Dr Hamdi Genc is visiting ADSRI from from Istanbul Medeniyet University in Turkey and has provided the following report on his research.

I have been in ADSRI since the beginning of September 2013 and have been researching migration to Australia from the former Ottoman Empire between 1880 and 1918.

Based on the cross-analysis of documents and information obtained from the Australian and Ottoman archives, this study will make a significant contribution to the migration history of the Ottoman Empire and Australia. There exists only a limited number of academic studies on the issue of migration to Australia from Ottoman lands and they have usually been conducted either on a single region or a particular ethnic group. My study covers all Ottoman citizens migrating to Australia from the Ottoman lands, irrespective of their ethnic and religious identities. In addition, the study covers the migration from the Ottoman lands to Australia without limiting the coverage to a region or city. Thanks to this aspect I was able to obtain more detailed information on the migration from the Ottoman Empire to Australia within the study years - 1880-1918.

In order to collect material I researched the:

• National Archives of Australia (Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth)
• Public Record Office of Victoria
• State Records of New South Wales
• Queensland State Archive
• State Records of South Australia and
• State Records Office of Western Australia.

The archival documents I have obtained contain detailed information relating to the Ottoman immigrants which will enable me to derive accurate data on the demographic characteristics, commercial activities, working industries and regional distribution of immigrants. In addition, the archival documents contain information allowing me to ascertain the effect of citizenship in the settlement choice of the Ottoman immigrants to Australia.

My post-doctoral research is financially supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) and hosted by ADSRI and will be completed at the end of August 2014.

I would like to thank Professor James Raymer (and the former Director, Professor Peter McDonald), for giving me the opportunity to work in ADSRI for one year, as well as all the academic and administrative staff.

Above all, l would like to thank Dr James Jupp, Associate Professor for sharing his advice and wealth of knowledge about migration at every stage of my study.

Dr Hamdi Genc

August 2014