SECOND CENSUS OF THE COLONY OF QUEENSLAND,

TAKEN ON THE 1ST JANUARY, 1864.

PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT BY COMMAND OF HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR.

BY AUTHORITY:

W.C. BELBRIDGE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, WILLIAM STREET, BRISBANE.

1864.

REGISTRAR-GENERAL'S REPORT.

Registrar-General's Office,

Brisbane, 1st July, 1864.

TO THE HONORABLE ROBERT GEORGE WYNDHAM HERBERT, COLONIAL SECRETARY, ETC., ETC., ETC.

SIR,

I have the honor to forward to you for presentation to Parliament, a Census of the Population of Queensland, taken on the 1st January, 1864, accompanied by the following Report, and by various synoptical and comparative Tables.

REPORT.

In most civilized countries of modern times, whose inhabitants are sedentary ; where their increase or diminution in numbers is mainly dependent on natural causes, and where the annual proportion of Births and Deaths is ascertainable with tolerable correctness from the records of a Registry Office, a close estimate of the population can at any moment be made ; but in this rapidly rising Colony, with a population doubled every three or four years, where the increase from natural causes forms but a very small per centage of the total increase, and where a large portion of the inhabitants are as yet without fixed homes, a periodical Census affords the only opportunity of arriving at anything like a correct idea of their Number, their Social or Domestic Condition, or their distribution. Moreover,our populationis so nearly synonymous withour wealth, and its increase with prosperity, that collecting and compiling a Census of the former is equivalent to counting our riches and to collecting materials for an estimate of our present means and future prospects. This intimate connection between population and revenue is strikingly illustrated by the following comparison between the mean population of each year since the foundation of the Colony, and the amount per head of the population received each year as Revenue by the Customs :— [Introductory remarks.]

To any person, therefore, who takes an interest in the young Colony of Queensland, and more especially to its inhabitants, should this official Record be a document of more than usual interest and importance.

The Act of Parliament directing the taking of this Census on the 1st January, 1864, having been assented to only on the 3rd of the previous month of September, the time allowed to me for making all necessary arrangements, and for communicating with the distant portions of the Colony, was rather short, and a good deal was necessarily left to the individual discretion and energy of the several Enumerators ; it affords me, therefore, much pleasure to be able to report to you the highly satisfactory manner in which those gentlemen have carried out the spirit of the Act. As far as I can judge, or can ascertain by enquiry, the present Census has been carefully and correctly taken, and will, in point of accuracy, bear favorable comparison with any Colonial Record of a similar description. [Correctness of the Census.]

In the compilation of the Census, my great endeavor has been to condense as much as possible, and my efforts have been much assisted by the identity of the boundaries of the Police and Registration Districts, and by having also selected them as the most suitable boundaries for the Census Districts. I have thus been able materially to diminish the number of series of Tables usually compiled and published. It is only necessary to bear in mind that the Police Districts are the same as the Registration Districts, and that the only difference between the Census Districts and either of the above, is that every Municipality is excised from its particular Police or Registration District, and is formed into a separate Census District. The Enumerators appointed to these Municipal Districts were the Mayors of the several towns, who kindly consented to act, and who have afforded most valuable assistance ; in the other Districts the Enumerators appointed were the Police Magistrates, or Commissioners of Crown Lands, or Clerks of Petty Seesions. [Divisions of the Colony.]

I have further diminished the number of Tables usually published, by combining the Tables of Ages and Education, without at all reducing the amount of information ; and I have improved the Tables of Social and Domestic Condition, by giving the information according to ages. [Tables published.]

In addition to the above, nine Synoptical Tables are appended hereto.

The great extension of the occupied area of the Colony which has taken place since the last Census, and the new towns springing up, has occasioned several alterations in the Police and Municipal Division. New Districts have been proclaimed, and old ones subdivided, and the result is that the number of Enumerators' Districts has swelled from seventeen to thirty-one. On the last occasion, but one town—viz., Brisbane—was proclaimed a separate Enumerator's District ; on the present occasion, seven Municipal Towns—viz., Brisbane, Drayton, Ipswich, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Warwick—have been so distinguished ; and in the Rural Districts we find Maranoa and Kennedy each divided into two, whilst Leichhardt has disappeared as a Police District, and in its place appear the new names of Banana, Isaacs, Peak, Downs North, Peak Downs South, Springsure, Rockhampton, and Taroom. [Difference between the Census divisions of 1861 and 1864.]

