Telling it like it is - one place at a time
At some point during the first months of 2025, Victoria's population reached 7 million. This milestone seemed to slip under the radar, with almost no reporting in mainstream media. Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia, and in recent years population change has been extremely volatile. Let's have a look at Victoria's path to a population of 7 million.
Our cities are always evolving. They expand and change internally, the old makes way for the new, populations grow and change. This blog looks at an area in Brunswick, an inner suburb of Melbourne, to determine how land use has changed over the last 100 years. This has been done using the Sands and McDougall directories, as well as personal observation.
Not many people know that the ABS has published a large amount of historical Census data on their website. If you want to see how the Australian population, and the dwellings they live in, has changed over the years, then this data is a real treasure trove. This blog looks at countries of birth in Australia, comparing 1971 and 2021 Census data.
One of the more interesting demographic trends in the last two years has been the increased movement of people out of large cities into regional and rural areas. These so-called "flee changers" have local impacts with regard the demand for services and infrastructure, there is still some question as to whether this represents a long term shift in the distribution of the Australian population. This blog looks at the distribution of the Australian population over the last 100 years, concentrating on the state capital/rest of state split.
Much as I appreciate the ABS releasing population data every quarter, March and September generally have limited interest for me. This year is different. The release of the March 2021 quarter data means there is now a full year to assess the impact of the international border closure on population change. I've blogged previously about the potential impacts of this on population change, particularly overseas migration. Now that we have the data, what does it tell us?
Like many demographers, I looked forward to the December 2020 release of quarterly population data with great interest. After nine months of minimal overseas migration, what effect would this have on population change? More frequent releases of data from the ABS have provided some insights, but this particular release, covering all of 2020 and all components of change, would provide the ultimate evidence base. My first reaction to seeing the data? Woah!
Until very recently the corner store was a ubiquitous presence in Australia's suburbs, particularly in the more established areas. Many of us can remember a time when we used to buy a small bag of mixed lollies from the corner store on the way home from school. Many years ago, most shopping was done locally, often within walking distance of home. Corner stores were scattered across our inner suburbs, meeting the needs of local residents.
But corner stores have largely been relegated to the past. A number of factors have contributed to this, such as the rise of supermarkets and other convenience stores, and more recently, online shopping. This blog looks at the spatial distribution of what I've termed neighbourhood stores in Brunswick over the last 100 years.
In the second half of 2018, the population of NSW reached 8 million - a milestone that was 230 years in the making. Population wise, NSW is Australia's largest state, and it is also the state that was first settled by Europeans. The state capital, Sydney, is a global city which is one of the main gateways for overseas migrants. This blog looks at the history of population growth in NSW from 1788 to 2019.
