Migrants most important contribution to Australia, has been to the

Migrants most important contribution to Australia, has been to the

economy. Do you agree with this statement? Argue your case.

Task: Write an essay addressing the following question:

'Migrants most important contribution to Australia, has been to the

economy.' Do you agree with this statement? Argue your case. (5%)

Migrants from all over the world have contributed to different parts

of Australia since they began arriving here. I believe that the most

important contribution has been to the economy, for a number of

different reasons. In this essay, I am going to be looking at the

English migrants and also at the Vietnamese migrants to see what

contributions each group has made.

Firstly, starting off with the English migrants, it is evident that

since they came here on the First Fleet in 1788 they have boosted our

population by a great deal, with 4000 people arriving in just the

first five years. These people were not in fact migrants, but they

were convicts sent here for crime such as theft, with people been sent

here for small things such as stealing a handkerchief. These convicts

began the population boost that Australia needed, and provoked people

to come out here and start a new lifestyle. They were often described

as 'economic refugees' as they were here to escape the poverty in

their own country.

So by the mid 1800's, Australia had a lot of migrants from overseas,

especially England, who were increasing our economy by basically just

being here, as it caused the general consumption of everything to go

up and was therefore, costing our country money.

In 1845, there was a massive mining boom in South Australia. Vast

majorities of silver and lead were being found, which resulted in more

people coming over here, and gave these people an opportunity to set

themselves a lifestyle, as they could afford to build houses, find a

job, and be able to look after themselves without having to fear

poverty.

When the Gold rushes began in 1851, more people ventured out here to

try their luck at finding gold, and achieving a new lifestyle. In the

1860's the population increased yet again with another 44,000 people

coming to Victoria, 22,000 to New South Wales, 49,000 to Queensland,

and 15,000 to South Australia. When these people were added to the

ones already here, we could see that the economy was increasing, and

was consequently in a good position for the migrants to live in. In

England, the migrants wanting to come out here were receiving support

to help them, such as free passages to get here, or a cheap land offer

once they arrived.