| Total population | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,660 (by language, 2001)[1] 29,059 (by language , 2006)[2] 73,856 (by ancestry, 2006)[3] |
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| Regions with significant populations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Languages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Related ethnic groups | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Footnotes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Populations based on language spoken at home, taken from the 2006 census. 2 Populations based on ancestry, taken from the 2006 census. |
Sinhalese Australians are citizens or residents of Australia of Sinhalese descent. Sinhalese people are the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka.
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Sinhalese people have been immigrating to Australia since the 19th century. However, most of these early immigrants did not stay in Australia. Large-scale Sinhalese immigration to Australia only began in the 1970s.[12] The earliest Sinhalese immigrants to Australia came in the late 1800s as plantation workers in Bundaberg, Queensland.[13]
In 2006, there were 29,055 Australians who spoke Sinhalese at home.[14] SBS Radio is available in Sinhalese,[15] and Melbourne television channel Channel 31 runs the Sri Lankan Morning show, which has sections in Sinhalese.[16]
Most Sinhalese Australians are Christians or Theravada Buddhists. There are Sinhalese Buddhist temples in Victoria, New South Wales,Queensland and South Australia [17]
including the Dhamma Sarana Buddhist Temple of Melbourne's eastern suburbs.[18]
Areas with high concentration of Sinhalese population according to the 2006 Census.
| Suburb | Percentage of Sinhalese |
|---|---|
| Lyndhurst, Victoria | 2.9%[19] |
| Hallam, Victoria | 2.8%[20] |
| Hampton Park, Victoria | 2.8%[21] |
| Lynbrook, Victoria | 2.7%[22] |
| Endeavour Hills, Victoria | 2.5%[23] |
| Oakleigh East, Victoria | 2.1%[24] |
| Narre Warren South, Victoria | 2.0%[25] |
| Glen Waverley, Victoria | 2.0%[26] |
| Mount Waverley, Victoria | 1.7%[27] |
| Chadstone, Victoria | 1.7%[28] |
| Narre Warren, Victoria | 1.4%[29] |
| Cranbourne West, Victoria | 1.4%[30] |
| Burwood, Victoria | 1.4%[31] |
| Berwick, Victoria | 1.1%[32] |
| Cranbourne North, Victoria | 1.0% |
| Ashwood, Victoria | 1.0%[34] |
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