It will be observed that the only Divisions of the Colony I have tabulated are the Police Districts, which, as I have before explained, are the same as the Registration Districts, and differ but slightly from the Census Districts ; the Electorates ; and the Commissioners' Districts—the latter being only noticed in one Table. The boundaries of the other Divisions, such as Counties and Parishes, are not as yet sufficiently determined to be made practical use of in this Record. [Divisions noticed.]

The total cost of this Census has been, viz. :— [Expense of Census.]

The expenditure has thus been kept within the amount voted by Parliament, viz., £3,000. The Table at foot* gives an alphabetical

List of the Census Districts, the names of the Enumerators, and the number of Collectors employed in each; also, the amounts paid to Enumerators, and to Collectors, the number of Household Schedules, and the Population returned from each District.

TOTAL POPULATION.

The total Population of Queensland on the 1st January, 1864, was 61,467, and consisted of 37,425 Males and 24,042 Females, exclusive of the black Aborigines, of whom no account can be taken, and of a few returns from the extreme limits of civilization, which did not reach me in time to be included in the Tables, and are not therefore taken into account.

SEX AND AGE.

The first Queensland Census, taken on the 7th April, 1861, showed that the population then consisted of 11,938 Females, and 18,121 Males, their relative proportions being 65.87 Females to each 100 Males ; this Census shows the present population to consist of 24,042 Females and 37,425 Males, their relative proportions being 64.24 Females to each 100 Males. The disparity in the relative number of the sexes has therefore increased. As might be expected, this inequality is found to be far greater in the country than in the town portions of the population. In the former, the proportion is 46.71 Females to each 100 Males ; and in the latter, 86.15. [Sexes compared.]

The above increased inequality of the sexes is to be traced to the undue proportion of Males among the Immigrants who have arrived from the neighboring Colonies and who have landed from private Immigrant ships. Of the former immigration, no record of sexes is attainable, although the fact as above stated is undoubted. Of the latter, the Immigration Returns show the arrival since the last [Cause of the increased inequality of the sexes.]

Census by private ships of 10,335 Males and 6,431 Females, the proportion being 62.22 Females to each 100 Males. On board the ships chartered by the Emigration Commissioners, the arrivals in the same period of time have been 1,954 Males, 1,896 Females, their relative proportion being 97.03 Females to each 100 Males.

A reference to the table at foot

The following calculations on the physical strength of our Population are based on the same data as those employed for a like purpose by the Registrar-General of New South Wales. It will be seen that they differ from the data employed in England, it being with reason believed, that in Australia greater precocity exists among the young, and that the aged maintain their powers and energies for a longer period than is found to be the case in England. [Physical strength of population.]

It is believed that in this Colony the self-supporting age commences at fifteen and lasts to sixty-five years of age, and the table at foot shows that our Population between those ages numbers 40,180 persons, on whose exertions the remaining 21,013 persons, excluding 274 of unspecified ages, are dependent ; each 1,000 of the population is therefore composed of 656 producers, and 343 non-producers.

The above calculation on the physical strength of our Population agrees very closely with a similar calculation made by the Registrar-General of New South Wales, in his Report on the Census taken in that Colony in 1861 ; his calculation was that each 1,000 of the population was composed of 607 producers, and 393 non-producers. To compare with England, the data must be changed ; the calculation being there founded on the assumption that the productive age does not commence before twenty and ends at sixty years. On this basis, the calculation in England in 1861 was that each 1,000 of the population was composed of 177 producers, and 523 non-producers. In New South Wales in 1861, the calculation on the same basis was, that each 1,000 of the population was composed of 495 producers, and 505 non-producers ; in each of the above the non-producers outnumber the producers, but in this Colony the reverse is found to be the case, each 1,000 of the population between the same ages being composed of 560 producers and 451 non-producers. [Comparison between the physical strength of the population of England, New South Wales, and Queensland.]

