Ouse, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Ouse is a small town in Tasmania's Central Highlands, set on the Lyell Highway about 95 kilometres north-west of Hobart and 58 kilometres beyond New Norfolk. It was established in 1842, though the Ouse Post Office had already opened in 1835, making it one of the older postal addresses in the district. The town has a small footnote in the colony's convict story: it was here that the escapees James Goodwin and Thomas Connolly emerged from the rugged South West Wilderness, weeks after fleeing the penal station on Sarah Island. A bush nursing centre that grew into the Ouse District Hospital, together with the local district school, has long anchored services for the surrounding Highlands community.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Ouse is more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 890, 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.
Ouse at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 326
- Median age
- 46
- Median weekly household income
- $850
- SEIFA score
- 890
- Coordinates
- -42.4356, 146.7119
Ouse demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Ouse 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 seniors (65+) at 28%, 32% of homes are rented, and 10% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 60 | 19% |
| Youth (15–24) | 39 | 12% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 54 | 17% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 79 | 25% |
| Seniors (65+) | 90 | 28% |
Share of the 322 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 56 | 40% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 19 | 14% |
| Rented | 44 | 32% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 133 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 133 occupied private dwellings in Ouse.
- Median weekly rent
- $129
- Median monthly mortgage
- $815
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,262
- Median weekly personal income
- $537
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 29 (10%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 3 (1%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 6 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 81 (32%)
- Labour-force participation
- 49.4%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.6%
- Employed full-time
- 78
- Employed part-time
- 36
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 Ouse
Where is Ouse?
Ouse is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Ouse?
At the 2021 Census, Ouse had a population of about 326.
Is Ouse an advantaged area?
Ouse has an ABS SEIFA score of 890, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 10 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 10% of Australian suburbs.
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