Tarraleah, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Tarraleah is a tiny village in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, about 126 kilometres north-west of Hobart, where the River Derwent runs through steep, forested country. Its name is said to be an Aboriginal word for the forester or brush kangaroo. The settlement was built in the 1930s by the Hydro-Electric Commission to house the staff who ran the new Tarraleah power station, part of the scheme that began generating in 1934. With its planned layout and period cottages, the village is an unusually intact example of an early Tasmanian hydro town. After the workforce shrank it was restored as a tourism retreat, and today the old quarters operate as lodge accommodation for visitors who come to fish, bushwalk, kayak and explore the highlands.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Tarraleah is more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 868, 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.
Tarraleah at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 4
- Median age
- 64
- Median weekly household income
- $1,125
- SEIFA score
- 868
- Coordinates
- -42.3021, 146.4301
Tarraleah demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Tarraleah 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.
Housing and households
- Average household size
- 2 people
- Median weekly personal income
- $887
Community and culture
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 0 (0%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 0 (0%)
- Labour-force participation
- 50%
- Employed full-time
- 6
- Employed part-time
- 0
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 Tarraleah
Where is Tarraleah?
Tarraleah is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Tarraleah?
At the 2021 Census, Tarraleah had a population of about 4.
Is Tarraleah an advantaged area?
Tarraleah has an ABS SEIFA score of 868, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 6 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 6% of Australian suburbs.
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