuwelant (born 27 July 1623), son of Willemtgen and Willem Janszoon, was born south of Dirk Hartog Island, in present-day Western Australia. Nieuwelant was theFirst white child born in Australia.^{[citation needed]}

In 1770, Englishman LieutenantJames Cook charted the Australian east coast in his ship HM BarqueEndeavour. Cook wrote that he claimed the east coast forKing George III of Great Britain on 22 August 1770 when standing onPossession Island off the west coast ofCape York Peninsula, naming eastern Australia "New South Wales'. The coast of Australia, featuring Tasmania as a separate island, was mapped in detail by the English mariners and navigators Bass and Flinders, and the French mariner, Baudin. A nearly completed map of the coastline was published by Flinders in 1814.^{[citation needed]}

This period of European exploration is reflected in the names of landmarks such as the Torres Strait, Arnhem Land, Dampier Sound, Tasmania, the Furneaux Islands, Cape Frecinyet and La Perouse. French expeditions between 1790 and the 1830s, led by D'Entrecasteaux, Baudin, and Furneaux, were recorded by the naturalists Labillardière and Péron.^{[citation needed]}

Luis Vaez de Torres from Spain was also one of the first Europeans to explore Australia.^[12]

The BritishCrown Colony ofNew South Wales started with the establishment of a settlement atSydney Cove by CaptainArthur Phillip on 26 January 1788.^[13] This date later became Australia's national day,Australia Day. These land masses included the current islands of New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales until it became a separatecolony in 1841.^[14]Van Diemen's Land, now known asTasmania, was first settled in 1803.

The first European Australians came fromUnited Kingdom andIreland.^[15][16]

TheFirst white child born in New South Wales was Rebecca Small (22 September 1789 – 30 January 1883), was born inPort Jackson, the eldest daughter of John Small^[17] aboatswain in theFirst Fleet which arrived atBotany Bay in January 1788.

TheFirst white child born in Victoria was William James Hobart Thorne (25 November 1803^[18] – 2 July 1872) was born atPort Phillip, in what was still part of New South Wales but becameVictoria

Other British settlements followed, at various points around the continent, most of them unsuccessful. In 1824, a penal colony was established near the mouth of theBrisbane River (the basis of the later colony of Queensland). In 1826, a British military camp was established inWestern Australia atKing George Sound, to discourageFrench colonisation. (The camp formed the basis of the later town ofAlbany.) In 1829, theSwan River Colony and its capital ofPerth were founded on the west coast proper and also assumed control of King George Sound. Initially a free colony, Western Australia later accepted British convicts, because of an acute labour shortage.^{[citation needed]}

The BritishColonial Office in 1835 issued theProclamation of Governor Bourke, implementing the legal doctrine ofterra nullius upon which British settlement was based, reinforcing the notion that the land belonged to no one prior to the British Crown taking possession of it and quashing earlier treaties with Aboriginal peoples, such as that signed byJohn Batman. Its publication meant that from then,all people found occupying land without the authority of the government would be considered illegal trespassers.^[19]

Separate colonies were created from parts of New South Wales:South Australia in 1836,New Zealand in 1840,Victoria in 1851, andQueensland in 1859. TheNorthern Territory was founded in 1863 as part of South Australia. The transportation of convicts to Australia was phased out between 1840 and 1868.^{[citation needed]}

The European population grew from 0.3 percent of the population of the continent at 1800 to 58.6 percent at 1850.^[20]In 1868, the population of European Australians was 1,539,552.^[21]

Massive areas of land were cleared for agriculture and various other purposes, in addition to the obvious impacts this early clearing of land had on the ecology of particular regions, it severely affected indigenous Australians, by reducing the resources they relied on for food, shelter and other essentials. This progressively forced them into smaller areas and reduced their numbers as the majority died of newly introduced diseases and lack of resources.Indigenous resistance against the settlers was widespread, and prolonged fighting between 1788 and the 1930s led to the deaths of at least 20,000 Indigenous people and between 2,000 and 2,500 Europeans.^[22]

Irish formed about 25 per cent of the European Australian population in the nineteenth century.^[16]Germans formed the largest non-British community for most of the 19th century.^[23]

In 1971, nine out of the top ten birthplace groups were from European countries and accounted for 77.2% of all people born overseas. People from the United Kingdom still form the largest group. However, their number as a proportion of the total overseas-born population has declined, falling from 40.6% (1,046,356) in 1971 to 17.7% (1,078,064) in 2016.^[24]

