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 Two Rocks were English, Australian and Irish.

Section overview

Ancestry - Ranked by size

Two Rocks - Total persons (Usual residence)

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

Ancestry - Ranked by size snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Two Rocks, with comparison markers for Wanneroo (C).

Two Rocks
Wanneroo (C)

English

2021 count

1,781

% of total

46.6%

Change from 2016

+1.6pp

Australian

2021 count

1,299

% of total

34.0%

Change from 2016

-4.9pp

Irish

2021 count

364

% of total

9.5%

Change from 2016

-0.4pp

Scottish

2021 count

341

% of total

8.9%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Australian Aboriginal

2021 count

170

% of total

4.4%

Change from 2016

+3.9pp

Italian

2021 count

145

% of total

3.8%

Change from 2016

+1.1pp

German

2021 count

128

% of total

3.3%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Dutch

2021 count

103

% of total

2.7%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Maori

2021 count

95

% of total

2.5%

Change from 2016

+1.5pp

New Zealander

2021 count

72

% of total

1.9%

Change from 2016

+0.8pp

Data table

Ancestry for Two Rocks. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).

Ancestry for Two Rocks. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).
Ancestry for Two Rocks. Ancestry - Ranked by size. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Wanneroo (C).
Category20212016Change
Count%Wanneroo (C)%Count%Wanneroo (C)%Countpp
English1,78146.6%39.7%1,34645.0%39.4%+435+1.6pp
Australian1,29934.0%26.3%1,16238.9%26.6%+137-4.9pp
Irish3649.5%8.5%2959.9%8.3%+69-0.4pp
Scottish3418.9%8.5%2829.4%8.3%+59-0.5pp
Australian Aboriginal1704.4%1.8%150.5%0.2%+155+3.9pp
Italian1453.8%4.6%822.7%4.5%+63+1.1pp
German1283.3%2.6%1133.8%2.5%+15-0.5pp
Dutch1032.7%1.8%571.9%1.7%+46+0.8pp
Maori952.5%1.7%311.0%1.7%+64+1.5pp
New Zealander721.9%1.4%321.1%1.5%+40+0.8pp

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