Cultural diversity
Ancestry
About this topic
Ancestry describes a person's cultural association and ethnic background, and Census respondents can report more than one ancestry. It is a broader cultural measure than country of birth because it can reflect family heritage across generations.
This topic helps show the size and diversity of cultural groups in an area, including groups whose members were born in Australia. Because multiple ancestries can be reported, ancestry totals can exceed the total population, so it is best read with birthplace, language used at home, and religion.
Interpretation notes
- People can report up to two ancestries, so category totals represent responses rather than a single unduplicated person count.
- ABS advises that ancestry is best used with birthplace and language, because ancestry alone is a broad measure of ethnicity and cultural background.
- The 2021 form added separate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mark boxes, so those categories need caution in over-time comparison.
Key insight
In 2021, the largest ancestry groups among residents in Gordonvale were Australian, English and Irish.
Section overview
Ancestry - Ranked by size
Gordonvale - Total persons (Usual residence)
This table summarises ancestry for Gordonvale in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cairns (R) and change since 2016.
Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Gordonvale, with comparison markers for Cairns (R).
Australian
2021 count
2,614
% of total
37.6%
Change from 2016
-8.8pp
2,614
37.6%
-8.8pp
English
2021 count
2,532
% of total
36.5%
Change from 2016
+0.8pp
2,532
36.5%
+0.8pp
Irish
2021 count
734
% of total
10.6%
Change from 2016
-1.0pp
734
10.6%
-1.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
2021 count
712
% of total
10.3%
Change from 2016
+8.6pp
712
10.3%
+8.6pp
Scottish
2021 count
633
% of total
9.1%
Change from 2016
-0.3pp
633
9.1%
-0.3pp
Italian
2021 count
510
% of total
7.3%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
510
7.3%
-0.1pp
German
2021 count
332
% of total
4.8%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
332
4.8%
-0.9pp
Torres Strait Islander
2021 count
299
% of total
4.3%
Change from 2016
+3.7pp
299
4.3%
+3.7pp
Dutch
2021 count
104
% of total
1.5%
Change from 2016
+0.1pp
104
1.5%
+0.1pp
Papua New Guinean
2021 count
79
% of total
1.1%
Change from 2016
+0.3pp
79
1.1%
+0.3pp
Chart view
Ancestry - Ranked by size change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Australian
-482
-8.8pp
English
+149
+0.8pp
Irish
-38
-1.0pp
Australian Aboriginal
+597
+8.6pp
Scottish
+6
-0.3pp
Italian
+18
-0.1pp
German
-47
-0.9pp
Torres Strait Islander
+256
+3.7pp
Dutch
+11
+0.1pp
Papua New Guinean
+23
+0.3pp
Data table
Ancestry for Gordonvale. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | % | Cairns (R)% | Count | pp | |
| Australian | 2,614 | 37.6% | 30.0% | 3,096 | 46.4% | 34.6% | -482 | -8.8pp |
| English | 2,532 | 36.5% | 34.4% | 2,383 | 35.7% | 35.1% | +149 | +0.8pp |
| Irish | 734 | 10.6% | 10.5% | 772 | 11.6% | 11.6% | -38 | -1.0pp |
| Australian Aboriginal | 712 | 10.3% | 7.1% | 115 | 1.7% | 1.2% | +597 | +8.6pp |
| Scottish | 633 | 9.1% | 9.3% | 627 | 9.4% | 9.4% | +6 | -0.3pp |
| Italian | 510 | 7.3% | 5.0% | 492 | 7.4% | 4.8% | +18 | -0.1pp |
| German | 332 | 4.8% | 5.2% | 379 | 5.7% | 5.4% | -47 | -0.9pp |
| Torres Strait Islander | 299 | 4.3% | 4.3% | 43 | 0.6% | 1.0% | +256 | +3.7pp |
| Dutch | 104 | 1.5% | 1.6% | 93 | 1.4% | 1.6% | +11 | +0.1pp |
| Papua New Guinean | 79 | 1.1% | 1.7% | 56 | 0.8% | 1.6% | +23 | +0.3pp |
Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).