Bosnian Australians are Australians of Bosnian ancestry. At the 2021 census, 28,246 people stated that they had Bosnian ancestry (whether alone or in combination with another ancestry). At the 2021 census, 26,171 Australian residents were born in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
History
There have been three major influxes of Bosnians to Australia. The first period occurred in the aftermath of World War II, and the second occurred in the late 1960s/early 1970s following an economic depression and open border policy in the former Yugoslavia.
The most recent wave of migration was during the 1990s when many Bosnians sought refuge from the war. This migration was assisted under the refugee scheme of the Red Cross in Australia. It generally brought Bosnians from all socioeconomic backgrounds, but mainly families with mixed ethnic backgrounds.
By 1996, a year after the Bosnian War had ended, almost 14,000 migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina were living in Australia. Most of the new arrivals settled in Victoria – Bosnia-Herzegovina was the fifth-largest source of immigrants to Victoria in 1995-96.
By 2011, Victoria was home to 8,486 people from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Predominantly living in the Dandenong area.
Bosnian migrants who arrived in Australia in the 1960s made important contributions to modern-day Australia through their role in the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme in New South Wales.
Demographics
Bosnians have predominantly arrived in Australia after 1992, with most of the community living in the south-east of Melbourne and in the south-west of Sydney. There are Bosnian run mosques in Deer Park, Noble Park, Penshurst, Smithfield, Eight Mile Plains and Caversham.
Media
The SBS broadcasts a Bosnian-language program on SBS Radio 2 from 3 PM to 4 PM every Sunday. It also broadcasts BHT1 Dnevnik news program every Friday morning from 8 AM to 8:30 AM as part of its WorldWatch programming block.
Other community radio stations such as 3ZZZ (Melbourne), 4EB (Brisbane), 6EBA-FM (Perth), 2000FM (Sydney), VOX FM (Wollongong), 1CMS (Canberra), 5EBI (Adelaide) also broadcast in Bosnian.
Language
In Sydney there are 5 Saturday schools for Bosnian Australian youths.
Bosnian Ethnic School (Amity College) – Auburn
Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian & Herzegovinian Cultural Association – Leppington
Bosnian Ethnic School (Liverpool Public School) – Liverpool
Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian Islamic Society Gazi Husrev-beg – Penshurst
Bosnian Ethnic School, Australian Bosnian Islamic Society Gazi Husrev-beg – Smithfield
Sport clubs
FC Bossy Liverpool
FC Gazy Auburn
Notable people
Amir Alagic, soccer coach
Almir Pandzo, handball player
Ajdin Hrustic, soccer player
Azra Hadzic, tennis player
Andreja Pejic, model
Bernard Tomic, tennis player
Ed Husic, politician, Member for Chifley
Reshad Strik, actor
Husein Alicajic, filmmaker
Harley Balic, former AFL footballer
Hana Basic, sprinter
Katarina Carroll, Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service
Dino Djulbic, soccer player
Dijana Alic, academic
Inga Peulich, politician
Ned Catic, former professional rugby league footballer
Omar Jasika, tennis player
Mirza Muratovic, soccer player
Monika Radulovic, model
Esma Voloder, model
Sasa Sestic, barista
Selma Kajan, middle-distance runner
See also
Bosnian diaspora
European Australians
Europeans in Oceania
Immigration to Australia
Notes
External links
SBS Bosnian (Bosanski) BES - Bosnian Ethnic School Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canberra School of Languages SA: Bosnian