Italians in South Australia: The First Hundred Years

During the period under consideration, 1839-1939, the number of Italians residing in South Australia was quite small, especially before 1925, but their impact, as we shall see, was quite marked. In 1881, when for the first time specific nationalities were identified in the SA census, just 141 Italians were recorded as living in this State. By 1921 the number had grown to just 344, but following the large increase in Southern European migration to Australia in the 1920s and 1930s, by the time of World War II the number had become about 2,000. Despite these comparatively small numbers, the Italians of this period made important, but not often recognised, contributions to South Australian life in a wide range of areas, which for the purpose of this paper O'Connor has categorised under the headings of: Music; Primary and Secondary Industries, and retailing; Religion; Public Office; Italian Language Teaching