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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...

was counted as 4,455,005 – an increase of 681,204 people, 18.05% over the 1901 "

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

" 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 Sir George Handley Knibbs (13 June 1858 – 30 March 1929)Bambrick, S.. ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pp. 620-621. Retrieved 24 August 2009 was an Australian scientist, the first Commonwea ...

. 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 The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

. They travelled by bike or

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

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 Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

for their horses due to droughts. They had distributed the forms prior to the census day. Rialto old

There was a permanent staff of the 'Bureau of Census and Statistics' which consisted of the

Statistician A statistician is a person who works with Theory, theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private sector, private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, a ...

(Knibbs) and many assistants, some young men working as

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include Records managem ...

s as well as a couple of messenger boys. A female typist had joined soon after. They worked in the old Rialto Building in Collins Street, Melbourne. 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 The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence ...

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
2. Sex – ,
3. Date of Birth: Day, Month, Year

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. Religion 13. Education **(a) At present receiving Education 14. Profession or 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.

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.

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.

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.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Censuses in Australia Australian Bureau of Statistics 1911 in Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...