FollowingWorld War II, the Australian government instigated a massive program of Europeanimmigration.^[25] After narrowly preventing a Japanese invasion and suffering attacks on Australian soil for the first time, it was seen that the country must "populate or perish". Prior to WWII, Australia had viewed itself as largely of British and Irish ancestry but after WWII the success of the United States and the reason for its success, that is largely the creation of a European diaspora, could not be ignored by Australia. Immigration brought traditional migrants from the United Kingdom along with, for the first time, large numbers ofsouthern andcentral Europeans, as well asEastern European Australians. A booming Australian economy stood in sharp contrast to war-ravaged Europe, and newly arrived migrants found employment in government-assisted programs such as theSnowy Mountains Scheme. Two million immigrants arrived between 1948 and 1975, many fromRobert Menzies' newly foundedLiberal Party of Australia dominated much of the immediate post-war era, defeating theAustralian Labor Party government ofBen Chifley in 1949. Menzies oversaw the post-war expansion and became the country's longest-serving leader. Manufacturing industry, previously playing a minor part in an economy dominated by primary production, greatly expanded. Since the 1970s and the abolition of theWhite Australia policy from Asia and other parts of the world, Australia's demography, culture and image of itself has been radically transformed.

In 1987, the vast majority of European Australians were descendants either of Anglo-Irish-Scots who arrived after 1850, or ofGreeks,Italians,Hungarians,South Slavs,Poles andGermans who emigrated after 1945.^[26]

Notably, Australia does not collect statistics on the racial origins of its residents, instead collecting data at each five-yearly census on distinct ancestries, of which each census respondent may choose up to two.^[27] At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses categorised within European ancestral groups as a proportion of the total population amounted to 57.2% (including 46%North-West European and 11.2%Southern andEastern European).^[1][2] It is impossible to quantify the precise proportion of the population with European ancestry. For instance, many census recipients nominated two European ancestries, tending towards an overcount. Conversely, 29.9% of census recipients nominated "Australian" ancestry (categorised within theOceanian ancestry group although theAustralian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most of them are likely to have at least partialAnglo-CelticEuropean ancestry),^[4][2] tending towards an undercount.

At the 2021 census, the most commonly nominated European ancestries were as set out in the following table.^[1]

Australia enumerated its population by race between 1911 and 1966, by racial-origin in 1971 and 1976, and by self-declared ancestry since 1986.^[28] From 1986 onwards, only estimates can be obtained from ancestry. The 1991 and 1996 census did not include a question on ancestry.^[29]

The following table shows the proportion of Australian residents nominating European race or ancestry at various points in history.

The following table shows the numbers of Australians claiming various European ancestries at selected national census historical intervals.

The following table shows the proportions of European-born and British Isles-born residents at various points in history.

As the earliest colonists of Australia, settlers from England and their descendants often held positions of power and made or helped make laws often because many had been involved in government back in England. In the original six separateBritishself-governing colonies ofQueensland,New South Wales,Victoria,Tasmania,South Australia, andWestern Australia agreed to unite and form the Commonwealth of Australia, establishing a system offederalism in Australia.

The lineage of most of thenational founders wasBritish such as:

• Sir Henry Parkes was a colonial Australian politician and the longest-serving non-consecutive premier of the Colony of New South Wales who is often regarded as the "Father of Federation".

During the late 19th century, he was the strongest proponent for afederation of Australian territories. Parkes died before Australia federated, and was never able to see his plan come to fruition.^[58] Various other founders of Australia have also been unofficially recognised:

• Captain Arthur Phillip (Englishman), was the first governor ofNew South Wales and founder of the first colony

• Sir Edmund Barton (English parents), the first Australian Prime Minister.
• ScotsmanLachlan Macquarie is considered by historians to have had a crucial influence on the transition ofNew South Wales from apenal colony to a free settlement and therefore to have played a major role in the shaping of Australian society in the early nineteenth century.^[59][60] An inscription on his tomb on theIsle of Mull, Scotland describes him as "The Father of Australia".^[61]

European-Australian culture is integral to theculture of Australia. The culture of Australia is essentially aWestern culture influenced by the unique geography of theAustralian continent, the diverse input ofAboriginal,Torres Strait Islander and otherOceanian people, theBritish colonisation of Australia that began in 1788, and the various waves of multi-ethnic migration that followed.^[62] As theEnglish were always the largest element among the settlers, their cultural influence was naturally greater than that of the Irish, Welsh or Scots. Evidence of a significantAnglo-Celtic heritage includes the predominance of theEnglish language, thecommon law, theWestminster system of government,Christianity (Anglicanism) as the once dominant religion, and the popularity of sports such ascricket andrugby; all of which are part of the heritage that has shaped modern Australia.^[63] Australian culture has diverged significantly since British settlement.

