A Snapshot of Australia, 1901
Census Counts
In celebration of Australia's Centenary of Federation, data from the Censuses of Australian States in 1901 is included in this Snapshot, along with generally comparative data from the 2001 Census. Due to different methodologies and question content, data from the 1901 and 2001 Censuses are not always directly comparable.
In 1901, there were 3,773,801 people (1,977,928 males and 1,795,873 females) counted in Australia.
On Census Night, 7 August 2001, there were 18,972,350 people (9,362,021 males and 9,610,329 females) counted in Australia.(1)
Footnote 1: 2001 Census figures for people counted in Australia include overseas visitors.
People of Indigenous Origin
In 1901, the new Commonwealth acquired the constitutional power to make laws concerning 'Census and Statistics'. There was some debate concerning the inclusion of tribal Aborigines in the calculation of Australia's population. The debate concluded with section 127 of the Constitution, which stated that in reckoning population, "Aboriginal natives" would not be included in the calculation, although they may have been counted in the Census. Section 127 was introduced principally so that the numbers of Federal politicians per State, as well as per capita Commonwealth grants, would be based on the total population of European and assimilated part-Aboriginal people. Section 127 was removed from the Constitution following a referendum in 1967. From 1971 Aboriginal people were included in the Census count.
There were 410,003 people (2.2%) (201,988 males and 208,015 females) in Australia who identified as being of Indigenous origin in the 2001 Census.(2)
Footnote 2: The 2001 Census question on Indigenous origin asked whether each person was of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.
Age(3)
In 1901, the median age of people in Australia was 22 years (23 years for males and 21 years for females).(4)
The median age of people in the 2001 Census was 35 years (34 years for males and 36 years for females).(5)
Footnote 3: Median ages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Footnote 4: The 1901 median ages for Australia were derived using time series data of age classifications from the Census of the Commonwealth of Australia 1911.
Footnote 5: In the 2001 Census, median age figures exclude overseas visitors.
Birthplace
In 1901, 2,908,303 people (77.2%) counted in Australia were Australian-born and 857,576 (22.8%) stated that they were born overseas.
In 1901, the three main countries of birth for those born overseas were:
United Kingdom 679,159 (18.0%),
Other European Countries 74,673 (2.0%), and;
Asia Countries 47,014 (1.3%).
In the 2001 Census, 13,629,685 people (72.6%) stated that they were Australian-born, and 4,105,444 people (21.9%) stated that they were born overseas.(6)
Of those born overseas, the three main countries of birth in the 2001 Census were:
United Kingdom 1,036,245 (5.5%),
New Zealand 355,765 (1.9%), and;
Italy 218,718 (1.2%).
Footnote 6: In the 2001 Census, birthplace calculations exclude overseas visitors.
Registered Marital Status
In 1901, there were 1,132,255 married people (46.3%) (563,917 males and 568,338 females), 2,375 divorced people (0.1%) (1,228 males and 1,147 females), 163,779 widowed people (6.7%) (56,830 males and 106,949 females) and 1,139,644 people who had never been married (46.6%) (678,631 males and 461,013 females).(7)
In the 2001 Census, there were 7,635,947 married people (51.4%) (3,813,773 males and 3,822,174 females), 509,923 separated people (3.4%) (232,584 males and 277,339 females), 1,099,391 divorced people (7.4%) (479,915 males and 619,476 females), 919,904 widowed people (6.2%) (181,472 males and 738,432 females) and 4,691,609 people who had never been married (31.6%) (2,550,880 males and 2,140,729 females).(8)
Footnote 7: 1901 figures are derived by aggregating the 1901 State Censuses. Counts only include people aged 15 years and over. For South Australia 'divorced' was categorised under widowed.
Footnote 8: 2001 figures for Registered Marital Status only include persons aged 15 years and over, and exclude overseas visitors.
Level of Education
In 1901, 2,992,915 people (84.2%), (1,558,914 males and 1,434,001 females) stated they could read and write, 77,058 people (2.2%), (36,621 males and 40,437 females) stated they could read only and 463,252 people (13.0%), (255,961 males and 207,291 females) stated they could not read or write.(9)
Literacy based questions are no longer asked in the Census, therefore a comparison between 1901 and 2001 figures is not possible.
