[Italians in Western Australia: an isolated community in a period of aging].

Characteristics of the Italian-born population of Western Australia are examined in light of the state's large size and relative isolation. "After a brief review of the gold rush of the 1890s and the agricultural settlement that followed, the paper examines the evolution in the age composition of the population, the extraordinary rapid turnover of migrants, the predominance of young males among them. Brief comparisons are made with other migrant groups in 1986. The importance of education for the attainment of a good income is examined....[The author finds that] mixed marriages (some inevitable because of the much greater number of males among the Italian-born) enrich both sides culturally but speed up the assimilation process." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND FRE)