English Australians

English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (whether sole or partial). It is the largest self-identified ancestry in Australia. People of ethnic English origin have been the largest group to migrate to Australia since the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales in 1788.

English Australians are a subset of Anglo-Celtic Australians, who are themselves a subset of European Australians. Other subsets of Anglo-Celtic Australians (that is, Australians with ancestry originating in the British Isles) include Irish Australians, Scottish Australians and Welsh Australians. There is a tendency to refer to these ancestries collectively due to their long history in Australia and the high degree of intermixture which has occurred over centuries. In light of this history, there is a tendency for Australians with English or other Anglo-Celtic ancestries to simply identify their ancestry as 'Australian'.

Many of English Australians (who may simply describe themselves as 'nth generation Australian') are descended from convicts and other early colonists; South Australia is the only state not founded as a British penal colony. However, many are descendants of the 12 pound poms and other immigrants

History

18th and 19th centuries Population born in England Year Population 1851 51,122 1861 84,152 1871 87,334 1881 107,574 1891 149,232

New South Wales was established in 1788 by the British government as a penal colony. Visitors described the English character of Sydney for at least the first 50 years after 1788, noting the traditional English appearance of the churches overlooking the convict barracks. First-generation colonial Sydney residents were predominantly English. 160,000 convicts came to Australia between 1788 and 1850. Between 1788 and 1840, 80,000 English convicts were transported to New South Wales, with the greatest numbers coming between 1825 and 1835. The New South Wales Census of 1846 accounted for 57,349 born in England, 47,547 born in Ireland and 14,406 born in Scotland. Until 1859, 2.2 million (73%) of the free settlers who immigrated were British in origin.

Many more English people immigrated to Victoria by the gold rush of the 1850s. By 1854 there were 97,943 English-born people in Victoria. Immigration policies and assistance schemes helped maintain high levels of immigration from England. Of the 1 million immigrants who arrived between 1860 and 1900, just over half came from England.

Between 1840 and 1870 there were more Irish than English assisted migrants which did not change until the 1870s, when there were more English.

At least 75 per cent of all overseas-born people in Australia during the 19th century were from the British Isles. The proportion who had been born in England or Wales remained quite stable (at about 47 per cent) from 1861 to 1911, as did the proportion born in Scotland (about 12 per cent).CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 30 JUNE 1986 CENSUS 86 MULTICULTURAL AUSTRALIA (Page: 8)

English settlers more often came from the South than the North of England.J. Jupp, The English in Australia, Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 103

Post-Federation English immigration Population born in England, 1911–present Year Population 1911 346,030 CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA TAKEN FOR THE NIGHT BETWEEN THE 2nd and 3rd APRIL, 1911. VOLUME II. (Page: 115-116) 1921 446,124 CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA TAKEN FOR THE NIGHT BETWEEN THE PART 3rd and 4th April, 1921. (Page: 49-50) 1933 486,831 CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 30th JUNE, 1933. BIRTHPLACE 1947 381,592 CENSUS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA, 1947. BIRTHPLACE of PERSONS: Census, 30 June 1947. 1954 478,411 CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 30 JUNE 1966 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA No. I.-Population, by Birthplace: Australia, Censuses, 1921 to 1966 (Page: 13) 1961 556,478 1971 842,032 CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING, 30 JUNE 1971 COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA TABLE 4. POPULATION BY BIRTHPLACE (Page: 2) 1981 889,124 1991 896,336 CENSUS CHARACTERISTICS OF AUSTRALIA 1991 CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING Birthplace (countries) 2001 847,365 2011 911,593 2021 927,490

Australians of English ancestry made up more than 50 per cent of the population at the time of Federation (1901). From 1922 the Empire Settlement Act assisted thousands of migrants from England. After the Second World War, even as immigration from other countries expanded dramatically, English citizens had almost unrestricted entry into Australia. Arthur Calwell, Minister for Immigration, wanted nine out of ten new immigrants to be UK-born. The majority of England-born migrants received assisted passages until the scheme was abolished in 1982.

Among the notable English-born were politicians such as Henry Parkes, and Joseph Cook; in retailing and media: John Norton, Anthony Hordern and John Fairfax.

Surges of English immigration in the 1910s, 1920s, 1950s and 1960s sustained the English-born as the largest single immigrant group throughout the 20th century. In 1978 Australians of predominantly English ancestry made up over 45 per cent of the population.The Australian encyclopaedia, Volume 4, Grolier Society of Australia, 1983, p. 35 English ancestry was reported by 6.6 million people (46%) in 1986, and 6.4 million (37%) in 2001. While the English-born continue to be well-represented among immigrants to Australia, the overall decline of English immigration to Australia since the 1980s has meant that the English-born are declining as a proportion of immigrants to Australia. Regardless, Australian society continues to be influenced by its strong English heritage.

Demographics

In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (whether wholly or partial).

