Question: when did the first italian immigrants come to australia

title: Italian Australians
text: Italians have been arriving in Australia in a limited number since before the first fleet . Two individuals of Italian descent served on board the Endeavour when James Cook arrived in Australia in 1770 . Giuseppe Tuzi was among the convicts transported to Australia by the British in the First Fleet . Another early notable arrival , for his participation in Australian politics , was Raffaello Carboni who in 1853 participated with other miners in the uprising of Eureka Stockade and wrote the only complete eye - witness account of the uprising . Nevertheless , it is only since 1869 that the country witnessed the arrival of a number of educated individuals who had left Italy for non-economic reasons , such as missionaries , musicians , artists , professionals and businesspeople . This migration of northern Italian middle class professionals to Australia was spurred by the persecution from Austrian authorities -- who controlled most of the northern regions of Italy until 1860 -- especially after the failure of the revolts in many European cities in the 1840s and 1850s . As stated by D'Aprano in his work on the first Italian migrants in Victoria : 

Answer: answer: Two individuals of Italian descent served on board the Endeavour when James Cook arrived in Australia in 1770.  It is only since 1869 that the country witnessed the arrival of a number of educated individuals who had left Italy for non-economic reasons, such as missionaries, musicians, artists, professionals and businesspeople.