Thai Australians celebrate New Year
8 April 2009
The Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, Laurie Ferguson, today extended his best wishes to all Thai Australians celebrating Songkran, or Thai New Year.
Songkran is one of the newer events in Australia’s celebratory calendar, following recent decades of immigration from Thailand.
‘Traditionally celebrations in Thailand involve water rituals as the throwing of water symbolises the washing away of bad luck,’ Mr Ferguson said.
Celebrations in Australia will centre on Thai Buddhist temples, called wats, that are mostly located close to Australia’s Thai population.
Small numbers of Thai people have been in Australia since the mid-1800s, but there are few traces of those early years until the 1901 Census that formally recorded 37 Siamese living in Australia.
Numbers have steadily increased, with the 2006 Census recording more than 30 000 Thailand-born people. Of that number, about 7000 arrived in the 1980s, more than 8000 came in the 1990s and nearly 11 000 have arrived since 2001.
‘In 1911, the master of the Thai royal stables visited Australia and bought 126 horses. This started a trend of royal envoys from Thailand visiting Australia on horse-buying and other economic missions,’ the parliamentary secretary said.
‘Cuisine is also one of the purest expressions of culture. In 1975, there were no Thai restaurants in Sydney. There were 40 in 1986 and more than 400 by 1999 and today, Australia’s love affair with Thai cuisine is ever growing.
‘I wish members of the Thai community a happy and prosperous Songkran.’
Media contact: Carla Wilshire 0432 755 935
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/parlsec/media/media-releases/2009/lf09019.htm
Last update: 08 April 2009 at 13:43 AEST