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Just to clarify, I didn't meant to dismiss it. I don't think it's a big deal whichever number it really is.The quote function isn't working for me in the present format.
I have no way of personally knowing the percentage but I'm not dismissing it. I grew up rural. Many folks new their family history back that far and beyond, and it was often a point of interest discussed as national/local and family history. Many other people are not even aware and have not looked. I myself didn't know until the last 5 years when I was looking at family history and found two from Ireland (highway robbery) and one from England (listed as stealing but was a heavy sentence so either a frequent offender or there is more to it).
Prior to that I used to jokingly brag there were no criminals in my lineage. Oooops.
My point is, most of Australia's white people live rural and are often families that have been here 150+ years and have such ancestry. Others are not aware as they know little of their family history (as was me at one point, I am 50 and said for years I was not from convicts). If you ask them they get very vague on their lineage as it is not important to them at that point of their lives (it often changes in their 40s and they start to wonder where they came from).
Yes we are well aware of the influx of immigrants since 2000 but the country was well developed and well populated before that.
Plus prior to say 1970 white people used to have significantly larger families so 20 percent is quite possible with the trickle down effect from that period.
I grew up in South West Sydney where lots of people where I'm from also immigrated to (90s to 2000s), so not in the city per se but defintiely not rural, the topic of convict ancestors never came up with Anglo/white Aussies but like you said, at that age they wouldn't have thought about it anyway (32 now so I'll ask my mate about it in 10 years lol). So I never had that perspective shared with me.