What problems did immigrants face when they came to Australia?

Answer 1

They faced all of the diseases such as smallpox. Starvation was an ever present danger especially as there were few farmers amongst the settlers. They were very remote and life as a convict was harsh. I have attached resources for your reference and further reading.

Answer 2

Immigrants faced the hardships of trying to live off the land when they first arrived in Australia. None of them had any experience with agriculture, and starvation was a major problem. Farmers, carpenters, and skilled laborers didn't want to migrate to Australia, and the immigrants were not prepared for the harsh conditions.

Answer 3

When the original German immigrants came to Australia in the 1830s, they faced the sense of loss and displacement any cultural group would feel when they have been forced from their homeland by persecution. In the case of the first Germans, they were forced to flee from the religious persecution of King Friedrich Wilhelm III. Mixed in with the displacement and loss of their homeland was an intense relief that they were now free to worship in the way of their choice. They were (and are) a stalwart, hard-working and adaptable group, quickly establishing their farms and crops. There was no discrimination where these first Germans chose to settle. On the contrary, they had the support of wealthy Scottish businessman and chairman of the South Australian Company, George Fife Angas.

More problems were faced later during the first and second world wars. Not just German immigrants, but members of long-established German families faced persecution as a result of the distrust felt towards Germany for its part in both world wars. Germans were rounded up and placed in civilian internment camps within Australia, simply for having a German name.

During World War I, many Germans were held at internment camps around Australia. There was fear that seemingly innocent German immigrants could be spying for the German government. This paranoia extended to some German-speaking peoples whose families had been in Australia since the 1840s. German clubs were closed, businesses were shut down, many Lutheran schools were closed (all of the Lutheran schools in SA were closed), and the leaders of the community, including Lutheran pastors, were interned. (Six of the Qld pastors who were interned were British naturalised subjects, and two of them had actually been born in Australia). The Germans were often ferried for long distances by rail, during which they were subjected to harsh treatment, including unnecessary handcuffing and general abuse. Their luggage was searched, or just stolen and/or destroyed.

Some Germans avoided internment by anglicising their names.

In all, during World War I, 6,890 Germans were interned. Of these, 4,500 were Australian residents before the war began. Others were sailors from German navy ships or merchant ships who were arrested while in Australian ports when the war broke out, while others still were merely visitors.

Again, in World War II, many German civilians and soldiers were sent to internment camps and Prisoner-Of-War camps in Australia.