Immigration

Since its foundation Sydney has been the major port of arrival for immigrants to Australia. There have been times when this position was temporarily lost – the gold rush directed arrivals towards Melbourne in the 1850s and mass migration to Queensland took place in the 1880s. Fremantle was the first port of arrival for many ships, and tired passengers often stopped off there and remained in Western Australia. But the dominance of Sydney was finally consolidated from the 1960s when passengers shifted from ships to planes. Increasing numbers of these were tourist arrivals, a phenomenon almost unknown in the days of shipping.