Comparing the conjugal condition of the males with the male population above the age of twenty, it appears that each 100 males of the above ages is composed of 40.62 married, 56.66 single, and 2.31 widowed ; comparing the female population in the same way, but lowering the age to sixteen years, we find each 100 females of the above ages to consist of 70.09 married, 25.80 single, 4.09 widowed.

In the Population of the Towns and Country, taken separately, we find :— [Proportion of married and single in town and country.]

As might naturally be expected, a great many Single Males are found in the Country Districts, and comparatively few Single Women. Under the age of twenty only five Males are found to be Married ; and under the age of sixteen only 2 Females are Married. Each 100 Males above twenty years old in the Town Population, is composed of 52.69 Married, 43.83 Single, 2.54 Widowed ; and in the Country Population, of 32.31 Married, 65.49 Single, 2.14 Widowed ; and each 100 Females above sixteen years old in the Town Population, of 65.72 Married, 29.39 Single, 4.91 Widowed ; and in the Country Population, of 76.95 Married, 20.21 Single, 2.82 Widowed.

In the Report on the New South Wales Census of 1861, it is stated that the Married Men are in the proportion of 280, the Widowers of 24, and Male Children and Single Men of 659, to every 1,000 Males of the total Male Population ; and that Married Women are in the proportion of 351, Widows of 38, and Female Children and Single Women of 610 in every 1,000. In England, the proportion of Married in 1851, was 330 Males, and 320 Females, in every 1,000 of the Total Population. In Queensland the Married Men are in the proportion of 271, the Single of all ages of 714, and the Widowers of 15, out of each 1,000 of the Males Population ; and the Married Women in the proportion of 399, the Single of 577, and the Widowers of 24, out of each 1,000 of the total Female Population. [Social condition compared with England and New South Wales.]

The Social Condition of the Population of Queensland in the years 1861 and 1864, are compared in the following Table :— [Social condition of the years 1861 and 1864 compared.]

From the above it appears that the proportions of both Single Males and Single Females is greater than was the case in 1861. It may, perhaps, be supposed that this increase arises from a large increase in the numbers of persons below the marriageable ages,—this is not, however, the case ; for the proportionate increase in numbers of persons below twenty years of age is within a very small fraction of the centesimal increase of the whole Population, the former being at the rate of 104.59 per cent., and the latter 104.48 per cent. ; and it must therefore be attributed to the large proportion of Single Immigrants of both sexes.

DISTRIBUTION.

The Population is very equally divided between Town and Country ; the numbers being Town, 30,954, and Country, 30,513 ; in 1861, the division was—Town, 15,348, and Country, 14,711. The Country Population has therefore increased somewhat faster than the Town Population ; in 1861, each 1,000 of the population was composed of 510 town and 489 country residents ; and in 1864, each 1,000 is composed of 503 town and 496 country inhabitants. [Division of the population between town and country.]

The following table shows the increase, numerical and centesimal, which has taken place in the Populations of the principal Towns since the taking of the Census in April, 1861 :— [Relative increase of principal towns compared.]

Numerically, Brisbane has increased the most largely ; centesimally, Rockhampton takes the lead ; Maryborough has also increased very much. The above does not nearly represent the total increase of Urban Population, for many small Towns have been formed which had no existence in 1861, and therefore admit of no comparison.

The Colony of Queensland has from the first been divided for pastoral purposes into large Districts termed Commissioners' Districts. As fresh country has been occupied, new Districts have been created ; and such, I presume, will continued to be the case until the whole territory be brought under civilized rule. As these Commissioners' Districts are for a long time the only recognised divisions of the newly settled portions of the Colony, and are the only divisions which embrace the whole of the occupied area, they are the best suited for estimating the distribution of the Country inhabitants. I have, therefore, made use of them for that purpose, and have, in the table [Distribution of the population in the country districts.]

at foot,

DWELLINGS.

