The Sydney Morning Herald, Mon 23 Feb 1874 1
DURING the Quarter ended 31st December, 1873, being the Australian Spring, 1383 Births and 783 Death were registered in the city and nine suburbs of Sydney; the births exceeding the death by 600, or about 176 births to every 100 deaths.
The births comprised 725 boys and 658 girls; the deaths, 451 males and 332 females. The natural increase consisted, therefore, of 274 males and 326 females.
The resident population of the city and suburbs (or metropolitan division) in the middle of the year 1873 is estimated to have been 118,667; that of the city 81,263, that of the suburbs 67,404.
The mortality from all causes, throughout the whole of these districts, was at the rate of 20.9 deaths annually to every 1,000 persons living. Within the city boundaries the annual rate of mortality was 24.1 per 1,000; while in the suburbs it was 17 per 1,000.
In the surburbs severally the quarter’s annual death-rates were as follows, placing the lowest first:—St George, 7.3 per 1,000; St Leonards, 10.5; Concord, 12.3; Balmain, 16.5; Paddington, 16.8; Waterloo, 18.5; Newtown, 19.4; Redfern, 19.8; Glebe, 27.3.
The most favoured districts are St George and St Leonards; the most unhealthy would appear to be Redfern and the Glebe.
The numbers registered in the Metropolitan division in each quarter of the last two years, were as under:—
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Table 1.—Births and Deaths in Sydney and its Suburbs. |
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Births |
Deaths |
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|
1872 |
1873 |
1872 |
1873 |
|
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March........... |
.................. 1,280 |
..................... 1,457 |
....................... 721 |
....................... 680 |
|
June |
.................. 1,341 |
..................... 1,456 |
....................... 582 |
....................... 678 |
|
September |
.................. 1,386 |
..................... 1,536 |
....................... 630 |
....................... 660 |
|
December |
.................. 1,308 |
..................... 1,383 |
....................... 792 |
....................... 783 |
|
The year |
.................. 5,315 |
..................... 5,832 |
.................... 2,725 |
.................... 2,801 |
The natural increase of the year 1872, was 2,590; that of the past year, 3,031.
The numbers registered in the city and each of the nine suburbs during the past quarter, together with the respective populations estimated for the middle of the year, were as follows:—
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Table 2.—City and Suburbs.—Births and Deaths in the Spring Quarter ended December 31. |
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Population |
Births |
Deaths |
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|
1873 |
1872 |
1873 |
1872 |
1873 |
|
|
Metropolitan... |
........ 148,667 |
.............. 1,309 |
............ 1,383 |
................. 792 |
................. 783 |
|
City................. |
.......... 81,263 |
................. 723 |
............... 724 |
................. 497 |
................. 494 |
|
Suburbs:.......... |
.......... 67,404 |
................. 586 |
............... 659 |
................. 295 |
................. 289 |
|
1. Balmain...... |
............ 7,684 |
................... 69 |
................. 83 |
................... 34 |
................... 32 |
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2. Glebe........... |
............ 6,403 |
................... 63 |
................. 72 |
................... 30 |
................... 44 |
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3. Newtown..... |
............ 8,830 |
................... 81 |
................. 98 |
................... 49 |
................... 43 |
|
4. Redfern....... |
............ 9,032 |
................... 80 |
................. 95 |
................... 45 |
................... 45 |
|
5. Waterloo..... |
............ 7,078 |
................... 77 |
................. 81 |
................... 37 |
................... 33 |
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6. Paddington.. |
.......... 12,739 |
................... 99 |
............... 107 |
................... 64 |
................... 54 |
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7. Concord...... |
............ 3,910 |
................... 34 |
................. 35 |
................... 13 |
................... 12 |
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8. St George.... |
............ 5,999 |
................... 36 |
................. 40 |
................... 10 |
................... 11 |
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9. St Leonards. |
............ 5,729 |
................... 47 |
................. 48 |
................... 13 |
................... 15 |
The quarter’s births in the city were only 1 more than in the corresponding period; in the suburbs they were more than in the preceding spring by 73. There was an increase of births in every suburb, Concord and St Leonards, however, showing the bare increase of one each.
The deaths, happily, showed , a reduction of numbers both in the city and in the collective suburbs. The decrease is seen in Balmain, Newtown, Waterloo, Paddington, and Concord; while at the Glebe there is an increase of 14. At St Leonards of 2, at St George of 1.
