Serbian Australians

Serbian Australians
Српски Аустралијанци
*Srpski Australijanci*
Total population
	94,997 by ancestry (2021); 25,454 born in Serbia (2021)
Regions with significant populations
	Sydney, Melbourne
Languages
	Australian English, Serbian
Religion
	Traditionally Serbian Orthodox
Related ethnic groups
	Other Serbian diaspora groups, Montenegrin Australian, Croatian Australian and Bosnian Australian

Serbian Australians^[a] (Serbian: Cрпски Аустралијанци/Srpski Australijanci), are Australians of ethnic Serb ancestry. In the 2021 census there were 94,997 people in Australia who identified as having Serb ancestry, making it a significant group with the global Serb diaspora.^[1]^[2]^[3]

History

During the time of Federation a very small number of Serbs inhabited Australia. Despite a lack of accurate data it is assumed that ethnic Serbs deriving from Lika, Dalmatia and Montenegro did reside in largely mining communities throughout the Commonwealth, though exact numbers are unsubstantiated. The first significant, albeit small wave of Serbian migrants, comprising mostly former POWs, and displaced persons fleeing war and genocide began arriving in Australia as post-war immigrants.^[4]^[5] This initial wave also included members of the royalist Chetnik movement fleeing political persecution by the Communist regime of Josip Broz Tito.^[6]^[7]^[8]

The easing of emigration restrictions by Yugoslavia generated a second, larger wave of predominantly economic migration throughout the 1960s and 1970s. An agreement between Australia and Yugoslavia facilitated the recruitment of largely unskilled and semi-skilled immigrants, from predominantly rural backgrounds to work in Australia's manufacturing and construction industries.^[9] The developing political and economic issues in Yugoslavia during the 1980s, alongside its disintegration, ensuing wars, economic sanctions, and hyperinflation of the 1990s, resulted in the largest Serbian migration to Australia.^[10]^[11]^[12]

There are many non-controversial community groups such as soccer clubs, choirs and club houses that promote Serbian culture and language for Serbian Australians.

One controversial Serbian organisation is the Serbian Chetniks Association Australia [1] The Chetniks have been allowed to march in annual Anzac Day marches in Sydney and Melbourne, much to the criticism of Croatian and Bosnian community groups. ^[13] These community groups point out human rights abuses and crimes against humanity including genocide that the Chetniks have been linked to in the Croatian and Bosnian wars. ^[14]^[15]

Classification issue

For many years Serbian Australians were classified "Yugoslavs" as flawed Australian census data failed to recognise the diverse ethnic groups within the former Yugoslavia. Questions regarding ancestral heritage were not included in any Australian census until 1986.^[16]^[17] From 1971- 1991 Yugoslavian nationals ranked 4th largest in Australia's post-war migrant intake. Census data has established that Serbs ranked 3rd within the Yugoslav immigrant pool, behind declared Croat and Macedonian ethnicities.^[18]

Demographics

Serbian Australians comprise 0.36% of Australia's population, with 69.67% residing in the states of New South Wales and Victoria alone. Serbs reside mainly in state capitals and major metropolitan areas throughout Australia. The largest Serbian communities can be found predominantly in Melbourne's western and south-eastern suburbs, and in Sydney's south-eastern suburbs.^[19]^[20]^[21]^[22]

States and territories		Serbian Australian population
	New South Wales	36,056
	Victoria	30,133
	Queensland	10,121
	Western Australia	8,563
	South Australia	7,329
	Australian Capital Territory	2,191
	Tasmania	469
	Northern Territory	142

Ancestry

Ancestral composition of Serbian Australians as declared in the census (2016)

Serbs (67.06%)

Other (6.97%)

Australians (5.85%)

Croats (4.63%)

English, Irish, Scots, Welsh (4%)

Macedonians (2.7%)

Germans (1.79%)

Italians (1.71%)

Bosniaks (1.36%)

Hungarians (1.24%)

Greeks (0.74%)

Montenegrin (0.53%)

Russians (0.51%)

