Thursday Island

Demographics & education

People tables are based on a person's place of usual residence on Census night

In the 2016 Census, there were 2,938 people in Thursday Island. Of these 48.8% were male and 51.2% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 68.6% of the population.

The median age of people in Thursday Island was 28 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 27.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 5.4% of the population.

Of people in Thursday Island aged 15 years and over, 28.7% were married and 10.0% were either divorced or separated.

In Thursday Island, of people aged 15 years and over, 24.6% of people were in a registered marriage and 20.5% were in a de facto marriage.

In Thursday Island 42.1% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 24.1% were in primary school, 22.3% in secondary school and 8.8% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Of people aged 15 and over in Thursday Island, 17.4% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 15.0% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 6.9% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

Cultural & language diversity

The most common ancestries in Thursday Island were Torres Strait Islander 27.6%, Australian 24.4%, English 8.1%, Australian Aboriginal 7.3% and Irish 3.5%.

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Thursday Island (including those who did not state an ancestry).

In Thursday Island, 80.2% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were Papua New Guinea 1.1%, New Zealand 1.0%, England 1.0%, India 0.6% and Scotland 0.3%.

In Thursday Island, 72.7% of people had both parents born in Australia and 6.8% of people had both parents born overseas.

In Thursday Island, the most common countries of birth for male parents were Australia 77.0%, England 1.8%, Papua New Guinea 1.6%, New Zealand 1.1% and India 0.6%.

In Thursday Island, the most common countries of birth for female parents were Australia 77.1%, Papua New Guinea 1.8%, New Zealand 1.2%, England 1.1% and India 0.7%.

The most common responses for religion in Thursday Island were Anglican 30.8%, Not stated 17.0%, Catholic 14.6%, No Religion, so described 14.3% and Pentecostal 10.1%. In Thursday Island, Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (80.3%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

In Thursday Island 38.2% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole) 36.7%, Kalaw Kawaw Ya/Kalaw Lagaw Ya 1.4%, Meriam Mir 0.6%, Punjabi 0.3% and Non-verbal, so described 0.3%.

Employment

There were 1,243 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Thursday Island. Of these 63.8% were employed full time, 18.9% were employed part-time and 8.0% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Of employed people in Thursday Island, 6.8% worked 1 to 15 hours, 4.9% worked 16 to 24 hours and 52.7% worked 40 hours or more.

The most common occupations in Thursday Island included Professionals 22.2%, Community and Personal Service Workers 16.6%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 16.3%, Technicians and Trades Workers 12.1%, Managers 11.0%, Labourers 10.9%, Sales Workers 4.7% and Machinery Operators and Drivers 2.6%.

Of the employed people in Thursday Island, the most common responses for industry of employment included Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 15.1%, State Government Administration 5.7%, Local Government Administration 5.6%, Secondary Education 5.5% and Primary Education 5.0%.

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Thursday Island was $788.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total family income (FINF) Total household income (HIND)

In Thursday Island, on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people included Car, as driver 38.1%, Walked only 24.7%, Car, as passenger 14.2%, Other 3.6% and Taxi 1.9%. On the day, 2.8% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 54.5% used car (either as driver or as passenger).

In Thursday Island, of people aged 15 years and over, 52.2% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 26.3% provided care for children and 6.4% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 17.1% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

View the data quality statements for: Unpaid domestic work (DOMP) Unpaid child care (CHCAREP) Unpaid assistance (UNCAREP) Voluntary work (VOLWP)

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Thursday Island, 21.2% worked 5 to 14 hours, 5.4% worked 15 to 29 hours and 5.3% worked 30 hours or more.

Family composition

Of the families in Thursday Island, 47.9% were couple families with children, 21.5% were couple families without children and 26.0% were one parent families.

In Thursday Island, 10.5% of single parents were male and 89.5% were female.

Employment status of couple families

In Thursday Island, of couple families with children, 31.4% had both partners employed full-time, 4.4% had both employed part-time and 15.7% had one employed full-time and the other part-time.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data.

Dwelling structure

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households

In Thursday Island, 92.5% of private dwellings were occupied and 7.5% were unoccupied.

View the data quality statements for: Dwelling type (DWTD) Dwelling Structure (STRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Thursday Island, 78.5% were separate houses, 8.2% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses, townhouses etc, 12.8% were flats or apartments and 0.4% were other dwellings.

In Thursday Island, of occupied private dwellings 3.1% had 1 bedroom, 28.8% had 2 bedrooms and 34.8% had 3 bedrooms. The average number of bedrooms per occupied private dwelling was 2.9. The average household size was 3.3 people.

View the data quality statements for: Number of bedrooms in a private dwelling (BEDD) Number of persons usually resident in dwelling (NPRD)

Of occupied private dwellings in Thursday Island, 6.2% were owned outright, 3.3% were owned with a mortgage and 77.3% were rented.

Household composition

In Thursday Island, of all households, 69.3% were family households, 22.9% were single person households and 7.9% were group households.

In Thursday Island, 11.3% of households had a weekly household income of less than $650 and 21.7% of households had a weekly income of more than $3000.

Mortgage & rent

Proportions are calculated using all tenure types for occupied private dwellings. This excludes visitor only and other non-classifiable households.

The number of households where rent payments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were not renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

The number of households where mortgage repayments were 30% or more of an imputed income measure are expressed in this table as a proportion of the total number of households in an area (including those households which were renting, and excluding the small proportion of visitor only and other non-classifiable households). The nature of the income imputation means that the reported proportion may significantly overstate the true proportion.

Number of motor vehicles

In Thursday Island, 33.7% of occupied private dwellings had one registered motor vehicle garaged or parked at their address, 21.2% had two registered motor vehicles and 9.8% had three or more registered motor vehicles.

Internet connection

In Thursday Island, 65.3% of households had at least one person access the internet from the dwelling. This could have been through a desktop/laptop computer, mobile or smart phone, tablet, music or video player, gaming console, smart TV or any other device.

People characteristics

In Thursday Island, 48.4% of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were male and 51.6% were female. The median age was 23 years.

View the data quality statements for: Place of Usual Residence (PURP) Indigenous status (INGP)

Dwelling characteristics

Dwelling tables exclude visitor only and other non-classifiable households. These tables represent occupied private dwellings where at least one Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait islander person was present.

In Thursday Island, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the average household size was 3.9 persons, with 1.3 persons per bedroom. The median household income was $1,661.

View the data quality statements for: Number of Bedrooms in Private Dwelling (BEDD) Household composition (HHCD) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)

In Thursday Island, for dwellings occupied by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, the median weekly rent was $235 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,062.

View the data quality statements for: Rent weekly payments (RNTD) Mortgage monthly repayments (MRED) Indigenous household Indicator (INGDWTD)