The proportions which the registered births and death bear to the population are shown in the table below for each of the last two springs, together with the average rate of mortality, so far as it can be computed, for the previous ten years.
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Table 3.—Annual Rate per 1000 of Births and Deaths in the Spring Quarter. |
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Birth rate |
Death rate |
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|
|
1872 |
1873 |
1872 |
1873 |
1863-72 |
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City........................... |
.............. 36.2 |
............... 35.3 |
............. 25.0 |
.............. 24.1 |
............ 25.2 |
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Suburbs..................... |
.............. 36.3 |
............... 38.5 |
............. 18.3 |
.............. 17.0 |
............ 20.3 |
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1. Balmain................ |
.............. 37.5 |
............... 42.8 |
............. 18.5 |
.............. 16.5 |
............ 18.2 |
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2. Glebe..................... |
.............. 41.2 |
............... 44.6 |
............. 19.5 |
.............. 27.3 |
............ 29.1 |
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3. Newtown............... |
.............. 38.3 |
............... 44.1 |
............. 23.2 |
.............. 19.4 |
............... — |
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4. Redfern................. |
.............. 37.0 |
............... 41.8 |
............. 20.8 |
.............. 19.8 |
............... — |
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5. Waterloo............... |
.............. 45.4 |
............... 45.3 |
............. 22.0 |
.............. 18.5 |
............... — |
|
6. Paddington............ |
.............. 32.5 |
............... 33.4 |
............. 21.0 |
.............. 16.8 |
............ 18.3 |
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7. Concord................ |
.............. 36.3 |
............... 35.6 |
............. 14.0 |
.............. 12.3 |
............ 19.6 |
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8. St George.............. |
.............. 25.0 |
............... 26.5 |
............... 7.0 |
................ 7.3 |
............... — |
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9. St Leonards........... |
.............. 34.7 |
............... 33.2 |
............... 9.5 |
.............. 10.5 |
............ 11.1 |
The birth-rate in the city was slightly lower, in the suburbs 2.2 per thousand higher, as compared with the preceding spring. It was higher in every suburb except Waterloo, Concord, and St Leonards.
The death-rate of the quarter was favourable both in the city and in the collective suburbs, being lower than that of the corresponding quarter, and lower than the mean of the preceding ten springs. In Balmain, Paddington, and Concord it was lower under both comparisons. In the Glebe district it was higher by 7.8 per 1,000 as compared with the spring of the previous year, lower by 1.8 as compared with the ten years’ average.
The lowest death rate of the past quarter was in the St George district, 7.3 per 1,000; the highest in the Glebe district, 27.3. per 1,000. Of the five suburbs whose ten years’ average we have the means of computing, the lowest rate is with St Leonards, 11.1; the highest with the Glebe, 29.1.
The Quarterly Return of the Registrar-General of England for the three months ended June 30, 1873, the English spring, gives data for comparisons between the mortality of our metropolis and that of the principal cities in the mother country.
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Table 4.—Annual Rates of Mortality in Sydney and Several Towns in the United Kingdom. |
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Persons to an Acre |
1872 |
1873 |
Mean of three Springs |
|
Sydney City........ |
...................... 48.9 |
................ 25.0 |
................. 24.1 |
........................... 24.2 |
|
Sydney Suburbs.. |
......................... — |
................ 18.3 |
................. 17.0 |
........................... 17.9 |
|
British Towns..... |
...................... 34.5 |
................ 23.6 |
................. 22.7 |
........................... 23.7 |
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1. London............ |
...................... 43.0 |
................ 20.7 |
................. 20.0 |
........................... 21.2 |
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2. Portsmouth..... |
...................... 12.4 |
................ 21.3 |
................. 16.9 |
........................... 19.8 |
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3. Norwich.......... |
...................... 10.9 |
................ 22.2 |
................. 10.5 |
........................... 20.7 |
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4. Bristol............. |
...................... 40.5 |
................ 22.2 |
................. 23.4 |
........................... 21.6 |
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5. Wolverhampton.. |
...................... 20.7 |
................ 22.4 |
................. 21.2 |
........................... 21.0 |
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6. Birmingham.... |
...................... 45.4 |
................ 20.4 |
................. 21.8 |
........................... 21.8 |
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7. Leicester......... |
..................... 32.1. |
................ 27.8 |
................. 21.8 |
........................... 23.5 |
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8. Nottingham..... |
...................... 44.9 |
................ 22.5 |
................. 21.0 |
........................... 20.7 |
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9. Liverpool........ |
...................... 98.9 |
................ 25.8 |
................. 24.1 |