Poles (0.46%)

Romanians (0.24%)

Slovenes (0.13%)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics allows the provision of two ancestries in a multi-response question. In the 2016 census there were 73,901 people in Australia of Serbian descent, 0.31% of the total population. 67.06% of Serbian Australians declared full Serbian ancestry. Individuals identifying as Serbian in the first response comprised 11.84%, whilst 21.09% declared Serbian heritage in the second response.^[23]^[22]

Countries of origin

<div style="border:solid transparent;background-color:initial;position:absolute;width:100px;line-height:0;

Serbian Australians by country of birth according to 2016 census data

Australia (45.0%)

Serbia (22.7%)

Yugoslavia (10.7%)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (7.7%)

Croatia (7.4%)

Other countries (4.7%)

Not stated or unclear (1.8%)

Religion

Religion of Serbian Australians as declared in the census (2016)

Serbian Orthodox (56.6%)

Other Christian (18.8%)

No religion (14.5%)

Roman Catholic (5.7%)

Other religions (1.4%)

Not stated or unclear (2.9%)

Serbian Australians predominantly belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church of the Eastern Orthodox faith, estimated at approximately 75%. This is due to a statistical discrepancy amongst Serb Australians affiliated within the "Christianity (defined and not defined)" category in the 2016 Australian census. The largest religious body of Serbian Orthodox Australians is the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand, located in Alexandria, Sydney.^[24]^[25]

17.4% of Serbian Australians declared "No Religion/Not Stated", 5.7% "Roman Catholic" whilst 1.4% professed "other faith's".^[22]

Notable people

Alex Antic – Australian senator^[26]
Eli Babalj – Soccer player
Milan Blagojevic – Soccer player
Pedj Bojic – Soccer player
Nick Cotric - Rugby league player
Nina Marković-Khaze - Political scientist and journalist
Nik Cubrilovic - Hacker and internet security expert.^[27]
Miloš Degenek – Soccer player
Biljana Dekic – Chess player
Bobby Despotovski – Soccer player and coach^[28]
Bronko Djura - Cricket and Rugby league player
Dirty South – Musician
Jelena Dokić – Tennis player
Dragan Durdevic – Rugby league player
Ivan Ergić – Soccer player
Vedrana Grbović – Model^[29]
Dan Ilic – Comedian
Luke Ivanovic – Soccer player
Milan Ivanović – Soccer player
Marko Jesic – Soccer player
Robert Jovicic – Immigration case
Sam Kekovich – Australian Rules footballer & media personality
Ksenija Lukich – Model & TV presenter
Aleks Marić – Basketball player
Steven Marković – Basketball player
Zdravko Micevic – Boxer
Katrina Milosevic - Actress
Danny Milosevic – Soccer player
Nik Mrdja – Soccer player
Andrew Nikolic – Australian politician and former Australian Army Brigadier
Bojana Novakovic – Actress
Abdullah Numan – Mufti of Serbia^[30]
Tom Opacic - Rugby League player
Andreja Pejic – Model.^[31]
Vedrana Popovic – Soccer player
Monika Radulovic – Model^[32]
Rale Rašić – Soccer coach,

player and media personality

Nikola Roganovic – Soccer player
Tom Rogic – Soccer player
Siluan - Metropolitan of Australia and New Zealand^[33]
Karl Stefanovic – TV presenter & journalist
Peter Stefanovic – TV presenter & journalist
Daniel Subotic – Socialite
Aleksandar Šušnjar – Soccer player
Vuko Tomasevic – Soccer player
Nick Cotric - Rugby league player
Jake Trbojevic – Rugby league player
Tom Trbojevic – Rugby league player
Doug Utjesenovic - Soccer player
Holly Valance – Actress, singer and model
Olympia Valance – Model and actress
Dragan Vasiljković – Serbian paramilitary leader
Lazar Vidovic – Australian rules footballer
Tyla-Jay Vlajnic - Soccer player
Nick Vujicic – Christian evangelist
Danny Vukovic – Soccer player
B. Wongar – Writer
Ursula Yovich – Actress and singer
Lew Zivanovic – Rugby league player
Alexandar Popovic – Soccer player

Sports

List of Serbian soccer clubs in Australia

Annotations

^
The community is commonly known in English as Serbian Australians, and scarcer as Serb Australians. In Serbian, the community is known as Australian Serbs (аустралијски Срби / australijski Srbi), and scarcer as Serbs in Australia (Срби у Аустралији / Srbi u Australiji).

