The Lebanese in Sydney

Since their arrival in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Lebanese in Sydney have made the city their home and have endeavoured to contribute positively to their new society as full and active citizens, despite their status as ‘undesirable immigrants’ and the extensive legislative discrimination they faced as non-Europeans. Through enterprise and hard work, they have sought to achieve economic well-being for their families and better prospects for their children. The Lebanese community in Sydney is heterogeneous, although Arabic-speaking, and for over 100 years has contributed to the city’s cultural and religious diversity

‘Better than anywhere else’: Lebanese settlement in Queensland, 1880–1947

Until the 1960s, the settlement of Lebanese migrants in Queensland was characteristically regional, with the immigrants dispersed widely throughout the state. Immigrant settlement involves a dynamic and complex interaction between the immigrants and the social, political and economic structures of the receiving society. An analysis of the settlement experience of Lebanese immigrants in Queensland from the 1880s reveals the interplay of several factors, which resulted in a distinct pattern of settlement. Fundamental to this experience was the influence of racially exclusive state and Commonwealth legislation and immigration policies. Additionally, Queensland's particular geography and style of development, in conjunction with the predominance of self-employment and the segregation of Lebanese in petty commercial occupations such as hawking and shopkeeping, significantly determined the immigrants’ geographic settlement pattern. Finally, a less obvious but nonetheless important factor was the determination of the immigrants to settle permanently in Queensland. Whatever the reasons, this dispersed settlement pattern significantly shaped the lives of the immigrants and their descendants

The Lebanese in Sydney

Since their arrival in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Lebanese in Sydney have made the city their home and have endeavoured to contribute positively to their new society as full and active citizens, despite their status as ‘undesirable immigrants’ and the extensive legislative discrimination they faced as non-Europeans. Through enterprise and hard work, they have sought to achieve economic well-being for their families and better prospects for their children. The Lebanese community in Sydney is heterogeneous, although Arabic-speaking, and for over 100 years has contributed to the city’s cultural and religious diversity

Becoming white: How early Syrian/Lebanese in Australia recognized the value of whiteness

The experience of early Syrian/Lebanese immigrants in Australia is best understood in the context of whiteness. Whiteness was pervasive and had a tangible presence in their everyday lives. Being white was quite obviously a criterion for acceptability not merely in a social sense but more significantly in gaining access to citizenship and employment. Although it was their classification as Asian that legally excluded them from citizenship and a range of employment opportunities, skin colour was clearly an important consideration. Reports on applicants for naturalization routinely required a response to the question: 'Is he a coloured man?'Syrian/Lebanese vigorously lobbied to be accepted as white and European, and by the 1920s were conditionally accepted as suitable candidates for citizenship. While being relatively white in terms of skin colour was an important factor in this official change in attitude, close examination of the historical records shows that it was other attributes, in particular being Christian, which tipped the balance in their favour. Indeed, recent hostility towards people of Middle Eastern appearance suggests the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction not because these people are less white but because they are, or are assumed to be, Muslim. Being Christian is clearly an important attribute of whiteness. This suggests that whiteness is not simply dependent on skin colour but encompasses other cultural values such as religious affiliation. The imperative to be identified as white and as Christian (the power of whiteness) determined the construction of Syrian/Lebanese identity in Australia and inextricably shaped and continues to shape the lives of the descendants of these immigrants

Traders by nature or circumstance: the occupational pathways of early Syrian/Lebanese immigrants in Australia

Using a combination of sources, it is possible to establish that in the period 1880 to 1947 the majority of Syrian/Lebanese immigrants in Australia were self-employed traders. Despite a tendency to explain the predominance of self-employment in commercial occupations, such as hawking and shopkeeping, as the result of Phoenician ancestry, the historical reality is more complex. The dominant occupational pathway followed by the early immigrants was the result of a complex interaction between pre-migration experiences and economic and political circumstances within Australia. Limited options due to significant legislative discrimination in employment; the role of the Syrian/Lebanese warehousemen in Redfern, Sydney; and the individual immigrant’s need to make money quickly, largely explain why the path of hawking to shopkeeping was so consistently adopted. However, ultimately, hawking was such an enduring occupation for these immigrants because it fulfilled a general economic need. In Australia, many people lived away from the major cities sometimes in quite isolated locations. By taking goods directly to these people, hawkers were fulfilling a consumer need that would later be met by other services made possible by improved transport and communication facilities. Also significant was the preparedness of the early Syrian/Lebanese immigrants to settle and to establish businesses in regional Australia

New century, old story! Race, religion, bureaucrats, and the Australian Lebanese story

The history of Lebanese settlement in Australia shows how understanding the past can inform the present. While racial and religious profiling, character tests, questions of identity and loyalty, English testing, ministerial discretion and bureaucratic bungling are all part of the contemporary Australian landscape, empirical research shows that in Australia, these practices have always played a significant role in the lives of Lebanese immigrants and their descendants