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The arrival of Vietnamese refugees by boat

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The arrival of Vietnamese refugees by boat

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How did most Vietnamese refugees arrive in Australia?

Refugees kept fleeing Vietnam during the late 1970s. In 1978 a total of 106,489 refugees arrived in Hong Kong and South-East Asian countries. Between 1978 and 1979 another 166,604 refugees arrived.

Vietnam's neighbouring countries struggled to cope with the growing numbers of refugees. Many refugees arrived by boat to seek safety, but were only given fuel and sometimes food then sent back out to sea. Lam Binh and his group were sent away several times before deciding to try to reach Australia.

Australia promised to take in more refugees, but only if South-East Asian countries would stop turning away boats. The Australian Government sent officials to the refugee camps to choose the refugees who would be given an Australian visa. These refugees then travelled by plane to Australia. This is how most Vietnamese refugees arrived in Australia. Until 1983 Australia took more than 15,000 Vietnamese refugees each year.

Since 1976 when the Lam brothers and their friends arrived, Australia has become home to a successful Vietnamese community. In 2016 the national census showed that 219,355 people in Australia had been born in Vietnam.

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First arrival of Vietnamese refugees by boat | Australia's Defining Moments Digital Classroom | National Museum of Australia

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On 26 April 1976 the first boatload of refugees fleeing Vietnam sailed into Darwin Harbour. They, and those who followed, left Vietnam following the Vietnam War. Over the next few years about 2000 more refugees travelled to Australia in boats.

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It’s not something one would expect a successful comedian, performer and writer at the height of his career to do – turn his hand to painting. Anh Do’s life has been full of challenges and, from humble beginnings, he has thrived on making his own destiny.

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Anh Do

Anh Do has come to be recognised as one of Australia's most precious gems, having sold out nationally and touching the hearts of the nation both live and on our television screens, most notably and recently in ABC's "Brush With Fame". Anh is an accomplished comedian and MC as well as a talented writer, actor and producer.

Anh Do (born 2 June 1977) is a Vietnameseborn Australian author, comedian and artist.

He has appeared on many Australian TV shows such as Thank God You're Here, Good News Week, Anh Does Vietnam and was runnerup on Dancing With The Stars in 2007.

His first book, 'The Happiest Refugee', won Australian Book Of The Year and each of his 'Weir Do' children's book series have been national bestsellers.

As an artist, Anh has won numerous awards and in 2014 he was selected as a finalist for The Archibald Prize. Each year he tours Australia performing his comedy show, 'The Happiest Refugee Live'. He is also an in demand corporate speaker and MC.

Anh studied a combined Business Law degree at the University of Technology, Sydney.
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He is the brother of film director Khoa Do and has acted in several of Khoa's films, including Footy Legends, which he cowrote and produced. He co-produced The Finished People (described by Margaret Pomeranz as 'one of the best Australian films of 2003'), wrote the script for Footy Legends in which he acted alongside an all-star Australian cast including Angus Sampson, Claudia Karvan and Emma Lung, and has been a sketch writer for SBS's Life Support and Sitcom Head Writer for Westy Ninja.

The Happiest Refugee: A memoir was published in 2010, winning numerous awards including 2011 Australian Book of the Year, Biography of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, as well as 2011 Indie Book of the Year and Non-fiction Indie Book, and being shortlisted for the 2011 NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the Community Relations Commission Award. It describes how his entire family came close to losing their lives at sea as they escaped from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat, facing murderous pirates and the imminent threat of death by hunger, disease and dehydration, to Anh's current status as one of Australia's best-loved personalities.

Anh is one of Australia's favourite corporate speakers. He uses his life experience to tailor the perfect speech for each client and has performed over 500 speeches in the past 10 years. The reason he is in such high demand is simple... when Anh speaks at an event, he lifts the whole event to ANOTHER LEVEL.
REVIEWS / TESTIMONIALS
"Irrepressible good humour, infectious energy and bright optimism."
The Sydney Morning Herald

"The happiest audience experience I have ever had."
Arts Hub

"Two thumbs, five stars, show of the season."
themusic.com.au

"We could have heard a pin drop whilst Anh was speaking, and to address a room of 150 principals on the third day of their conference was outstanding. I would highly recommend him to anyone, one minute there was tears of laughter, the next minute tears of sadness. He is very gifted in speaking, but so genuine; I think a lot who heard him speak were heading straight to the bookshop to purchase his book."
Department of Education & Early Childhood Development

"Your inspiring talk to the Commonwealth Bank was nothing short of life changing."
Michael Duff - Managing Director, Mindsense

"Simply amazing, he received a standing ovation!!!"
Lisa Dawson - Toshiba Australia

"We thought we were just getting a really funny comedian - and we certainly did - but so much more. We have had many speakers over the years and Anh was the best ever!"
Glenys Broadhead - The Conference Team

"Anh is the consummate professional and took a lot of time to learn about our business and the people involved - he has a strong inspirational message and is just a great performer - I'd recommend Anh unreservedly."
Simon Lyon - Fuji Xerox

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Anh Do has come to be recognised as one of Australia's most precious gems, having sold out nationally and touching the hearts of the nation both live and on our television screens, most notably and recently in ABC's "Brush With Fame". Anh is an accomplished comedian and MC as well[...]

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Anh Do | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories

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Anh Do is the son of Vietnamese refugees. In 1980, at the age of two, he arrived in Australia with his family by boat. Anh…