The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released the first batch of data collected in last years census.

It shows that for the first time the population of Central Darling Shire Council area has slipped below 2,000 The area boundaries appear to be different to the previous census, so the figures for both Wilcannia and White Cliffs include surrounding rural areas.

CENTRAL DARLING SHIRE COUNCIL

Total number of residents 1991
There were 1048 males and 943 females
758 indigenous
1762 born in Australia
739 dwellings in the shire
26 New Zealanders,
Median personal income $387
There were 480 visitors in the shire on census night who gave their usual place of residence as outside the shire
362 residents were listed as being a volunteer at some time during the previous year
246 males did no unpaid domestic work and 147 females said they did no unpaid domestic work. The   highest age groups in this section were 55 males between the age of 55-64 and 31 females between the age of 55-64
26 males were shown as lone parents compared with 88 females.
377 were under 15
104 dwellings had no motor vehicle, 274 had 1, 193 had 2, 73 had 3 and 48 had 4 or more
279 owned their own homes while 72 are still paying a mortgage.
283 dwellings had no internet connected 396 had a mix of internet connections.

WILCANNIA

Total number of residents =  826
Male 399 = 48.3%
Female 427 = 51.7%
72 were aged between 0-4 and 3 over the age of 85
Ancestry: Aboriginal = 43.1% Australian =  20.0% English = 16.9% Irish = 6.1% and Scottish = 3.4%
93.8% were born in Australia, 1.1% in England, 0.5% in  New Zealand 0.4% in Bangladesh and 0.4%in  China
Languages spoken in the home:
Paakantyi 16   (42 in NSW)
French 3  (19,010 in NSW)
Spanish  3  (55,624 in NSW)
Bengali  3  (21,485  in NSW)
Filipino 3  (21,207 in NSW)
Average number of Motor Vehicles per dwelling was 1.5
Median weekly income for people over 15 years of age was $376
83 owned their dwelling outright while 152 were renting with the median rent being $50

WHITE CLIFFS

Total number of residents  = 103
Male = 58  Female = 45 median age 55
There were 23 families
Average motor vehicles per dwelling 1.4
5 residents under the age of 4 and 3 aged 80-84
Most common ancestry in White Cliffs: English 39.5% Australian 34.5%, Scottish 5.00% German 5% and Maori 3%
74.3% born in Australia, Germany 3.8% England 2.9%
Language spoken in the home: English only = 91.5% only other language listed was French 2.8%
Median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over was $376