Migrants most important contribution to Australia, has been to the :: Economics

Migrants most important contribution to Australia, has been to the economy. Do you agree with this statement? Argue your case. Task: Write an essay addressing the following question: 'Migrants most important contribution to Australia, has been to the economy.' Do you agree with this statement? Argue your case. (5%) Migrants from all over the world have contributed to different parts of Australia since they began arriving here. I believe that the most important contribution has been to the economy, for a number of different reasons. In this essay, I am going to be looking at the English migrants and also at the Vietnamese migrants to see what contributions each group has made. Firstly, starting off with the English migrants, it is evident that since they came here on the First Fleet in 1788 they have boosted our population by a great deal, with 4000 people arriving in just the first five years. These people were not in fact migrants, but they were convicts sent here for crime such as theft, with people been sent here for small things such as stealing a handkerchief. These convicts began the population boost that Australia needed, and provoked people to come out here and start a new lifestyle. They were often described as 'economic refugees' as they were here to escape the poverty in their own country. So by the mid 1800's, Australia had a lot of migrants from overseas, especially England, who were increasing our economy by basically just being here, as it caused the general consumption of everything to go up and was therefore, costing our country money. In 1845, there was a massive mining boom in South Australia. Vast majorities of silver and lead were being found, which resulted in more people coming over here, and gave these people an opportunity to set themselves a lifestyle, as they could afford to build houses, find a job, and be able to look after themselves without having to fear poverty. When the Gold rushes began in 1851, more people ventured out here to try their luck at finding gold, and achieving a new lifestyle. In the 1860's the population increased yet again with another 44,000 people coming to Victoria, 22,000 to New South Wales, 49,000 to Queensland, and 15,000 to South Australia. When these people were added to the ones already here, we could see that the economy was increasing, and was consequently in a good position for the migrants to live in. In England, the migrants wanting to come out here were receiving support to help them, such as free passages to get here, or a cheap land offer once they arrived.