Footnote 9: Figures from the 1901 state censuses. Counts include people aged 5 years and over. For Tasmania only percentages of the population in each group were recorded. So, the percentages had to be multiplied by the total population counts to arrive at the required values.
Occupation
In 1901, there were 111,134 people (2.9%), (69,899 males and 41,235 females) whose occupation was classed as Professional, 201,036 people (5.3%), (50,335 males and 150,701 females) classed as Domestic, 222,658 people (5.9%), (188,144 males and 34,514 females) classed as Commercial, 122,159 people (3.2%), (118,730 males and 3,429 females) classed as Transport and Communication, 426,166 people (11.3%), (350,596 males and 75,570 females) classed as Industrial and 533,107 people (14.1%), (494,163 males and 38,944 females) classed as Primary Producers.(10)
In the 2001 Census, 764,823 (9.2%) people (550,655 males and 214,168 females) were employed as Managers and Administrators, 1,514,096 (18.2%) people (718,617 males and 795,479 females) were employed as Professionals, 975,653 (11.8%) people (546,159 males and 429,494 females) were employed as Associate Professionals, 1,018,903 (12.3%) people (906,687 males and 112,216 females) were employed as Tradespersons and Related workers, 1,366,701 (16.5%) people (390,015 males and 976,686 females) were employed as Intermediate Clerical, Sales and Service Workers and 717,457 (8.7%) people (453,115 males and 264,342 females) were employed as Labourers and Related Workers.(11)
Footnote 10: 1901 figures derived by aggregating the 1901 state censuses.
Footnote 11: 2001 Census figures for Occupation include employed persons aged 15 years and over, and exclude overseas visitors.
Individual Income
Income figures were not collected in the 1901 Census but were estimated from various sources at the time. For 1901, the mean annual income per inhabitant (including children aged under 15 years) was £46.
The median annual individual income for people aged 15 years and over in the 2001 Census, while not directly comparable with 1901, was $15,600 - $20,748.
Dwellings
In 1901, 786,331 dwellings were counted. Of these dwellings, 459,558 (58.4%) were made from Wood, Iron, Lath & Plaster, Slab, Bark, Mud, etc, 266,246 (33.8%) were made from Stone, Brick, Concrete, etc; and 42,967 (5.6%) were made from Calico, Canvas etc.(12)
It is not possible to directly compare dwelling composition between 1901 and 2001 as this information is no longer collected in the Census.
In the 2001 Census, there were a total of 7,072,202 occupied private dwellings comprising 5,327,309 separate houses (75.3%), 632,176 semi detached, row or terrace houses and townhouses (8.9%), 923,139 flats, units or apartments (13.1%) and 134,274 other dwellings (1.9%).(13)
Footnote 12: Dwellings under construction have been included in dwelling counts. The categories of materials have been grouped to provide comparable categories across states. The category "Wood, Iron, Lath & Plaster, Slab, Bark, Mud etc" includes wattle, dab and metal. The category "Stone, Brick, Concrete etc" includes adobe and pise. The category "Calico, Canvas etc" includes linen, tents, drays and hessian.
Footnote 13: The 2001 results are for occupied private dwellings only.
Table 1. 1901 Population Counts for States
 | Male | Female | Total |
|
| New South Wales | 710,005 | 644,841 | 1,354,846 |
| Victoria | 603,720 | 597,350 | 1,201,070 |
| Queensland | 277,003 | 221,126 | 498,129 |
| South Australia | 184,701 | 178,456 | 363,157 |
| Western Australia | 112,875 | 71,249 | 184,124 |
| Tasmania | 89,624 | 82,851 | 172,475 |
 |  |  |  |
| Total AUSTRALIA | 1,977,928 | 1,795,873 | 3,773,801 |
Note: In 1901, New South Wales included the area now known as the Australian Capital Territory. Figures for South Australia included the Northern Territory.
Data Source: Official Year Book of Australia No. 1 1901-1907. |
Table 2. 1901 Median Ages for States
 | Male | Female | Total |
|
| New South Wales | 23 | 20 | 21 |
| Victoria | 23 | 23 | 23 |
| Queensland | 24 | 19 | 22 |
| South Australia | 22 | 21 | 21 |
| Western Australia | 28 | 22 | 26 |
| Tasmania | 21 | 20 | 21 |
 |  |  |  |
| Total AUSTRALIA | 23 | 21 | 22 |
Note: In 1901, New South Wales included the area now known as the Australian Capital Territory. Figures for South Australia included the Northern Territory.