Among the Tables published are two, numbering and describing the materials used in the construction of the Dwelling Houses and other places of shelter, and distinguishing between the Urban and the Rural Residences. The short existence of Queensland as a Colony, and the very recent arrival of the larger part of its population, naturally accounts for the existing large proportion of places of shelter of the most temporary nature, run up to meet the exigencies of the moment, and destined to give place shortly to more permanent erections. The total number of places of residence, or, as I should in most cases more correctly say, of temporary shelter, is 11,456 ;—they consist of, 686 of Brick or Stone ; 9,475 of Wood, of many degrees of quality and durability, from good substantial houses to the commonest slab huts ; 1,172 tents ; and 123 drays, the latter being used by travelers. The average number of occupants in each of the above is 5½ persons. [Dwelling houses classified.]

As might be expected, the more substantial buildings are mostly to be found either in the towns or in their immediate vicinity. Brisbane, within its Municipal Boundaries, contains 383 Brick or Stone Houses ; Ipswich contains 131 ; and Rockhampton 32. The actual number of places of residence in Brisbane is :— [Town dwelling houses.]

The proportion of occupants to the above is rather over five to each place of residence ; in the City of Sydney the proportion is rather over five and a-half.

OCCUPATION.

The different heads under which it has been considered desirable to class the occupations of the people, are explained at length in an Appendix to this Report. They have been adopted in close imitation of the classification made use of in the last New South Wales Census of 1861, but do not descend to quite such minute subdivisions, our small population not requiring it. [Classification of occupation.]

The principal heads of classification, the numbers returned under each, and the proportion the number under each bears to the total population, are given in the following Table :— [Heads of classification.]

The most pleasing feature in these Tables is the large increase that has taken place since the last Census, in the number of persons employed in Agriculture. In 1861, the number so occupied was only 802, on the present occasion it has risen to 2,878. Trade and Commerce show also a large increase, the numbers being, in 1861, 643 ; in 1864, 1,813. The largest increase is, however, to be found under the head of Scholars—in 1861, they numbered 3,033 ; in 1864, they number 17,893.

The column of per centages will, perhaps, be best understood, by reading it in the following form.

In each 1,000 persons of the whole Population, there are—

Nothing can speak more strongly for the prosperity of the Colony, than a Return of only 3.61 Paupers in each 1,000 persons of the population, young and old. In New South Wales the proportion of Paupers is also very small, only 5.7 in each 1,000.

NATIONALITY.

The Population of Queensland may be divided into four classes : first, those born in Queensland ; second, those born in the other Australian Colonies and New Zealand ; third, those born in Great Britain and Ireland, or other British Dominions ; fourth, those born in foreign countries. And an examination of the Nationality Tables gives the following results :— [Division of the people into classes, according to their places of birth.]

In 1861 the following was the Nationality :—

The proportion of native-born, already it will be observed, exceeds the number born in other Australian colonies, and also the number born in foreign countries. Nevertheless, the proportion to the whole population which they bear is still but a small one—15.60 [Proportion of native born.]

per cent. By far the largest part of the population is of English, Scotch, or Irish birth.

RELIGION.

The information required for the compilation of the tables referring to the above subject appears to have been willingly given by members of all religious denominations ; only one instance of any objection to give it having been brought under my notice, and then it arose from a misapprehension, and was subsequently furnished. [Readinese to affore information.]

The table at foot, which gives full particulars, and compares the present relative numbers of the different religious denominations with their numbers in 1861, obviates the necessity for any further comment.

EDUCATION.

The Educational test—namely, being able to read to read and write, or unable to do either—is, at best, an unsatisfactory one. The mere fact of being able to write one's name can scarcely be admitted as a proof of education, or, taken in connection with crime, can be supposed to exercise any beneficial influence on the morals of the people. One thing, however, is certain—that every person who cannot read may be classed as totally uneducated ; and that the same may be said, with almost as much truth, of those who can read but not write. To that extent, therefore, the information is available. The class, however, which can both read and write comprises every shade of education, from the highest down to the many who can just scrawl their names, and of course, therefore, conveys very little useful information. [Inefficiency of educational test.]

• The persons who cannot read or write, number 16,108

• The persons who can read but not write, number 6,950

• The persons who can both read and write, number 38,409

Adding the two first classes together, there are found at least 23,058 uneducated. I say, at least, for it is impossible to say how many there are whose education has not advanced beyond the bare power of writing their names. Each 100 persons in the Colony contains, therefore, at least 37.5 uneducated individuals. In the year 1861, the numbers were as follows :—

Each 100 persons containing, therefore, at least 42.9 persons who could neither read nor write. The proportion of educated persons, so far as education is indicated by the power of reading and writing, has materially increased.

