The Australian Indian-diaspora is a national economic asset in Australia. For many years, Indian migrants are among the top migrant’s taxpayers in Australia, generating billions for the country’s economy, every year. Indians in Australia also play a major role in attracting other migrants, and therefore have been the biggest source of migrants since 2016.
At almost 700,000 strong, Indian population in Australia comprising both Indian origin and resident make valuable contributions in both economic and social sphere. In this article, we have listed the names of some well-known Indian origin Australians who are widely acknowledged and have earned success, name, and fame in Australia. While we know quite a lot about Indian migration to America and the UK, the stories of Australia have rarely been narrated.
Dave Sharma, Australia’s First Ever Member of Parliament
Born in 1975 in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada, Dave Sharma is the first ever Member of Parliament in Australia. Son of an Indian-migrant and an Australian mother, Dave Sharma was born and brought up in Sydney. His father met his mother in the United Kingdom who was originally from Australia.
“Being the first Indian-origin representative in the Australian Parliament is a great honour and a privilege,” Mr Dave Sharma said in an exclusive interview after winning a seat of Wentworth of the Liberal Party in the elections held in May 2019.
Before serving as an Indian-origin MP in the House of Representative, Dave Sharma worked as a foreign diplomat in Israel, and also worked as a staffer for former foreign minister Alexander Downer. He also headed the International Division in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2010 to 2012.
Vivek Bhatia- CEO of QBE Australia
Vivek Bhatia is the current serving Chief Operational Officer for Australia’s insurance giant QBE. Joined in February 2018, Vivek Bhatia was previously the CEO of Wesfarmers Insurance in Australia, where he spearheaded the multi-brand, multi-channel insurer with his strong leadership.
Harmohan (Harry) S Walia- Activist
Harmohan Singh Walia or Harry Walia is a mechanical engineer from Hoshiyarpur, Punjab, and is was a Torchbearer in Sydney 2000 Olympic Game. Harry S Walia is popular for his active community services in Australia, and he also contested for federal election in 2004. He is also a reputed member of Australian Labour Party.
Roanna Gonsalves- Author
Roanna Gonsalves is an Indian origin author of “The Permanent Resident” for which she won a literary prize from the Government of Australia. Her book was published in 2016, which also got the Multicultural NSW Award from the State Library of New South Wales.
The Permanent Resident is a collection of short stories, wherein the Roanna Gonsalves has described the experiences of Indian migrants in Australia. Gonsalves her is a migrant in Australia since 1988. She graduated from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, and later on pursued her Ph.D. from the University of New South Wales.
Chennupati Jagadish- University Professor
Chennupati Jagadish is an eminent professor at Australian National University in Canberra, and also an awardee of Australia’s highest civilian honor, Order of Australia medal in 2016. Jagadish was conferred with this honor for his remarkable contributions in the field of physics and engineering. His works specifically gained attention in domains of nanotechnology, education, and research.
While all the above-mentioned names have made tremendous contributions in their respective fields, their stories of migration are different, and each of them have their own unique journey to Australia. But, one thing is common- they all are Indians, who chose to migrate to Australia in some point of time and became the most-educated and the highest income people in one of world’s most advanced economy.
