Augathella, QLD
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Augathella is an outback town on the banks of the Warrego River in south-west Queensland, in the Shire of Murweh, about 85 kilometres north-east of Charleville. It lies in the country of the Bidjara, Gunya and Gungabula peoples; the name is reportedly an Aboriginal word for 'camp on a waterhole', after the river. Pastoralist James Norman established stations in the district in 1862, and grazing has remained the predominant industry ever since, the town taking the name Augathella in 1883. It is fondly known as the 'Home of the Meat Ants' — marked by a 4.5-metre meat-ant sculpture — and was the setting for the 1956 film Smiley and the old droving song 'Brisbane Ladies'. About 330 people live there.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Augathella is more socio-economically advantaged than about 9% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 887, 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.
Augathella at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 393
- Median age
- 47
- Median weekly household income
- $1,053
- SEIFA score
- 887
- Coordinates
- -25.8065, 146.5877
Augathella demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Augathella 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 33%, 16% of homes are rented, and 6% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 82 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 25 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 77 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 129 | 33% |
| Seniors (65+) | 79 | 20% |
Share of the 392 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 93 | 60% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 18 | 12% |
| Rented | 25 | 16% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 151 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 151 occupied private dwellings in Augathella.
- Median weekly rent
- $100
- Median monthly mortgage
- $479
- Average household size
- 2.2 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,347
- Median weekly personal income
- $660
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 21 (6%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 7 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 18 (5%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 104 (34%)
- Labour-force participation
- 56.7%
- Unemployment rate
- 2.8%
- Employed full-time
- 99
- Employed part-time
- 50
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 Augathella
Where is Augathella?
Augathella is a suburb of Queensland, Australia.
What is the population of Augathella?
At the 2021 Census, Augathella had a population of about 393.
Is Augathella an advantaged area?
Augathella has an ABS SEIFA score of 887, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 9 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 9% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Queensland
More suburb guides in Queensland
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.