Employment

There were quite high levels of self-employment in the Syrian immigrant population. In particular a large proportion of Syrians worked as hawkers and shopkeepers; the 1911 Commonwealth census showed that more than half of male Syrians employed in Australia were employed as merchants and dealers (mostly hawkers and shopkeepers)[1]. Hawking was a particularly desirable occupation for newly arrived immigrants as it required minimal initial wealth, experience, and qualifications.  It could also be hard for immigrants to obtain any other form of employment due to legislative discrimination, which particularly targeted Asian immigrants. However, hawking was often denigrated in the Australian press and hawkers were frequently accused of terrorising women and children with their aggressive sales tactics (see the Police News and Avon Shire articles at the bottom of this collection). The fact that Syrians were mostly known to be hawkers and shopkeepers played a significant role in opposition to Syrian immigration[2]. Syrians also often had problems obtaining licences for hawking; the Avon Shire article at the bottom of this collection discusses the fact that two Syrian women had allegedly been refused a hawking licence 25 times.

One of the features of Syrian immigration that set it apart from other Asian immigration was the fact that the majority of Syrian immigrants planned to settle permanently in Australia. Other Asian races’ immigration was aimed at gaining wealth quickly and then sending that wealth overseas and/or returning home. Syrians were more likely to remain in Australia and less likely to send money back overseas. This was partly due to the balanced proportions of women and men in Australia. The fact that Syrian immigrants planned on permanent residency meant that they tended to partake in community based occupations; for example, several Syrian applied to serve in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the First World War. Interestingly, at this time Syrians were classified as being under Turkish rule and therefore ‘enemy aliens’. This can be seen in Richard Lahood’s failed attempt at enlisting in the AIF below; it is marked ‘enemy subject’. It appears that this issue did not arise for all Syrian enlisting however, as both Faig Nassoor and Joseph Saleeba’s applications appear to have been successful (see below). A photograph of the Light Horse Brigade during the First World War is also available below as it includes a Syrian man, Anthony Gamin, indicating his success in serving in the AIF despite being a Syrian immigrant.

This collection brings together several different strains of Syrian employment in Australia in the late 18^th, early 19^th centuries, with a focus on hawkers, shopkeepers and Syrians applying to serve in the AIF during the First World War.