From the publisher:
From the notorious White Australia Policy through to the contemporary multicultural agenda, Beata Leuner sets out to examine migration movements to Australia and the role of successive immigration legislation. Her detailed case study sheds new light on the experiences of Polish migrants of the 1980s and their children in Melbourne—both those who married within, and those who married outside, the ethnic group.

The story of successive waves of migration (particularly following the Second World War) and the influence of these on multicultural Australia provides the context. Of particular interest is the relationship between the policy of multiculturalism and language maintenance among first generation Polish migrants and their children (the second generation, aged between 15 and 24).

In her empirical study of language maintenance Beata Leuner analyses ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors for migration from Poland to Australia. She examines the costs of migration; Polish migrants’ experiences of Australia’s multicultural policy; an evaluation of parents’ migration by their children; re-migration to Poland; interaction between Polish migrants and Australian-born people; and the influence of domains such as the home, institutions of learning, the Polish Catholic Church, the media and other organisations and spheres of Polish cultural activity.

From the Author:
The aim of this PhD thesis has been to analyse the changes made to the Australian immigration policies between 1901 and 2005 and their effect upon migration movements in Australia, with Polish immigrants from the 1980s as its special focus. It has also followed the introduction of the multicultural policy and its relationship to language maintenance among the first generation of these Polish immigrants and their second generation offspring, aged 15–24.

Methodology: Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected during 2004 and 2005 in Melbourne in order to examine migration patterns of Polish migrants of the 1980s, and the maintenance of the Polish language among first generation Polish-born migrants and their second generation offspring from endogamous and exogamous marriages. There were two instruments employed which I developed for this research: the questionnaires (quantitative data) and the interview (qualitative data). The research sample consisted of 180 people.

The respondents in this study were the youth group (aged 15–24, the second generation) and their parents (the first generation Polish migrants), with at least one parent a Pole, who came to Australia during the 1980s and settled permanently in Melbourne. They were divided into two groups: those in endogamous families and those in exogamous families. I received 180 questionnaires and collected 15 interviews. Those, who participated in the interviews, also completed the questionnaires.

The findings of this thesis

1. Migration movements, particularly following WWII, had a significant influence on multicultural Australia. The post-WWII immigration program announced by Calwell on 2 August 1945 and continued with some modifications by his successors have contributed to Australia’s population increasing from over 7 million people in 1947 to over 18 million people in 2001 as well as substantial economic growth and a significant change to the ethnic composition of the Australian population.

As a consequence of migration from around the world, the character of Australia changed from a 98% British monoculture at the time of Federation in 1901, to slightly multicultural in 1947 (9.9% migrants), to being a highly multicultural society in 2001 that includes a migrant population from over 200 countries of 21.9%. There are 240 languages currently spoken in Australia including 64 Indigenous languages spoken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons.

Up until the 1970s, migrants coming to Australia were mainly Europeans. The dominant group of new arrivals were the British followed by persons of Polish descent and other Displaced Persons from Eastern Europe in the years 1947–1953; new arrivals from Germany, Holland and other North-Western European countries in the 1950s; and people from Italy, Greece and other Southern European countries in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1973, a change in Australian government policy and the abolition of the White Australia Policy resulted in significant numbers of migrants now arriving from Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines and India. As a consequence, migrants from all countries were allowed to settle in Australia if they met the criteria concerning age, health, education and occupation. Migrants have had a variety of experiences in Australia, depending on their country of origin and socio-economic circumstances and the period when they arrived.

Before the 1970s, the most difficult experiences in Australia were endured by Southern Europeans (Greeks, Italians) and Asians. This was mainly because of the low status associated with ‘blue collar’ work and their lack of English language skills. Their unfavourable experiences were also closely connected with Australian policies pertaining to migrants: the notorious White Australia Policy, as well as the assimilation policy and integration policy in their early stages.

