History
Malay labourers were brought over to Australia to work mainly in the copra, sugarcane, pearl diving and trepang industries. In the case of Cocos Islands, the Malays were first brought as slaves under Alexander Hare in 1826, but were then employed as coconut harvesters for copra. However, there were no historical facts that prove that the Malays settled in mainland Australia and the east coast until the late 19th century, where they not only worked in the trepang or pearl diving industry, but also in sugarcane plantations.
In Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Malay pearl divers were recruited through an agreement with the Dutch. By 1875, there were 1800 Malay pearl divers working in Western Australia itself. Most of them returned home when their contract expired. The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 severely curtailed the growth of this community.
From the 1950s onwards Malaysians came to Australia to study under the Colombo Plan, with many choosing to stay in Australia after graduation. Their numbers increased following the end of the Immigration Restriction Act in 1973. As Malaysia's affluence increased, more students came to study as self-financed students.
Read more about this topic: Malaysian Australian
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