1828 New South Wales census

The 1828 New South Wales census was the first population census held in the Crown Colony of New South Wales. The month used for the census, was taken in November 1828. The total population of the colony was counted as 36,598 and recorded all inhabitants, both convict and free.[1] Only the European population were enumerated. Censuses were taken periodically in the colony thereafter.

1828 New South Wales census
General information
CountryNew South Wales, British Empire
Results
Total population36,598
Most populous ​districtSydney
Least populous ​districtPitt Water

History
Colony of New South Wales at the time of the census.

Before 1828, the population count was originally gathered through surveys and musters, however they were largely undercounted. The first survey of the NSW settlement was made in 1795. The general musters were held annually from 1795 to 1825 with separate ones being taken, for example - musters of settlers, livestock, convicts, or ones that included only males, females or children.[2] An act (9 Geo IV No. 4) was passed to allow the census. The incumbent Governor Sir Ralph Darling on 29 July 1828 transferred to the Rt. Hon. William Huskisson for King George IV's approval.[3][4]

Census questions

Information recorded in the census included:[5]

  • Name of inhabitant
  • Age
  • Free or bond
  • Ship name on which arrived
  • Year arrived
  • Sentence
  • Religion
  • Employment
  • Residence
  • District
  • Total number of acres
  • Number of acres cleared
  • Number of acres cultivated
  • Number of horses
  • Number of horned cattle
  • Number of sheep

Results

The total population was counted as 36,598, 20,870 were free and 15,728 were convicts. There were 25,248 Protestants and 11,236 Catholics. The Indigenous population were not counted.[6]

A quote from the Sydney Gazette in December 1828 describes life as:

"At the end of 1828, Sydney had 1,409 houses, 176 cottages, 121 skillings and 67 wooden tenements, making a total of 1,773 dwellings. Its urban population was 10,815, and the town occupied a large space of ground; if it had been as well fitted with houses as a town of similar size in England, the population would have been eight or ten times as numerous".[7]

— Sydney Gazette 1828

Religion

The following table is compiled from the actual religion given on the returns and from the Public Record Office.

ReligionPopulation
Baptist1
Calvinist1
Catholic8,515
Church of England35
Deist2
Dissenter2
Episcopalian17
Free Thinker1
Hebrew8
Hindu1
Jew86
Lutheran3
Malay3
Mohammedan10
Pagan2
Presbyterian249
Protestant21,148
Quaker6
Seeker1
Wesleyan7
Not recorded6,287
New South Wales36,385
Source:[8]

Land and livestock

Showing the numbers of land and livestock.

County / District Num. of
acres located		 Acres
cleared		 Acres
cultivated		 Horses Horned
cattle		 Sheep
Argyle & St Vincent295,92133,3112,8362,08766,697116,021
Bathurst & Wellington Valley250,79639,0373,4971,21645,447172,953
Camden incl. Illawarra97,1137,7233,2784528,96217,805
Cumberland
    Airds & Appin96,71918,1689,17289913,69419,832
    Bringelly & Cooke89,97811,6744,05259610,18219,242
    Liverpool Town & District66,5699,3402,2226353,9066,198
    Parramatta Town & District82,67617,9696,6261,19115,03513,189
    Penrith78,05116,9975,6907957,66012,388
    Sydney Town & District272,51321,6395,0651,64328,59824,086
    Windsor Town & District105,57732,04918,1561,65021,04830,354
Northumberland & Durham
    Hunters River & Port Stephens1,465,95321,66610,8441,31141,319104,123
Manning River4,4802,000854320200
Totals2,906,346231,57371,52312,479262,868536,391
Source: 1828 NSW census[9]

Copies

Only two copies of the census results were produced, all compiled within two years of the census. One comprising six-volumes was kept in New South Wales (NRS 1272), with a seven-volume draft copy sent to the Public Record Office (PRO) in London. Copies are available on microfilm from the State Archives and Records NSW and from The National Archives (TNA) at Kew.[10] The copy in Sydney was handed over in 1901 to the Registrar General; kept in a locked case and highly guarded for over 60 years.[11] In 2019 the Records of the 1828 Census held by NSW State Archives and Records were inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.[12]

See also

Archival Holdings

References
  1. Colonial census - a transportation to 1828
  2. Census / Musters Guide - NSW State Archives and Records
  3. Census / Musters Guide - NSW State Archives and Records
  4. Census of New South Wales - November 1828 (Page:10 of 60)
  5. 1828 New South Wales - Australia Census (Australian Copy)
  6. Aplin, Graeme; S.G. Foster; Michael McKernan, eds. (1987). Australians: Events and Places. Broadway, New South Wales, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates. p. 38. ISBN 0-949288-13-6.
  7. Gordon W. Beckett (2013). A Population History of Colonial New South Wales: The Economic Growth of a New Colony. Partridge Publishing Singapore. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4669-9187-3.
  8. Religion - 1828 NSW census
  9. Land & Stock - 1828 NSW census
  10. 1828 New South Wales - Australia Census (Australian Copy)
  11. Colonial census - a transportation to 1828; Documentation held by NSW State Archives and Records records the transfer of the case in 1901
  12. "Records of the 1828 Census to be inscribed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register". www.records.nsw.gov.au. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
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