In contrast, those who had the best experiences were British migrants because of their proficiency in English and the high proportion of ‘white-collar’ positions they occupied. However, all migrants with diverse cultural backgrounds, languages, traditions and experiences contributed significantly in economic, cultural and social ways, to shape multicultural Australia.

2. The policies of Australian governments have had a significant impact on multiculturalism. Migration movements, particularly after WWII, have contributed to Australia becoming more multicultural demographically; however the political framework for multiculturalism has been slow to develop. The path to the recognition of the policy of multiculturalism was a long and difficult process, starting with the White Australia Policy (1901–1973), assimilation (1947–1965), integration (1965–1972), and multiculturalism (late 1972 onwards).

The assimilation policy encouraged all migrants to become Australians by losing their mother tongue and other cultural traits and adapting to Anglo-Australian norms and customs so that they integrated into the Anglo-dominated society. Integration was a continuation of assimilation in that it aimed to make the second generation become ‘Australians’ in at least the cultural sense of the word. However, it recognised the needs of NESB migrants by providing them with special services, e.g. trained teachers with new teaching methods, ethnic organisations and schools. Nevertheless, assimilation and integration policies did not work in practice. This was due to a number of constraints, mostly related to the inappropriateness of the policies intended for the well-being of newly arrived migrants.

These policies finally gave way to the more inclusive multicultural policy. This policy acknowledged that a healthily functioning culture could only be maintained by allowing its ethnically diverse population, as Australians, to retain their languages and other cultural norms. Whitlam’s Labor government with its ‘Evolution of migrant rights’, Fraser’s Liberal government with ‘Cultural pluralism’ and Hawke’s Labor government with ‘Access and Equity’ had a great impact on the evolution of the official multicultural policy and each of these policies contributed to its present shape. The current concept of multiculturalism is still ‘Access and Equity’, which ensures equality of opportunity for all Australians regardless of their ethnic, religious, cultural or linguistic background.

3. The initial settlement pattern of Polish migrants in Melbourne in the 1980s showed a number of common features in regard to their life experiences. Most Poles arrived in Australia during one of two migration waves: the first wave from post-WWII through to the early 1950s and a second migration wave during the 1980s. The second group has been the focus for this study. It has shown that, on the whole, the new migration wave of Polish immigrants settled well in Melbourne. Their experiences were dependent on their qualifications, occupation, and level of English knowledge.

In general, Poles who could speak English and whose occupation was in demand in Australia fared best. However, there were not many who could speak reasonably good English, as shown in the study. It was common for Polish migrants to experience homesickness for their homeland and their families in Poland. Many respondents stated that it took five to seven years to accept the new country, significantly longer than three years referred to by Jamrozik (1983). Later on, life for Polish migrants tended to become similar to that of Anglo-Australians. The interaction of Poles with Australian-born citizens has traditionally been positive and is still good at present.

Generally, the respondents never felt discriminated against, or did not wish to acknowledge such experiences in their responses. Some stated that it is most important to speak positively about your home country: ‘If you have a positive picture about yourself, then you will be accepted and respected in the new country.’

Many are proud to be Poles and this was emphasised frequently in interviews with Polish migrants, although interviewees had both positive and negative experiences in Australia. The positive experiences were mainly apparent in the early phase of migration, especially regarding the services provided by the Australian government, such as the free of charge ‘migrant hostels’, English classes for migrants and orientation sessions, conducted in Polish, providing information to assist in finding employment in Melbourne. In terms of negative experiences, especially in the initial phase of their stay in Melbourne, emotional problems such as homesickness were experienced and were a product of the vast geographical distance to Poland.

This was followed by occupational problems connected with a lack of English knowledge, a lack of recognition of their qualifications, social isolation and to a lesser extent, financial problems. One problem, however, which most respondents still experience is nostalgia for the home country and its culture, and it is still very difficult for them to feel ‘at home’ in Australia. This was most strongly expressed by persons living in endogamous marriages.

