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Investigation

Who were the people of the Australian colonies?

Resource Sheet 1

Total population and birthplaces at census of 31 March 1901

Birthplace NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas C'wealth
Australia 1,079,154 940,830 323,436 289,993 126,952 147,938 2,908,303
New Zealand 10,589 9,020 1,571 711 2,704 1,193 25,788
United Kingdom 220,401 214,371 126,159 56,862 41,551 19,815 679,159
Europe 20,151 16,548 21,174 9,326 6,076 1,398 74,673
Asia 14,208 8,793 13,878 4,376 4,801 949 47,014
Africa 986 936 378 235 243 101 2,869
America 4,813 3,659 1,688 811 1,151 385 12,507
Polynesia 1,139 203 8,877 39 78 27 10,363
At sea 1,967 1,564 634 539 317 182 5,203
Unspecified 1,438 5,156 334 265 242 487 7,922
Total 1,354,846 1,201,070 498,129 363,157 184,124 172,475 3,773,801

Commonwealth Yearbook 1908, Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Australian population classified according to occupation 31 March 1901

Occupation NSW Vic Qld SA WA Tas C'wealth
Professional 41,384 35,221 13,608 8,857 7,067 4,997 111,134
Domestic 72,818 66,804 24,193 17,981 11,303 7,937 201,036
Commercial 77,664 79,047 26,482 20,165 11,803 7,497 222,658
Transport and communication 43,867 31,516 18,086 12,850 10,992 4,848 122,159
Industrial 146,688 146,213 51,472 41,233 21,810 18,750 426,166
Primary producers 172,854 165,110 82,511 49,161 35,572 27,899 533,107
Other 787,798 662,206 278,428 209,308 84,800 98,981 2,121,521
Unspecified 2,249 4,887 1,918 3,209 453 908 13,624
Total 1,345,322 1,191,004 496,698 362,764 183,800 171,817 3,751,405

Commonwealth Yearbook 1908, Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Distribution of population in capital cities of the states, 1906

City Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth Hobart
Population
(% of State population) 		538,800
(35.29%) 		526,400
(43.73%) 		132,468
(24.76%) 		175,641
(45.76%) 		53,800
(20.55%) 		34,985
(19.42%)

Commonwealth Yearbook 1908, Australian Bureau of Statistics.