References

^ "Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
^ "Serbian Culture - Serbians in Australia". Cultural Atlas. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
^ "Serbia-born Community Information Summary" (PDF). homeaffairs.gov.au. 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
^ "Introduction | Serbian ancestry | CRC NSW". multiculturalnsw.id.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^ "Serbians in South Australia | Adelaidia". adelaidia.history.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^ "Vojislav Stojkovic, Yugoslavian (Serbian) Migrant, 1948". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^ Leustean, Lucian N. (30 May 2014). Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-81865-6.
^ Stefanovic, D.S. (2002). "Serbs". In James Jupp (ed.). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 678. ISBN 978-0-521-80789-0.
^ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of (19 June 1997). "Chapter - Composition: Birthplace of overseas-born Australians". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Immigration History from Serbia to Victoria". origins.museumsvictoria.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^ "The Trials of Growing up Serbian Abroad". Balkan Insight. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^ "Discover Victoria's diverse population". www.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
^ "Serbian Chetniks and Nazis". The Goldman Report. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ Manisera, Sara. "The Chetnik priest: 'I'm still in a mood to kill'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ Sorguc, Albina. "Serb Chetniks' Links to War Criminals and Extremists Uncovered".
^ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Fact sheet - Ancestry". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Fact sheet - Ancestry - Serbian". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ corporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Top 10 countries of birth for the overseas-born population since 1901". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
^ The People of Australia – Statistics from the 2011 Census (PDF). Department of Immigration and Border Protection. 2014. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-920996-23-9. Ancestry
^ School of Historical Studies, Department of History. "Serbs - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online". www.emelbourne.net.au. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Svetosavnik". Svetosavnik - Parorhiski List Srpske Pravoslavne Crkve "Sv Sava" (in Serbian and English). 123: 20–26. 9 August 2016.
^ Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Fact sheet - Ancestry". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 30 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ "Serbian Culture - Religion". Cultural Atlas. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^ "Serbian Orthodox Church Australia and New Zealand - HOME". soc.org.au. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^ Antic, Alex (17 September 2019). "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
^ "One Serb's Crusade Against his Privacy Being Invaded by Facebook". Britić.
^ "Bobby admits salute". The World Game. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^ "Bivša Miss Srbije Vedrana Grbović: Đoković me nasmejao do suza!". Svet.
^ "ABDULLAH ef. NUMAN". www.rijaset.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 6 February 2021.
^ "Naš Andrej je lep ko lutka!" [Our Andrej Is Beautiful Like a Doll!]. Alo! (in Serbian). 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
^ "Srpkinja sa titulom Mis Australije: Upoznajte Moniku Radulović". Cosmopolitan.
^ "Serbian Orthodox Church Australia and New Zealand - BIOGRAPHY OF BISHOP SILUAN (MRAKIC) NEWLY CONSECRATED BISHOP OF THE METROPOLITANATE OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND". soc.org.au. Retrieved 10 November 2021.

External links

Ancestry by Birthplace – Results of 2001 Australian census

[cnote_a] 
The community is commonly known in English as Serbian Australians, and scarcer as Serb Australians. In Serbian, the community is known as Australian Serbs (аустралијски Срби / australijski Srbi), and scarcer as Serbs in Australia (Срби у Аустралији / Srbi u Australiji).

[1] "Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.

[2] "Serbian Culture - Serbians in Australia". Cultural Atlas. Retrieved 23 August 2020.

[3] "Serbia-born Community Information Summary" (PDF). homeaffairs.gov.au. 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2020.