........................... 27.8 |
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10. Manchester... |
...................... 78.9 |
................ 27.2 |
................. 29.0 |
........................... 28.1 |
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11. Salford.......... |
...................... 25.2 |
................ 24.7 |
................. 30.4 |
........................... 28.0 |
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12. Oldham......... |
...................... 20.4 |
................ 24.3 |
................. 26.5 |
........................... 24.3 |
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13. Bradford........ |
...................... 23.8 |
................ 27.8 |
................. 24.4 |
........................... 25.6 |
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14. Leeds............. |
...................... 12.6 |
................ 25.6 |
................. 25.1 |
........................... 24.7 |
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15. Sheffield....... |
...................... 11.1 |
................ 24.2 |
................. 25.5 |
........................... 24.9 |
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16. Hull............... |
...................... 36.0 |
................ 22.3 |
................. 20.7 |
........................... 21.6 |
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17. Sunderland.... |
...................... 31.0 |
................ 23.6 |
................. 21.2 |
........................... 25.4 |
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18. Newcastle..... |
...................... 25.0 |
................ 24.1 |
................. 27.0 |
........................... 27.8 |
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19. Edinburgh.... |
...................... 47.1 |
................ 29.9 |
................. 22.9 |
........................... 26.7 |
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20. Glasgow........ |
...................... 98.5 |
................ 29.4 |
................. 30.9 |
........................... 31.8 |
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21. Dublin........... |
...................... 31.3 |
................ 32.4 |
................. 24.8 |
........................... 26.9 |
The area of the city of Sydney comprises 1,680 acres; its inhabitants, who number 81,263, average, therefore, nearly 49 persons to an acre—a density not equalled by more than three out of the 21 British towns specified in the table. These are Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow, whose densities are respectively 98.9, 78.9, and 98.5.
In Australia the spring season is not so healthy as the winter; in England it is more healthy. The city of Sydney has thus a heavier spring mortality than that of the British towns, averaging 24.2 per thousand against 23.7. Our suburbs, however, show a death-rate of only 17.9 against 23.7.
Taking the whole year round, and each of its four seasons, the comparison stands as follows:—
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Table 5.—Mean of Ten Years’ Annual Rates of Mortality in Sydney and the British Towns. |
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Sydney |
Town in |
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|
City |
Suburbs |
England |
Scotland |
|
Spring.......................... |
.................. 25.2 |
................ 20.3 |
................ 23.4 |
....................... 26.5 |
|
Summer....................... |
.................. 23.8 |
................ 16.3 |
................ 24.1 |
....................... 23.7 |
|
Autumn........................ |
.................. 24.3 |
................ 17.9 |
................ 24.8 |
....................... 26.6 |
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Winter......................... |
.................. 20.8 |
................ 14.9 |
................ 27.3 |
....................... 29.8 |
|
The year.......... |
.................. 23.5 |
................ 17.3 |
................ 24.9 |
....................... 26.7 |
The mortality of Sydney and its suburbs is here seen to be more favourable on the ten years’ average of the whole year, than that of British towns.
The principal meteorological phenomena, as recorded at the Sydney Observatory, are subjoined:—
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|
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
The qr. |
|
Shade Temperature |
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|
1872............................ |
................... 62.3 |
................ 67.3 |
................ 70.3 |
....................... 66.6 |
|
1873............................ |
................... 63.9 |
................ 62.9 |
................ 71.3 |
....................... 66.0 |
|
10 years mean............. |
................... 63.5 |
................ 66.2 |
................ 70.0 |
....................... 66.6 |
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Barometer |
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|
1872............................ |
................. 30.01 |
.............. 30.03 |
.............. 29.90 |
..................... 29.98 |
|
1873............................ |
................. 30.05 |
.............. 29.97 |
.............. 29.93 |
..................... 29.98 |
|
10 years mean |
# |
# |
# |
# |
|
Rainfall in Inches |
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|
1872............................ |
................... 5.77 |
................ 3.29 |
................ 3.52 |
..................... 12.58 |
|
1873............................ |
................... 2.13 |
................ 9.44 |
................ 4.42 |
..................... 15.99 |
|
10 years mean............. |
................... 2.66 |
................ 3.92 |
................ 2.68 |
...................... 9.36 |
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Note: # figures not stated in the Herald article. |
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1 The Sydney Morning Herald, Mon 23 Feb 1874, p.4.