1911 Australian census

The 1911 Australian census was the first national population census held in Australia and was conducted by the Bureau of Census and Statistics. The day used for the census, was taken for the night between 2 and 3 April 1911. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as 4,455,005 – an increase of 681,204 people, 18.05% over the 1901 "Federation" census.

The Census Volumes II and III were published on 30 September 1914. At that time it was intended to issue shortly thereafter Volume 1.

Collection method

The first Commonwealth Statistician was George Handley Knibbs. He began his career as a licensed surveyor in government service. On Monday 3 April 1911, census collectors set out all over Australia under mostly clear skies to begin gathering in Australia's first national census forms. They covered suburbs to rural towns and the outback. They travelled by bike or horse where they had the transport that was needed to cover large areas, however, most travelled by foot. Some in Northern Queensland had to find their way through a flooded landscape while others in South Australia had difficulties finding water and fodder for their horses due to droughts. They had distributed the forms prior to the census day.

There was a permanent staff of the 'Bureau of Census and Statistics' which consisted of the Statistician (Knibbs) and many assistants, some young men working as clerks as well as a couple of messenger boys. A female typist had joined soon after. The bureau was located in the old Rialto Building in Collins Street, Melbourne which at that time the temporary seat of federal government, by 1928, the bureau relocated to Canberra.

Collectors had to supply their own transport and cover any associated costs such as fodder and petrol. They were paid according to their method of transport. Collectors on foot were paid ten shilling a day, those on bicycle fifteens shillings a day and those on horse 20 shillings a day. Police were used in the days immediately following the census to get travellers, swagmen and campers to provide their information. Train conductors and ships' captains were also used as collectors in the 1911 census and several subsequent censuses, to cover people travelling overnight on census night.

Census questions

"For Every Person present in the Night from 2 to 3 April 1911, or returning on 3rd April (if not included elsewhere). 1. Name in full (Underline Surname.) 2. Sex – {Write M for Male}, {Write F for Female} 3. Date of Birth: Day, Month, Year (a) Where exact date of birth is unknown, age at last birthday____years 4. If married, write M. If widowed, write W. If divorced, write D. If never married, write N. M. 5. Date of existing Marriage: Year........... 6. Number of Children (living and dead) from existing Marriage........... (a) Number of Children (living and dead) from previous Marriage............ 7. Relation to Head of Household 8. State if Blind or Deaf and Dumb .............. 9. Country (or Australian State) where born 10. If a British subject by parentage. write P. If a British subject by Naturalization. write N. Race – 11. If born outside Commonwealth, state length of residence therein (a) Date of Arrival in Commonwealth, Day, Month, Year, . 12. Religion13. Education (a) At present receiving Education 14. Profession or Occupation (If engaged in more than one occupation. underline principal occupation.) (a) State if Employer or Employee, &c (b) If out of work, state period (c) Occupation of Employer (if any).

Population and dwellings

Population counts for Australian states and territories had 4,455,005 and 19,939 full-Aboriginals (counted separately) for a total population of 4,474,944.

Note: All figures are for the census usually resident population count.

Aboriginal population

Birthplace

At the Census of 3 April 1911, each person was asked to state on a "personal" card, the "Country or Australian State where born," and to state on a "personal" card, and from the replies to this query, taken in conjunction with the other data furnished, the tables contained in Part II. Results show that those born in Europe (673,006) represent 88% of the total overseas-born population.

1. England (50.0%)
2. Ireland (20.0%)
3. Scotland (13.0%)
4. Germany (5.00%)
5. New Zealand (5.00%)
6. China (3.00%)
7. Wales (2.00%)
8. Italy (1.00%)
9. British India (1.00%)
10. United States (0.00%)

Ethnic origin and religion

Race

At the first Australian census in 1911 only those "aboriginal natives" living near European settlements were enumerated, and the main population tables included only those of half or less Aboriginal descent. Details of those "full-blood" Aborigines enumerated were included in separate tables.

Results showed 19,939 Aboriginals recorded for all of Australia in settled areas.

Religion

According to these figures it appears that of the 4,455,005 people in Australia on census day (3 April 1911) 4,274,414 were Christians, 36,785 non-Christians, 14,673 are described as indefinite, 10,016 were of no religion, 83,003 objected to state to what faith, if any, they belonged, and the remaining 36,114 were unspecified.

Blindness and deaf-mutism

The 1911 Australian Census recorded 3,112 people as blind. As the first national census, it included a specific question. In 1911 the census asked about deaf-mutism. This question was also asked in the next two censuses of 1921 and 1933. Deaf-mutism was found to be very high among 10- to 14-year-olds, with the same pattern existing in the 1921 census among 20 to 24-year-olds. The statisticians report on the 1921 census noted that it was "a reasonable assumption therefore that the abnormal number of deaf-mutes . . . was the result of the extensive epidemic of infectious diseases which occurred soon after many in those age groups were born".

Rubella discovery

Rubella was not known to be a possible contributor. During World War II, the ophthalmologist Norman McAllister Gregg began to investigate the connection between birth defects and the infection of mothers early in their pregnancy. In 1951, prompted by Gregg's work, Australian statistician Oliver Lancaster examined the census figures of 1911, 1921 and 1933. He found a peak in the level of deaf-mutism in the age cohort born in 1898 and 1899 and that this matched with a known outbreak of rubella in those years. "This was the first time in the world that the link between rubella and congenital problems with unborn children was firmly established."

See also

• 1911 in Australia
• Census in Australia
• Australian Bureau of Statistics

Notes