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| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 60,000 estimate as of 2017 (by birth and ancestry)[1][2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mauritius-born/ ancestry people by state or territory | |
| Victoria | 32,000[1] |
| New South Wales | 12,260[1] |
| Western Australia | 11,200[3] |
| Queensland | 3,678[3] |
| Languages | |
| English · Mauritian · French | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity · Hinduism · Islam · Other | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| African Australians | |
Mauritian Australians areAustralians ofMauritian origin, includingMauritius-born Australians and Australians of Mauritian ancestry.
In 2021, theAustralian census recorded 25,981 Mauritius-born people in Australia, an increase of 6.8 per cent from the2016 census.
As of 2021, the state with the largest population of Mauritius-born Australians wasVictoria with a population of 12,341, followed byNew South Wales (5,794),Western Australia (5,208), andQueensland (1,797).[4]
Based on the trading relationship betweenMauritius and Australia which was established in 1803, the firstMauritian migrants arrived in Australia before the 1901federation asconvicts,fossickers during thegold rush, orsugar men who were skilled sugarcane workers who helped to developQueensland'ssugar industry.[5]
Right afterWorld War II the migration of Mauritians to Australia resumed, but was restricted to the privileged minority of whiteFranco-Mauritians due to theWhite Australia policy which prevailed until 1973.[6] Especially in the years leading to the 1968Independence of Mauritius there was a significant increase in the number ofFranco-Mauritians,Mulatto, andMauritian Creoles who migrated permanently to Australia as a result of the anti-Hindu hegemony fear campaign which was financed by the whiteFranco-Mauritian owners of sugar estates and implemented byGaetan Duval'sParti Mauricien Social Démocrate and the local press. Indeed a climate of fear and uncertainty resulted from the fear campaign which resulted in lynching, murders and racial riots which broke out in1965,1967, and1968.[7][8][9]
As Mauritius is a country with amulticultural andmultiethnic society, Mauritians have different and diverse ethnic backgrounds. In the 2021 Census, most Mauritius-born people living in Australia reported being of Mauritian descent (13,673), followed by those of French (5,674), Indian (3,873), and Chinese descent (2,751).[10][11]
Based on ethnic lines,Creole Mauritians (Black and mixed-race) represent 50% of the community in Australia, this group were largest numbers leaving Mauritius after independence from colonial rule (Britain, and previously, France) in 1968.[citation needed]Chinese-Mauritians make up 7%, arriving mostly during the 80s and 90s, those ofIndian ancestry are 20-25% and Creoles of African ancestry 20-25%.[citation needed] Most of the Afro-Mauritians and Indians have arrived after the 2000s, and are the fastest growing part of the community.[citation needed]Mauritian-Australians have a growing presence inAustralian popular culture, including in music, literature, and television.[12] Aisha inThe Slap is a notable example, identified in the TV series adaptation as 'Mauritian-Australian'.[13]Havana Brown is a significant Australian musician of Mauritian background.
The main languages spoken by Mauritius-born people in Australia were French (12,545),English (5,665) andMauritian (2,654).[2][14][11] Note that Australia has a large French-speaking Mauritian community in relation to percentage of the overall Mauritian community, they represent 1.4% of the Mauritian community, although numbers would be much higher, but most of the second generation speak English. The French speakers using the language as mother tongue represent the whiteFranco-Mauritians,Mulattos andgens de couleur (mixed-race Creoles) ethnic groups, making up at least 50% of the Mauritian community in Australia. In comparison, in Mauritius 4.1% of the population speaks French as a first language (mother tongue) with 68.6% using French as a second language making a total of 72.7% French speakers.[15]
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