The 'Secret Census' of 1916 and South Australia's Ithacans: A Reflection

Yianni Cartledge; Andrekos Varnava

doi:10.5281/zenodo.14762294

The 'Secret Census' of 1916 and South Australia's Ithacans: A Reflection

Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article

Abstract

This reflection explores the 1916 ‘secret census’ of Greeks in South Australia — a unique event in the history of migrant monitoring which included the cataloguing of every Greek in Australia by local police on behalf of the Special Intelligence Bureau. The census was conducted due to questions of loyalty during WWI, despite Greece being a neutral country at this point. However, it was no doubt imbued with anti-migrant and xenophobic sentiments. This paper takes South Australia as a case study, and in particular, the small Ithacan community that existed and can be analysed through the rich ‘secret census’ data.

Original language	English
Pages	235-257
Number of pages	23
Volume	2
Specialist publication	Bulletin of the Ithacan Historical Society
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14762294
Publication status	Published - 2024

Keywords

Greeks in Australia
1916 ‘secret census'
anti-Greek sentiment
migrant monitoring

Access to Document

10.5281/zenodo.14762294Licence: In Copyright

1 Chapter
1 Article

“Making and Monitoring a ‘Suspect Community’: Australian Attacks on Greeks and the ‘Secret Census’ in 1916”
Cartledge, Y. & Varnava, A., 2024, In: Australian Historical Studies. 55, 3, p. 485-505 21 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Open Access
File
5 Citations (Scopus)

447 Downloads (Pure)
Greek islander migration to South Australia 1919-1939: Emigration, settlement and community building
Cartledge, Y., May 2022, South Australia 1919-1939: Essay from the Professional Historians Association (PHA). Adams, C. & Dickey, B. (eds.). Adelaide: Professional Historians Association South Australia (PHA SA), p. 175-195 21 p.
Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

G W Symes Award 2025
Cartledge, Y. (Recipient) & Varnava, A. (Recipient), Mar 2025
Prize

6 Oral presentation
3 Invited talk

Beyond the ‘Red Rock’: the Ikarian Revolution (1912), political radicalism, and the Ikarian diaspora
Cartledge, Y. (Author)
16 Jun 2025
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Beyond the ‘Red Rock’: the Ikarian Revolution (1912), political radicalism, and the Ikarian diaspora
Cartledge, Y. (Author)
29 Jun 2025
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
Aegean Islander Migration to the Anglosphere, 1815-1945
Cartledge, Y. (Speaker)
19 Jul 2024
Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation

Cite this

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abstract = "This reflection explores the 1916 {\textquoteleft}secret census{\textquoteright} of Greeks in South Australia — a unique event in the history of migrant monitoring which included the cataloguing of every Greek in Australia by local police on behalf of the Special Intelligence Bureau. The census was conducted due to questions of loyalty during WWI, despite Greece being a neutral country at this point. However, it was no doubt imbued with anti-migrant and xenophobic sentiments. This paper takes South Australia as a case study, and in particular, the small Ithacan community that existed and can be analysed through the rich {\textquoteleft}secret census{\textquoteright} data.",

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JO - Bulletin of the Ithacan Historical Society

JF - Bulletin of the Ithacan Historical Society

ER -

The 'Secret Census' of 1916 and South Australia's Ithacans: A Reflection

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Research output

“Making and Monitoring a ‘Suspect Community’: Australian Attacks on Greeks and the ‘Secret Census’ in 1916”

Greek islander migration to South Australia 1919-1939: Emigration, settlement and community building

Prizes

G W Symes Award 2025

Activities

Beyond the ‘Red Rock’: the Ikarian Revolution (1912), political radicalism, and the Ikarian diaspora

Beyond the ‘Red Rock’: the Ikarian Revolution (1912), political radicalism, and the Ikarian diaspora

Aegean Islander Migration to the Anglosphere, 1815-1945

Cite this