Year Population % Population change % change 1986 6,607,22842.3 20016,358,88033.9 248,3482006 6,283,647 31.6 75,2332011 7,238,533 33.7 954,88620167,852,22436.1 613,69120218,385,92833.0 533,704

+ English Australian demography by religion (it includes only English born in England and not australian with an english background)Religious group202120162011 Anglican 277,429 331,138 406,631 Catholic 96,699 104,285 111,514 Uniting Church 15,407 19,387 25,861 Oriental Orthodox 308 268 160 Eastern Orthodox 1,888 1,736 1,779 Other Christian denomination 52,669 58,467 59,668 (Total Christian)444,402 515,284 605,616 Irreligion 436,251 330,947 237,376 Buddhism 5,127 5,872 6,691 Hinduism 4,051 3,343 2,299 Islam 2,560 1,880 1,715 Judaism 3,886 3,717 4,120 Other 4,619 4,450 5,316 Not stated 26,592 42,072 48,465 Total English Australian population 927,490 907,568 911,593

+ English Australian demography by religion (Ancestry included)Religious group202120162011 Anglican 1,744,672 2,110,848 2,457,756 Catholic 1,470,489 1,605,362 1,592,195 Uniting Church 345,618 433,139 512,743 Oriental Orthodox 2,302 1,834 1,324 Eastern Orthodox 29,443 26,481 23,821 Other Christian denomination 767,454 847,598 848,239 (Total Christian)4,359,980 5,025,264 5,436,068 Irreligion 4,558,971 3,240,918 2,130,354 Buddhism 54,565 60,045 58,868 Hinduism 29,750 18,370 10,918 Islam 43,152 30,105 21,813 Judaism 21,314 19,429 18,959 Other 39,167 34,695 36,333 Not stated 206,522 330,965 346,806 Total English Australian population 9,313,418 8,759,792 8,150,129

Cultural influence People of English descent were by far the single most influential ethnic group in colonial Australia. The colonisation of Australia by English people is still evident in place names, Australia's common law legal system, popular dishes such as fish and chips and Sunday Roast and English as Australia's national language.

In Sydney, at least 50 suburban names are derived directly from 20 English counties, of which the largest numbers are from Kent, Surrey and London. Among the best known are Surry Hills, Croydon, Hornsby, Epping, Chipping Norton, Brighton-le-Sands, Bexley, Canterbury, Ryde, Kensington, Lewisham and Penshurst. Similar influences on place names can be seen elsewhere in Australia.

Notable people

English convicts transported to Australia

Prime Ministers

The majority of prime ministers of Australia have been of at least partial English ancestry. To date all Australian prime ministers have had whole or partial Anglo-Celtic ancestry.

Edmund Barton, 1st prime minister, 1901–1903 (English parentsEdmund Barton . Nma.gov.au. Retrieved 2012-03-17.) Alfred Deakin, 2nd prime minister, 1903–1904, 1905–08, 1909–10 (English parentsAustralia's Prime Ministers . Primeministers.naa.gov.au (18 March 1902). Retrieved 2012-03-17.) Joseph Cook, 6th prime minister, 1913–1914 (born in Silverdale, Staffordshire, England) Billy Hughes, 7th prime minister, 1915–1923 (born in London, England) Earle Page, 11th prime minister, 1939 (father from London, England) Robert Menzies, 12th prime minister, 1939–1941, 1949-66 (maternal grandparents born in Penzance, England) Harold Holt, 17th prime minister, 1966–1967 (English descent) John McEwen, 18th prime minister, 1967–1968 (partial English descent) John Gorton, 19th prime minister, 1968–1971 (English fatherChristopher Zinn Obituaries: Sir John Gorton The Guardian 21 May 2002) William McMahon, 20th prime minister, 1971–1972 (partial English descent) Gough Whitlam, 21st prime minister, 1972–1975 (English descent) Malcolm Fraser, 22nd prime minister, 1975–1983 (partial English descent) Bob Hawke, 23rd prime minister, 1983–1991 (English descent; all great-grandparents born in England, seven from Cornwall, England and one from Cheshire, England) Paul Keating, 24th prime minister, 1991–1996 (maternal English descent) John Howard, 25th prime minister, 1996–2007 (partial English descent) Kevin Rudd, 26th prime minister, 2007–10, 2013 (his 4th great-grandparents, convicts Thomas Rudd from London and Mary Cable from Essex, England) Julia Gillard, 27th prime minister, 2010–2013 (paternal grandparents born in England) Tony Abbott, 28th prime minister, 2013–2015 (English father; born in London, England of English, Dutch, Scottish and Welsh descentTony Abbott. Retrieved 2026-03-13.) Malcolm Turnbull, 29th prime minister, 2015–2018 (maternal grandmother, May Lansbury (née Morle), born in England) Scott Morrison, 30th prime minister, 2018 (English ancestry)

English Australians

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