Assyrian-Australians

The Assyrian community in Australia is estimated to number between 60,000 and 70,000, with the largest concentrations residing in Sydney, particularly in the western suburbs of Fairfield, Liverpool, Bossley Park, and surrounding areas. Assyrians began migrating to Australia in the mid-20th century, with larger waves arriving in the 1960s and 1970s. Early on, some Assyrians settled in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, such as Clovelly, Paddington, and Randwick, though over time, western Sydney emerged as the primary hub for the community due to more affordable housing and family networks.

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The migration of Assyrians to Australia was primarily driven by the need to escape persecution and political instability in the Middle East. Many early Assyrian migrants were survivors of the atrocities committed in the lead-up to and following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1922, which culminated in the Assyrian, Armenian, and Greek genocides. This was further compounded by the 1933 Simele massacre in Iraq, where thousands of Assyrians were killed, and later the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which added to the plight of Assyrians, forcing them from their traditional homeland.

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Subsequent waves of migration occurred in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly following the Iran-Iraq War, the First Gulf War, and the targeted persecution of Assyrians under Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. These conflicts, along with ongoing religious and ethnic discrimination, led many Assyrians to seek safety and stability abroad. Today, Australia’s Assyrian community is one of the largest in the diaspora, with a rich cultural presence reflected in numerous churches, community organisations, cultural centres, and businesses that work to preserve and promote Assyrian heritage.