 According to the 2016 Census, there were 175,563 people of Maltese descent in Australia and 37,614 Malta-born people residing in the country at the moment of the census.The first Maltese to arrive in Australia was possibly inmate John Pace in June 1790, though it is not clear if he was sent from Malta or if he was Maltese at all.The first certain Maltese to arrive in Australia were convicts around 1810.