Scamander, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Scamander is a small holiday town on the East Coast of Tasmania, in the Break O'Day district, where the Scamander River meets the sea about 18 kilometres south of St Helens and some 146 kilometres from Launceston. The surveyor John Helder Wedge mapped the area in 1825, at first naming the river Borthwick and the settlement Yarmouth after the English port; both were later renamed Scamander. European settlement was slow, and a post office did not open until 1896. The town owes its modern character to its setting: long, wide sandy beaches and broad ocean views draw holidaymakers each summer, while the river is popular for bream fishing and the surf for swimming and board-riding. Today Scamander is chiefly a quiet seaside and fishing destination.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Scamander is more socio-economically advantaged than about 15% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 912, 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.
Scamander at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 803
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $910
- SEIFA score
- 912
- Coordinates
- -41.4727, 148.2482
Scamander demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Scamander 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 30%, 22% of homes are rented, and 11% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 123 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 43 | 5% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 180 | 22% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 240 | 30% |
| Seniors (65+) | 220 | 27% |
Share of the 806 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 168 | 49% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 86 | 25% |
| Rented | 77 | 22% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 311 | 90% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 13 | 4% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 347 occupied private dwellings in Scamander.
- Median weekly rent
- $273
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,200
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,221
- Median weekly personal income
- $530
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 78 (11%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 15 (2%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 32 (4%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 245 (36%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 6.8%
- Employed full-time
- 145
- Employed part-time
- 140
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 Scamander
Where is Scamander?
Scamander is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia.
What is the population of Scamander?
At the 2021 Census, Scamander had a population of about 803.
Is Scamander an advantaged area?
Scamander has an ABS SEIFA score of 912, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 15 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 15% of Australian suburbs.
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