Origins

In the 1901 Victorian census, three Thais were recorded. In the 1920s, King Vajiravudh sent Butra Mahintra to Australia to purchase racehorses. In 1927, the Prince of Kamphaengphet, Purachatra Jayakara led a group of Thai royals to Brisbane to tour Australian agriculture, meeting with the Governor of Queensland, John Goodwin.^[2]

In November 1940, a Thai goodwill mission led by justice minister Thawan Thamrongnawasawat visited New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. They were welcomed by Australian external affairs minister Frederick Stewart and received by governor-general Lord Gowrie.^[3] Stewart stated that it was "pleasing to be able to meet representatives of a neighbouring country without the intrusion of trade considerations", and hoped that "the result of the visit of the Thailand mission will be that both Australia and Thailand will greatly increase their imports and exports of goodwill, in addition to their normal trade relationships".^[4]

World War II

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese invasion of Thailand on 7 and 8 December 1941 respectively, Australia and Thailand found themselves on opposing sides in World War II. After the Thai declaration of war on Britain, Australia declared war on Thailand on 2 March via Swiss diplomats.^[5]

In order to further their invasion into Burma, the Japanese started construction of the Burma railway from Bangkok to Thanbyuzayat. From October 1942 to October 1943, 13,000 Australian POWs captured from Singapore and the East Indies were transported to help construct the railway alongside Allied POWs and civilians, as well as Asian labourers. Construction of the railway resulted in the death of 2,815 POWs.^[6] A particular section of the railway was the Hellfire pass in Thailand, where POWs and civilians were forced to cut through a mountain pass. In the 1980s, the cutting was reclaimed from the jungle by ex-Australian POWs.^[7] Currently, the Hellfire Pass Interpretive Centre is handled by the Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs.^[8]

In the post-war period, 111 Japanese and Koreans who forced the construction of the railway, were convicted of war crimes, resulting in 32 of them being executed.^[9] Australia also signed a peace treaty with Thailand on 3 April 1946, becoming one of the first acts of Australian independence from Britain in its foreign affairs after the Statute of Westminster came into effect in 1942.^[10]

Cold War

During the Cold War, both Australia and Thailand aligned themselves with the United States against Communism. Formal relations between Australia and Thailand were established on 19 December 1952.^[11] When the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed on 8 September 1954 in Manila, both Thailand and Australia were founding members.^[12] From 1962 to 1968, to support their fellow SEATO member, Australia deployed F-86 Sabre aircraft to Ubon Ratchathani province when the area came under a Communist insurgency.^[13][14] During the Vietnam War, both Australia and Thailand fought against the North Vietnamese.

During the 1960s and 1970s, both Thai and Khmer artifacts were smuggled through Thailand and sold to buyers in the United States and Australia. The main importer of Thai and Khmer artifacts into Australia was by the David Jones Art Gallery, who subsequently sold them to museums in Australia.^[15]

As part of the Colombo Plan, Australia attracted students from Thailand to study in Thailand.^[2] From 1970 to 1976, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn studied in Australian at Parramatta's King's School, and Duntroon's Royal Military College. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian government was particularly concerned about Vajiralongkorn's safety from assassinations.^[16] From 2018 to 2021, the Australian embassy in Bangkok would go on to produce a documentary around Vajiralongkorn time in Australia, with the 18-minute film being screened to King Vajiralongkorn on 15 February 2021, and then on Thai television.^[17][18]

Both Thailand and Australia were founding members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) formed in 1989.^[19]

Modern era

During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, Thailand supported Australian efforts in the region by contributing the second most soldiers to the Australian-led International Force East Timor.^[20]

During the 2006 Thai coup d'état, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said, "it's of grave concern to us that the government has been overthrown in this way".^[21]

In 2005, both signed the Thailand–Australia Free Trade Agreement, the ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement in 2010, and the Australia–Thailand Strategic Partnership on 13 November 2020.^[14]

In 2023, Murray Upton returned nine Buddha statues to Thailand which were obtained by his father from Trang province in 1911.^[22]

Currently, both Thailand and Australia are major non-NATO allies of the United States.^[23][24]

Mineral exports

Thailand is an important market for Australian aluminium and metal. Australia is also a significant supplier of coal to Thailand.

Flights between Australia and Thailand

Several direct flights between Australia and Thailand exists: