Australia’s youngest suburb is less than a kilometre away from an area with some of the nation’s oldest residents.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed where the nation’s most youthful people live, with some surprising results.
Inner-city areas in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra and remote Aboriginal communities had populations with a median age in the 20s while regional coastal towns typically had residents nearing retirement age.
Acton, next to Canberra’s city centre, had Australia’s youngest population, with a median age of just 21 years and four months
Acton, next to Canberra’s city centre, had Australia’s youngest population, with a median age of just 21 years and four months.
The inner-city suburb, which is home to the Australian National University, lies directly across Lake Burley Griffin from Yarralumla, which is one of Australia’s oldest suburbs.
Yarralumla, the home of Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, had a median age of 49.7, making it Australia’s fifth oldest area.
As a young nation, Australia has several youthful pockets, with Carlton in Melbourne having a median age of just 24.7.
Yarralumla, the home of Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove (pictured seated swearing in Scott Morrison as prime minster), had a median age of 49.7, making it Australia’s fifth oldest
Carlton in Melbourne has a median age of just 24.7, where the suburb’s AFL club star Charlie Curnow (right) would feel right at home
It is the home base for the Carlton AFL club, where 21-year-old rising star Charlie Curnow would feel right at home.
Unsurprisingly, this youthful suburb is also next door to the University of Melbourne.
Kensington, in Sydney’s south-east, was another youthful inner-city area with a median age of 25.9.
It is the home of the University of New South Wales.
Remote communities with a high indigenous population were the only other areas with median ages in the 20s, including Roebuck in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, the Northern Peninsula in far north Queensland and Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara in the north-west of South Australia.
Tea Gardens, a three-hour drive north of Sydney, had Australia’s oldest median age of 62.4 with Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, not far behind with residents typically 59.6 years.
Australia’s median age is 36. The Northern Territory has the youngest residents, with a median age of 33.6 while Tasmanians were the oldest, at 39.8.
Australia’s median age is 36 with the Northern Territory having the most youthful population