ABSTRACT
The Antipodes is a way of referring to Australia and New Zealand mainly from a northern hemisphere perspective. It is commonly used by North Americans and Northern Europeans to refer to Australasia and the South Pacific. In the Antipodes, Spanish-speaking communities operate in contexts of post colonialism, immigration, Indigenous populations and superdiversity. This chapter discusses the immigration history and demographic profiles; language policy; and summaries of qualitative case studies in each country carried out by the authors. Spaniards were the first group to arrive in Australia from 1958, following an agreement between the Spanish and Australian governments. Between 2000 and 2014, Spanish has seen significant growth as a foreign language subject, with enrolments in Years 1 to 8 doubling and almost quadrupling in Years 9 and above. As a community language, Spanish is typically relegated to the family domain.
