Fifty years of Vietnamese settlement in Victoria was celebrated recently at an event at Parliament House.

The event featured vibrant Vietnamese cultural performances, art, fashion, food and community spirit.

Vietnamese refugees have called Victoria home for half a century, all the while ensuring that their vibrant culture has continued to thrive.

Parliament House became a sea of colour as Vietnamese Australians displayed their culture and enthusiasm for food and art.

CEO of the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association (AVWA) Nicky Chung said despite there being more than 120,000 Vietnamese people living in greater Melbourne, the community was tight knit.

“People do know each other really well, we have a very caring, nurturing type of nature and so it bodes well for us,’ she said.

AVWA was established in 1983 by sixteen women who wanted to help the Vietnamese refugees coming over after the war – they now employ nearly 450 people.

“We do age and disability care, counselling services for mental health, family violence, gambling, alcohol and other drugs, and we’re a registered training organisation so we train the next generation of aged care, disability and childcare workers,” Ms Chung said. 

She said that AVWA was taking lessons from the past 50 years and sharing it with Australia’s new emerging communities.

“We’ve gone through some ups and downs, and we really hope that part of what we can do is to share our learnings with those emerging communities.

“Our aim is to train different community groups so then they can go and provide culturally appropriate care for their communities as well under our umbrella.” 

Ms Chung said she wanted young people to be proud of their culture.

“It’s about being Australian, being so proud to be Australian, but being so proud of our cultural heritage as well.” 

Tina Thinh Nguyen visited Parliament House two decades ago for the 30-year anniversary.

“We celebrated 30 years of Vietnamese settlement in Australia and 20 years later I am here again to celebrate 50 years,” she said. 

“We feel that we’re so lucky that Australia opened their arms for us. 

“Melbourne is a multicultural city where you can preserve your own identity as well as mix with other cultures and that’s a great harmony.’”

Ms Nguyen is part of Australian Vietnamese Art Culture which showcased traditional dance and clothing to Members of Parliament during the exhibition. 

“We love to share our culture because we’re very proud of it and I think that people appreciate learning about each other’s cultures,” she said. 

“We want to preserve the Vietnamese culture, and through performing and traditional dance we promote the uniqueness of our culture.”

The arrival of refugees from Vietnam fifty years ago changed Australia refugee policy.

The fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese communist forces, sparked a massive exodus of refugees, many of whom ended up in Australia.

The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the reunification of Vietnam as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under communist rule in July 1976.

On April 26, 1976, the first boatload of refugees fleeing Vietnam sailed into Darwin Harbour, heralding a series of arrivals over the next few years.

The Fraser government’s policy to accept refugees from Indochina meant that the vast majority of refugees from Vietnam arrived by plane after selection by Australian officials in refugee camps established throughout South-East Asia.

The ‘boat people’ era was a seminal moment in the history of migration to Australia. Prior to the fall of Saigon, most refugees accepted were from Europe in the post-World War II years.

Afterwards, Australia began taking refugees from conflicts and authoritarian regimes across the globe.

Cultural connections 50 years in the making – Parliament of Victoria