Data Source: 1901 State Censuses (Census of Queensland 1901, South Australian Census 1901, Census Western Australia 1901, Census of Victoria 1901, Census New South Wales 1901, Census of Tasmania 1901). |
Table 3. 1901 State by Birthplace
 | Australia | United Kingdom | Other European
Countries | Asia | New Zealand | Other (a) | Not Stated | Total |
|
| New South Wales | 1,079,154 | 220,401 | 20,151 | 14,208 | 10,589 | 8,905 | 1,438 | 1,354,846 |
| Victoria | 940,830 | 214,371 | 16,548 | 8,793 | 9,020 | 6,352 | 5,156 | 1,201,070 |
| Queensland | 323,436 | 126,159 | 21,174 | 13,878 | 1,571 | 11,577 | 334 | 498,129 |
| South Australia | 289,993 | 56,862 | 9,326 | 4,376 | 711 | 1,624 | 265 | 363,157 |
| Western Australia | 126,952 | 41,551 | 6,076 | 4,810 | 2,704 | 1,789 | 242 | 184,124 |
| Tasmania | 147,938 | 19,815 | 1,398 | 949 | 1,193 | 695 | 487 | 172,475 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Total AUSTRALIA | 2,908,303 | 679,159 | 74,673 | 47,014 | 25,788 | 30,942 | 7,922 | 3,773,801 |
|
(a) Other includes those Born at Sea.
Note: In 1901, New South Wales included the area now known as the Australian Capital Territory. Figures for South Australia included the Northern Territory.
Data Source: Official Year Book of Australia No. 1 1901-1907. |
Table 4. 1901 Registered Marital Status
 | Never Married | Married | Widowed | Divorced | Not Stated | Total |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Persons |
|
| New South Wales | 237,896 | 161,688 | 202,920 | 206,184 | 19,451 | 35,207 | 692 | 708 | 2,690 | 414 | 463,649 | 404,201 | 867,850 |
| Victoria | 197,949 | 167,276 | 176,160 | 182,841 | 19,973 | 43,021 | 289 | 331 | 2,636 | 1,231 | 397,007 | 394,700 | 791,707 |
| Queensland | 104,412 | 48,319 | 72,213 | 71,469 | 6,812 | 10,218 | 101 | 44 | 465 | 111 | 184,003 | 130,161 | 314,164 |
| South Australia | 59,357 | 48,094 | 54,754 | 55,341 | 5,102 | 10,719 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 119,213 | 114,154 | 233,367 |
| Western Australia | 50,611 | 14,579 | 32,063 | 27,043 | 2,932 | 3,112 | 111 | 42 | 313 | 48 | 86,030 | 44,824 | 130,854 |
| Tasmania | 28,406 | 21,057 | 25,807 | 25,460 | 2,560 | 4,672 | 35 | 22 | 305 | 126 | 57,113 | 51,337 | 108,450 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Total AUSTRALIA | 678,631 | 461,013 | 563,917 | 568,338 | 56,830 | 106,949 | 1,228 | 1,147 | 6,409 | 1,930 | 1,307,015 | 1,139,377 | 2,446,392 |
|
Note: In 1901, New South Wales included the area now known as the Australian Capital Territory. Figures for South Australia included the Northern Territory.
Data Source: Official Year Book of Australia No. 1 1901-1907. |
Table 5. 1901 Education by Sex for States
 | Cannot Read | Read Only | Read and Write | Not Specified | Total aged 5+ |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Persons |
|
| New South Wales | 133,152 | 120,030 | 14,288 | 15,110 | 554,374 | 509,100 | n/a | n/a | 701,814 | 644,240 | 1,346,054 |
| Victoria | 27,160 | 20,107 | 9,339 | 11,678 | 492,113 | 491,644 | 8,464 | 8,850 | 537,076 | 532,279 | 1,069,355 |
| Queensland | 68,452 | 46,447 | 5,827 | 5,874 | 204,866 | 170,280 | 947 | 573 | 280,092 | 223,174 | 503,266 |
| South Australia | 12,971 | 10,586 | 3,678 | 4,544 | 147,513 | 143,235 | n/a | n/a | 164,162 | 158,365 | 322,527 |
| Western Australia | 6,302 | 3,884 | 1,571 | 1,334 | 90,968 | 55,188 | 729 | 362 | 99,570 | 60,768 | 160,338 |
| Tasmania | 7,924 | 6,237 | 1,918 | 1,897 | 69,080 | 64,554 | n/a | n/a | 78,922 | 72,688 | 151,610 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| Total AUSTRALIA | 255,961 | 207,291 | 36,621 | 40,437 | 1,558,914 | 1,434,001 | 10,140 | 9,785 | 1,861,636 | 1,691,514 | 3,553,150 |
|
Note: No data is available for the ACT for 1901 as it was part of New South Wales at this time.