Severalstates and territories had their origins as penal colonies, with thefirst British convicts arriving atSydney Cove in 1788. Stories of outlaws like the bushrangerNed Kelly have endured inAustralian music,cinema andliterature. TheAustralian gold rushes from the 1850s brought wealth as well as new social tensions to Australia, including the miners'Eureka Stockade rebellion. The colonies established elected parliaments and rights for workers and women before most other Western nations.^[64]

Australian English is a major variety of theEnglish language and is used throughoutAustralia. Although English has no official status in theConstitution, Australian English is the country'sde facto official language and is thefirst language of the majority ofthe population.^{[citation needed]}

Australian English began to diverge fromBritish English after the founding of thecolony ofNew South Wales in 1788 and was recognised as being different from British English by 1820. It arose from the intermingling of early settlers from a great variety ofmutually intelligible dialectal regions of theBritish Isles and quickly developed into a distinct variety of English.^[65]Australian English differs from other varieties of English invocabulary,accent,pronunciation,register,grammar andspelling.

The earliest form of Australian English was first spoken by the children of the colonists born into the colony ofNew South Wales. This first generation of children created a new dialect that was to become the language of the nation. The Australian-born children in the new colony were exposed to a wide range of dialects from all over the British Isles, in particular fromIreland andSouth East England.^[66]

The native-born children of the colony created the new dialect from the speech they heard around them, and with it expressedmateship. Even when new settlers arrived, this new dialect was strong enough to blunt other patterns of speech.^{[citation needed]}

A quarter of the convicts were Irish. Many had been arrested in Ireland, and some in Great Britain. Many, if not most, of the Irish convicts spoke either no English at all, or spoke it poorly and rarely. There were other significant populations of convicts from non-English speaking part of Britain, such as theScottish Highlands andWales.^{[citation needed]}

The most commonly spoken European languages other than English in Australia areItalian,Greek andGerman.

Another area of cultural influence are Australian Patriotic songs:

• "Advance Australia Fair" is thenational anthem ofAustralia - Created by the Scottish-born composerPeter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, and was sung in Australia as a patriotic song. It replaced "God Save the Queen". It did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984, following aplebiscite to choose the national song in 1977.
• "Waltzing Matilda" -Australia's most widely knownbush ballad, and has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem".^[67]Scottish-Australian poetBanjo Paterson wrote the words to "Waltzing Matilda" in January 1895 while staying atDagworth Station, asheep and cattle station nearWinton in western Queensland owned by the Macpherson family. The words were written to a tune played on azither orautoharp by 31‑year‑oldChristina Macpherson,^[68] one of the family members at the station.
• "The Song of Australia" - An English-born poetCaroline Carleton wrote the lyrics in 1859 for a competition sponsored by theGawler Institute. The music for the song was composed by the German-bornCarl Linger (1810-1862).

The Sydney Opera House was formally opened on 20 October 1973, by QueenElizabeth II.^[69] After a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. Thegovernment of New South Wales, led by thepremier,Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.^[70]

Australia has three architectural listings onUNESCO'sWorld Heritage list:Australian Convict Sites (comprising a collection of separate sites around Australia, includingHyde Park Barracks in Sydney,Port Arthur in Tasmania, andFremantle Prison in Western Australia); theSydney Opera House; and theRoyal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Contemporary Australian architecture includes a number of other iconic structures, including theHarbour Bridge in Sydney andParliament House, Canberra. Significant architects who have worked in Australia include GovernorLachlan Macquarie's colonial architect,Francis Greenway; the ecclesiastical architectWilliam Wardell; the designer of Canberra's layout,Walter Burley Griffin; the modernistHarry Seidler; andJørn Utzon, designer of the Sydney Opera House. TheNational Trust of Australia is a non-governmental organisation charged with protecting Australia's built heritage.

British and Irish foodways have influencedAustralian cuisine. Meat-and-three-vegetable dinners, puddings andtea andbeer have Anglo-Celtic origins.^[71]

As of 2022^[update], there have been 31Prime Ministers of Australia. The ancestors of all these Prime Ministers have all been European andAnglo-Celtic (English,Scottish,Northern Irish,Welsh, orIrish). Some ancestors of four Prime Minister's did not emigrate from Britain or Ireland: some of the ancestors ofChris Watson were German (his father wasGerman Chilean), some of the ancestors ofMalcolm Fraser were European Jews, some ofTony Abbott's ancestors wereDutch migrants (one of his grandparents), andAnthony Albanese's ancestors on his father's side wereItalians.

The following is a breakdown of the ethnic origins of Australians based on a 2018 study that used data from the 2016 census.^[72]

• Demographics of Australia
• African Australians
• American Australians
• Arab Australians
• Asian Australians
• Black Australians
• Caribbean and West Indian Australians
• Indigenous Australians
• Latin American Australians
• North African and Middle Eastern Australians
• Europeans in Oceania
• First white child in Australia
• European Americans
• European Canadians
• European New Zealanders
• European diaspora
• Immigration to Australia
• White Australia policy
• White demographic decline
• Australians
• White people
• European emigration
• Argentines of European descent
• Venezuelans of European descent
• European Moroccans
• Peruvians of European descent
• European Pakistanis
• European Tunisians
• Romani people in Australia
• Australian Jews
• Racism in Australia
• Racial violence in Australia