Dividing the Population into Town and Country Inhabitants, the following are the results :— [Education in the town and country.]

From the above, it seems that in each 100 inhabitants of the towns there were—in 1861, 43.67 uneducated persons, and in 1864, only 36.84 ; and in each 100 country residents there were—in 1861, 42.17 uneducated persons, and in 1864, only 36.84. It is singular, that in the year 1864, the centesimal proportion of uneducated persons should, to the smallest fraction, be the same among both Town and Country residents.

The increased proportion of persons who can both read and write, observable in the preceding Table, can only be attributed to the proportion of educated persons among the Immigrants being greater than the proportion which previously existed in the Colony ; for the effects of increased education of the young, did such exist, would as yet hardly be appreciable. Moreover, I regret to say, that the number of children at school is not sufficiently great, even to maintain education at its present low numerical standard. This is so important a subject, that I may be pardoned for entering somewhat into detail. [Increase in the proportion of educated persons.]

There are in the Colony at the present moment 12,681 children between the ages of five and fifteen years inclusive ; of these, only 6,199 can read. There are, therefore, in each one hundred of these children, 51.11 who are totally uneducated, whilst, as I have already shown, there is in the whole population only a proportion of 36.84 persons out of each 100 in the same ignorance, and this proportion of uneducated might, with perfect propriety, be reduced, by leaving out of the calculation all children below five years old, who form a large item in it. If the above calculations be made for Towns and Country separately, the results tell in favor of the former, but very badly for the latter. In the Towns are found 6,118 children of the above ages, of whom 4,598 can read ; in the country are found 6,563 children of the above ages, of whom only 1,601 can read. In the Towns, therefore, each 100 children only contains 24.84 uneducated, but in the Country each 100 children contains 75.60 children between the ages of five and fifteen who cannot even read. [Children receiving education.]

In the Town of Brisbane the number of children between the ages of five and fifteen, inclusive, is—Boys, 1,132 ; Girls, 1,326 ; total, [Education in the town of Brisbane.]

2,458 ; and the number who can read is—Boys, 1,010 ; Girls, 1,150 ; total, 2,160. There are, therefore, among each 100 Boys 10.78, and among each 100 Girls 13.28, who are permitted to remain uneducated. Several of the other Towns would, doubtless, show an equally favorable amount of education among the young, did my space permit the calculations to be published.

I have shortened and condensed my remarks to the utmost ; in some instances I fear I have done so more than the importance of the particular subject under examination justified, and from the same cause many interesting topics have been passed over in silence. I beg, however, that the general reader will not measure the statistical value and importance of the following compilation by the foregoing meager and superficial Report, which he will please to bear in mind is compiled for the simple purpose of supplying him, in an easy and popular form, with a certain small amount of information on subjects of great importance to every resident in Queensland, but which information, unless thus prepared for him, want of leisure, or disinclination to enter upon a dry preliminary investigation of figures, would in too many instances deter him from seeking for himself. To any person who desires to go deeper than I have done, the tables will be found to supply ample means of so doing. To Mr. Walter McClintoch, who, for the second time, has been intrusted with the superintendence of the clerical labors connected with the tabulation of the Enumerators' Returns, and the final compilation of the Census tables, I have to return my best thanks for the assistance he has rendered me. [Conclusion.]

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

Your most obedient Servant,

F. O. DARVALL,

Registrar-General.

QUEENSLAND CENSUS—1ST JANUARY, 1864., INDEX.

CENSUS BY REGISTRATION OR POLICE DISTRICTS :—

Town Portions

Country Portions

Town Portions

Country Portions

Town Portions

Country Portions

CENSUS BY ELECTORATES:—

CENSUS OF THE WHOLE COLONY :—

CENSUS BY COMMISSIONERS' DISTRICTS:—

CLASSIFICATION OF RESIDENCES:—

QUEENSLAND. SYNOPSIS OF THE CENSUS OF 1864.

NOTE.—Travellers make use of drays as sleeping places whilst on their journey inland.

CENSUS OF THE COLONY OF QUEENSLAND—1864.