Tamworth multicultural community grows as Australia's overseas-born population drops

While generally, the country has seen a drop in the number of migrants calling Australia home since the start of the pandemic, Tamworth's multicultural community has thrived.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the percentage of people born overseas living in Australia dropped from 29.8 to 29.1 per cent from 2020 to 2021 - which is still about 7.5 million people.

But in the country music capital, there are more people from different backgrounds than ever before, with 87 nationalities calling the region home.

That is according to multicultural community leader Eddie Whitham, who has been doing his own research on the make up of the city. He said there has been an influx of migrants in recent years.

"There are fluctuating situations once permanent residence is gained as many must work in rural areas for a number of years, however we have maintained the communities as work is available here," Mr Whitham said.

NSW ranks third, behind Western Australia and Victoria, in terms of the number of overseas-born residents it has, with China, England, India and New Zealand nationals all breaking the 100,000 mark.

Out of the top 20 nationalities living in Australia - which stretches across the globe from the Netherlands to Vietnam - Tamworth has 19 of them according to Mr Whitham's data, with Hong Kong the only one missing.

Second on his list for Tamworth, only behind Filipinos, are people from India, with more than 100 families living in the city. One of those is Cafe Vivaldi owner Dinesh Goyal, who said the city has changed, even since he arrived from Melbourne in 2019.

READ ALSO:

"When I first came I hardly seen any people from other countries, but it seems in the last three years things have changed, there are lots of people who come directly form other countries," he said.

"There's lots of people from my own country as well that have come and live here and it's growing as well, we've got a community here that get together every Sunday for our religious beliefs, and it's getting better and better."

Another migrant who has contributed much to the community is Gordon Holding, who permanently made the move from England in 2002. His wife's family came from Tamworth, and he'd visited the city multiple time in the 80s and 90s.

Since arriving he has worked in the education sector and joined community groups including the historical society, marsupial park and Tamworth Landcare.

He said the Tamworth he moved to 20 years ago is nearly unrecognisable now in terms of multiculturalism, which is something he is happy to see.

"I think once they [migrants and refugees] arrived worries dissipated because they fitted easily into the community. So I think Tamworth is much more multicultural now and Tamworth people are a lot more accepting and welcoming of outsiders," he said.

"Generally, it's a good and welcoming community, but I think a lot of the old fears have subsided a lot in the time I've been here."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: