The majority of Tamils born in Sri Lanka came to Australia after 1983 when Sri Lanka faced ethnic turmoil and unrest (Black July). The Western suburbs of Sydney and the South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne have a relatively high number of Tamil speaking people.

Why did people migrate from Sri Lanka?

The Sri Lankan people moved to foreign countries because of civil war, poverty, and unemployment. When they moved to foreign countries they learned different cultures, different languages, and they made their own new life styles for their future generations.

When did Sri Lankans come to Australia?

About ancestry: Sri Lankan The first Ceylon-born (now Sri Lankans) immigrants to Australia were recruited in the late 1800s to work on the cane plantations of northern Queensland. Immigration of Sri Lankan people to Australia was very limited until the countrys independence in 1948.

Why did Tamils move to Sri Lanka?

Indian Tamils were brought to Sri Lanka as indentured labourers during the 19th and 20th centuries to work on coffee, tea and rubber plantations owned by the British. Indian Tamils had formed the majority Tamil population in the country until the 1950s and 1960s when the Indian population was repatriated back to India.