Pre-1970s

Between 1914 and 1970, Australians participated in two world wars and several other conflicts elsewhere in the world. After the two world wars, there was an influx of people from Europe into Australia, either because of displacement by the conflicts or economic reasons. The largest groups were from the Great Britain and Italy. As a result both of the wars and the immigration, the Australian population became more multicultural in both composition and experience, thus widening people's acceptance of food from cultures other than British. This included the spread of Asian food in Australian society. Chinese had been in Australia since the early 1850s as part of the search for gold, but their food had not been eaten widely in the broader Australian community.