4. The policy of multiculturalism had a great impact on language maintenance by migrants as they were allowed to maintain their own language, identity and other cultural traits, while taking part in the general life of the nation. This policy enabled multicultural media to flourish (SBS Radio, SBS Television, ethnic press) and ethnic organisations received support from the Australian government for maintenance of their cultures. Multicultural education was strongly supported and took the form of ethnic language schools and institutes; community languages taught in mainstream schools and universities and other initiatives, such as ethnic festivals.

The Australian government, by supporting these communities, helped them to feel at home and their cultures became accepted, which is of great importance for migrants in a new country. The multicultural policy recognised that all persons have a need to belong to an ethnic group and undoubtedly this was very important in developing a nation with different ethnic legacies. For the first generation Polish migrants coming to Melbourne in the 1980s, the multicultural policy made it easier to maintain their language, in contrast to the Polish migrants experiencing the assimilation policy in the post-WWII period. However, almost all Polish organisations and ethnic schools in Melbourne were created by post-WWII settlers.

Poles are now able to listen to Polish radio programs on 3ZZZ and SBS Radio, and to watch Polish news on SBS Television. They also receive support for Polish ethnic schools or Polish classes at the Victorian School of Languages (VSL). The policy of multiculturalism introduced ethnic languages (Polish in 1975) as subjects for the Matriculation exams (later called the High School Certificate, then the Victorian Certificate of Education), and for this reason Polish language use gained in prestige. As well as this, it encouraged the second generation to learn the language of their ancestors.

5. The Polish language among the first generation Polish migrants from the 1980s and the second generation (their offspring born in Poland or Australia) was on the whole well maintained and was still a ‘core value’, although there were differences of retention among the two groups: endogamous and exogamous marriages. Only the first generation used the community language in general, while the second generation used it only with parents and sometimes with their friends and grandparents, whilst they talked to brothers and sisters mostly in English. Therefore there is a fear that the Polish language will disappear as the first generation ages.

Some second generation respondents were proud to be of Polish background and wished to retain the culture, including the language of their parents. They attended Polish classes at Saturday schools, Polish folk dancing classes, music activities and scouts meetings. Those only-children in a family maintained the Polish language better than those with brothers or sisters. The second generation generally spoke English with their friends of Polish background, unless they did not want to be understood by outsiders in which case they spoke Polish. They largely maintained the Polish language at a higher level before their Matriculation exams than afterwards. They participated in Polish classes, Polish sporting clubs, dancing groups or the summer camps at “Polana”.

Soon after their Matriculation exams they became more focused on their careers and did not have as much time to continue with their Polish activities. The most popular domain for Polish language use is the family home. Some of the second generation respondents were proud of their Polish roots or ancestry, and they wished to maintain the link by taking Polish classes at the VSL in order to improve their Polish language maintenance. Some also preserved cultural traditions by joining traditional Polish music, scout or dance groups. However, my research has revealed that the second generation only used Polish media facilities to a very small degree. Just over two thirds of the second generation could speak and understand Polish very well or well but in most cases they could not read or write Polish.

The second generation from endogamous marriages retained language well while those from exogamous marriages did not, especially when the father was Polish. This was because English was the main language used at home. The same scenario was observed among the second generation of other ethnicities of exogamous parentage, e.g. by Pauwels (1985), relating to Dutch exogamous marriages.

To conclude, I hope my research thesis provides the reader with a picture of Polish migrants in Melbourne as well as an understanding into the development of immigration policies and migration movements in Australia.

About the Author. Beata Leuner was born in Poland and educated there and in Germany. She graduated with a PhD in Cultural and Social Studies from the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder). Her interest in Australian issues dates from her first visit to Melbourne in 1999 as a Master’s exchange student at Monash University.

She is currently a researcher at the faculty of Business and Law at Victoria University and at the Horwood Language Centre of the University of Melbourne, as well as an Honorary Research Fellow in European/German Studies at Monash University.