Northern Territory was included as part of South Australia in the 1901 Census of South Australia.
Not stated/specified does not appear to be available for South Australia (including Northern Territory), New South Wales and Tasmania.
Tasmanian figures are calculated from percentages.
Table 6. 1901 Occupation by Sex for States
|
Professional
|
Domestic
|
Commercial
| Transport & Communication |
Industrial
| Primary
Producers |
| Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female | Male | Female |
|
| New South Wales | 26,855 | 14,529 | 20,128 | 52,690 | 67,097 | 10,567 | 42,822 | 1,045 | 122,692 | 23,996 | 168,212 | 4,642 |
| Victoria | 20,380 | 14,841 | 13,128 | 53,676 | 64,632 | 14,415 | 30,318 | 1,198 | 113,507 | 32,706 | 140,112 | 24,998 |
| Queensland | 9,122 | 4,486 | 7,791 | 16,402 | 22,958 | 3,524 | 17,745 | 341 | 44,065 | 7,407 | 79,421 | 3,090 |
| South Australia | 5,372 | 3,485 | 3,452 | 14,529 | 17,080 | 3,085 | 12,591 | 259 | 34,255 | 6,978 | 45,898 | 3,263 |
| Western Australia | 5,103 | 1,964 | 4,373 | 6,930 | 10,280 | 1,523 | 10,736 | 256 | 19,602 | 2,208 | 35,081 | 491 |
| Tasmania | 3,067 | 1,930 | 1,463 | 6,474 | 6,097 | 1,400 | 4,518 | 330 | 16,475 | 2,275 | 25,439 | 2,460 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Total AUSTRALIA | 69,899 | 41,235 | 50,335 | 150,701 | 188,144 | 34,514 | 118,730 | 3,429 | 350,596 | 75,570 | 494,163 | 38,944 |
|
Note: No data is available for the ACT for 1901 as it was part of New South Wales at this time.
Northern Territory was included as part of South Australia in the 1901 Census of South Australia.
(a) This total Includes the unemployed.
Data Source: Official Year Book of Australia No. 1 1901-1907.
Table 7. 1901 Dwelling Counts and Materials Used
 | Materials Used in Dwellings |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
 | Wood, Iron, Lath and
Plaster, Slab etc. | Stone, Brick,
Concrete etc. |
Calico, Canvas, Tents etc.
|
Not Specified
|
Total Dwellings
|
|
| New South Wales | 150,814 | 105,197 | 8,874 | 3,886 | 268,771 |
| Victoria | 169,252 | 75,696 | 3,423 | 5,285 | 253,656 |
| Queensland (a) | 83,634 | 2,548 | 9,609 | 4,819 (a) | 100,610 |
| South Australia | 12,258 | 61,279 | 1,564 | 753 | 75,854 |
| Western Australia | 18,380 | 13,467 | 18,628 | 495 | 50,970 |
| Tasmania | 25,220 | 8,059 | 869 | 2,322 | 36,470 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Total AUSTRALIA | 459,558 | 266,246 | 42,967 | 17,560 | 786,331 |
|
(a) Count for Not Specified in Queensland includes Ships (203) and Drays (263).
Note: In 1901, New South Wales included the area now known as the Australian Capital Territory. Figures for South Australia included the Northern Territory.
Data Source: 1901 State Censuses (Census of Queensland 1901, South Australian Census 1901, Census Western Australia 1901, Census of Victoria 1901, Census New South Wales 1901, Census of Tasmania 1901).
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