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 Dawesville were English, Australian and Scottish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Dawesville - Total persons (Usual residence)

This table summarises ancestry for Dawesville in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mandurah (C) and change since 2016.

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Dawesville, with comparison markers for Mandurah (C).

Dawesville
Mandurah (C)

English

2021 count

3,683

% of total

51.6%

Change from 2016

+3.1pp

Australian

2021 count

2,618

% of total

36.7%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Scottish

2021 count

767

% of total

10.7%

Change from 2016

+0.4pp

Irish

2021 count

723

% of total

10.1%

Change from 2016

+0.5pp

German

2021 count

264

% of total

3.7%

Change from 2016

-0.1pp

Italian

2021 count

251

% of total

3.5%

Change from 2016

0.0pp

Dutch

2021 count

186

% of total

2.6%

Change from 2016

+0.2pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

134

% of total

1.9%

Change from 2016

+1.6pp

New Zealander

2021 count

95

% of total

1.3%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

South African

2021 count

80

% of total

1.1%

Change from 2016

-0.3pp

Data table

Ancestry for Dawesville. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mandurah (C).

Ancestry for Dawesville. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mandurah (C).
Ancestry for Dawesville. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mandurah (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mandurah (C)%Count%Mandurah (C)%Countpp
English3,68351.6%48.1%2,82748.5%47.4%+856+3.1pp
Australian2,61836.7%35.1%2,14036.7%35.9%+4780.0pp
Scottish76710.7%10.2%59810.3%10.2%+169+0.4pp
Irish72310.1%9.6%5609.6%9.8%+163+0.5pp
German2643.7%3.3%2243.8%3.3%+40-0.1pp
Italian2513.5%3.2%2053.5%3.1%+460.0pp
Dutch1862.6%2.2%1372.4%2.0%+49+0.2pp
Australian Aboriginal1341.9%2.8%160.3%0.3%+118+1.6pp
New Zealander951.3%1.3%1011.7%1.4%-6-0.4pp
South African801.1%1.1%791.4%1.2%+1-0.3pp

Excludes ancestries with fewer than 10 responses (multi-response).