The Eighth Island

This paper proposes a succinct analysis of the factors that have ledAeolians to leave their islands for Australia and explores how patterns ofchain migration were established in the second half of the 19th century thatare still active today. Saija argues that initially Aeolians went to Australiaout of a yearning for adventure rather than out of economic need, althoughafter the substantial economic downturn experienced by the islands from1888 onwards, economic need became the predominant if not the only factor.Over the last 150 years so many Aeolians have migrated to Australiathat it has become known in the Aeolian collective consciousness as theeighth island of the Aeolian archipelago.