[4] "Introduction | Serbian ancestry | CRC NSW". multiculturalnsw.id.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[5] "Serbians in South Australia | Adelaidia". adelaidia.history.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[6] "Vojislav Stojkovic, Yugoslavian (Serbian) Migrant, 1948". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[7] Leustean, Lucian N. (30 May 2014). Eastern Christianity and Politics in the Twenty-First Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-81865-6.

[8] Stefanovic, D.S. (2002). "Serbs". In James Jupp (ed.). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, its People and their Origins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 678. ISBN 978-0-521-80789-0.

[9] Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of (19 June 1997). "Chapter - Composition: Birthplace of overseas-born Australians". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[10] "Immigration History from Serbia to Victoria". origins.museumsvictoria.com.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[11] "The Trials of Growing up Serbian Abroad". Balkan Insight. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[12] "Discover Victoria's diverse population". www.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

[13] "Serbian Chetniks and Nazis". The Goldman Report. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

[14] Manisera, Sara. "The Chetnik priest: 'I'm still in a mood to kill'". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

[15] Sorguc, Albina. "Serb Chetniks' Links to War Criminals and Extremists Uncovered".

[16] Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Fact sheet - Ancestry". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[17] Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Fact sheet - Ancestry - Serbian". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[18] rporateName=Commonwealth Parliament; address=Parliament House, Canberra. "Top 10 countries of birth for the overseas-born population since 1901". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 28 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[19] "Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.

[Australia-20] The People of Australia – Statistics from the 2011 Census (PDF). Department of Immigration and Border Protection. 2014. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-920996-23-9. Ancestry

[21] School of Historical Studies, Department of History. "Serbs - Entry - eMelbourne - The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online". www.emelbourne.net.au. Retrieved 5 September 2020.

[:0-22] "Svetosavnik". Svetosavnik - Parorhiski List Srpske Pravoslavne Crkve "Sv Sava" (in Serbian and English). 123: 20–26. 9 August 2016.

[23] Statistics, c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of. "Fact sheet - Ancestry". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 30 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[24] "Serbian Culture - Religion". Cultural Atlas. Retrieved 29 August 2020.

[25] "Serbian Orthodox Church Australia and New Zealand - HOME". soc.org.au. Retrieved 29 August 2020.

[26] Antic, Alex (17 September 2019). "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 1 December 2019.

[27] "One Serb's Crusade Against his Privacy Being Invaded by Facebook". Britić.

[28] "Bobby admits salute". The World Game. Retrieved 29 August 2020.

[29] "Bivša Miss Srbije Vedrana Grbović: Đoković me nasmejao do suza!". Svet.

[30] "ABDULLAH ef. NUMAN". www.rijaset.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 6 February 2021.

[31] "Naš Andrej je lep ko lutka!" [Our Andrej Is Beautiful Like a Doll!]. Alo! (in Serbian). 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.

[32] "Srpkinja sa titulom Mis Australije: Upoznajte Moniku Radulović". Cosmopolitan.

[33] "Serbian Orthodox Church Australia and New Zealand - BIOGRAPHY OF BISHOP SILUAN (MRAKIC) NEWLY CONSECRATED BISHOP OF THE METROPOLITANATE OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND". soc.org.au. Retrieved 10 November 2021.

[a]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

Serbian Australians

History

Classification issue

Demographics

Ancestry

Countries of origin

Religion

Notable people

Sports

See also

Annotations

References

External links

Sri Lankan cricket team in the West Indies in 2003

Field Guide to Encounters

The Epic (album)

Konstantinos Mitroglou

Cabras

Masaaki Endou

منتخب إندونيسيا تحت 20 سنة لكرة القدم

Bahasa Tadyawan

Keyakinan (album)

العلاقات الأمريكية الليسوتوية

List of Pakistani films of 2024

العلاقات الأوغندية الغانية

List of Japanese animation studios

Pegunungan Rwenzori

Parking lot

Richard Wilson (painter)

Road signs in the Soviet Union

Department store

Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations

Міністерство оборони України