Ipswich Census Data

Censuses have been conducted since before Australia was established as a Federation in 1901. In Ipswich there is census data available from as early as 1846, which was before the city had even been proclaimed a municipality.

In 1911 the Australian Government conducted the first National Census, although the data wasn't separated out into local government areas until the 1921 census. Over the years the questions asked, and the wording used, within the census itself have changed significantly, but every census since the very beginning has given a good idea of who is living in Ipswich, what sort of homes they are living in and what economic and educational activities the population has been a part of.

In the early decades of Australia the census was conducted approximately once a decade, but in the 1960s the pattern of a census every five years was established. The 1960s also brought about a change in the Australian Constitution that recognised First Nations Australians, which meant that the 1971 Census was the first to include them in the population data collected.

Unfortunately, the local government data is missing from the original data on the Australia Bureau of Statistics' website for the years 1976 and 1991, and so it is also currently not available in the Picture Ipswich Collection.