Population Growth
1788 - The true extent of the Aboriginal population in the Brisbane Water District is unknown, however it is estimated that several hundred people lived in the area before white settlement.
1823 - James Webb, the first white settler of Brisbane Water, takes up land at The Rip.
1828 - The Census of 1828 records approximately 100 persons in the Brisbane Water Police District, which included Lake Macquarie, Brisbane Water and Lower Portland Head. This figure did not record the number of aboriginal persons, however a census of aboriginals in Brisbane Water taken in the same year records 65 persons between the Hawkesbury River and Wyong. This figure is increasingly believed to underestimate severely the native population, which may have numbered several hundred.
|
1833 |
315 persons |
1968 |
46,950 |
|
1836 |
621 persons |
1969 |
49,000 |
|
1841 |
1090 persons (Census) |
1970 |
51,500 |
|
1846 |
1,272 |
1971 |
56,190 |
|
1891 |
5,154 (Census) |
1972 |
59,500 |
|
1901 |
7,186 (Census) |
1973 |
63,000 |
|
1947 |
18,700 |
1974 |
66,500 |
|
1954 |
25,132 |
1975 |
69,500 |
|
1956 |
26,840 |
1976 |
73,410 (Census) |
|
1957 |
27,760 |
1977 |
77,700 |
|
1958 |
28,000 |
1978 |
80,900 |
|
1959 |
30,120 |
1979 |
84,700 |
|
1960 |
31,000 |
1981 |
94,369 (Census) |
|
1961 |
34,162 |
1986 |
109, 278 (Census) |
|
1962 |
35,960 |
1991 |
128, 941 (Census) |
|
1963 |
37,820 |
1995 |
147,189 (est.) |
|
1964 |
38,920 |
1996 |
144, 840 (Census) |
|
1965 |
40,810 |
1999 |
158,172 (est.) |
|
1966 |
42,880 |
2000 |
160,167 (est.) |
|
1967 |
44,700 |
2001 |
161,204 - (Preliminary estimate) |
This information has been drawn from various sources in good faith. Recent figures have been drawn from Australian Bureau of Statistics data. Gosford City Library can take no responsibility for the accuracy of these figures.