Bothwell, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Bothwell is a town in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, on the Clyde River about 76 kilometres north of Hobart. The district was the country of the Big River Aboriginal people. The town was founded in 1822 by Scottish settlers and named after Bothwell in Lanarkshire, Scotland, then laid out in 1824 by the surveyor Thomas Scott. That Scottish heritage still shapes the town's character and its many Georgian buildings. Bothwell is home to the Australasian Golf Museum and to Ratho Farm, said to be one of Australia's oldest golf links, though the claim is debated. Other landmarks include St Luke's Church of 1831, designed by John Lee Archer, and the Castle Hotel, licensed since 1829. The town marked its bicentenary in 2022.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Bothwell is more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 895, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Bothwell at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 499
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,232
- SEIFA score
- 895
- Coordinates
- -42.3183, 146.9826
Bothwell demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Bothwell using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 27%, 15% of homes are rented, and 9% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 83 | 17% |
| Youth (15–24) | 46 | 9% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 111 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 132 | 27% |
| Seniors (65+) | 126 | 25% |
Share of the 498 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 92 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 59 | 29% |
| Rented | 31 | 15% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 195 | 93% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 5 | 2% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 209 occupied private dwellings in Bothwell.
- Median weekly rent
- $198
- Median monthly mortgage
- $969
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,577
- Median weekly personal income
- $655
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 40 (9%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 9 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 36 (7%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 123 (31%)
- Labour-force participation
- 57.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.4%
- Employed full-time
- 139
- Employed part-time
- 76
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Common questions about Bothwell
Where is Bothwell?
Bothwell is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Bothwell?
At the 2021 Census, Bothwell had a population of about 499.
Is Bothwell an advantaged area?
Bothwell has an ABS SEIFA score of 895, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 11 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 11% of Australian suburbs.
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