1841 Census of the Port Phillip District

This census had a nominal date of 2 March 1841 and was collected as part of the census of all New South Wales under an Act of the British Parliament, 4 Victoria, No. 26. Unlike the earlier censuses, this nominal date was when the collection of information began rather than finished. It took about a month to complete and cost £289 0s 0d to collect. The forms asked for the names of the proprietor and householder (sometimes different) of each property. Multiple choice questions then sought the numbers; sex; age; civil condition; religion and occupation of persons in each household. The Port Phillip District was divided into the Counties of Bourke, Grant and Normanby and Commissioners Districts of Western Port and Portland Bay for the recording of statistics. This showed a total population of 11,738 persons, 8,274 males and 3,464 females for the Port Phillip District. Some of this census has survived including summary lists for the Melbourne area (County of Bourke). These give the names of the head of households and statistical data for each household. Also, the original householder forms for the outer Melbourne area exist. These cover an area circling Melbourne from Dandenong to Plenty to Pascoe Vale to Werribee.