Westerway, TAS
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Westerway is a small rural locality in the upper Derwent Valley of southern Tasmania, about 29km north-west of New Norfolk and 65km north-west of Hobart, with the Tyenna River winding through it. The settlement was first called Russell, or Russelldale, after the surgeon J. J. Russell, and was renamed in 1919 to honour W. H. Westerway, a leading resident behind many local improvements. The Derwent Valley Railway reached the area in 1909, the post office opened in 1910 and a school followed in 1920. Timber-getting and sawmilling drove the economy, with logs railed down to Boyer and Hobart. Westerway was once the starting point for pack-horse journeys to the remote Adamsfield osmiridium field.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Westerway is more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 874, 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.
Is Westerway a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Westerway from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
7/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (7/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
50/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $285 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 50% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Westerway at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 210
- Median age
- 48
- Median weekly household income
- $949
- SEIFA score
- 874
- Local government area
- Derwent Valley
- Coordinates
- -42.6899, 146.7980
Map of Westerway
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Westerway
What it costs to live in Westerway and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $285
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $921
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 85%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 15%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Westerway demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Westerway demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Westerway 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 36% and 9% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 25 | 11% |
| Youth (15–24) | 30 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 44 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 79 | 36% |
| Seniors (65+) | 44 | 20% |
Share of the 222 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 43 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 37 | 39% |
| Rented | 14 | 15% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 88 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 88 occupied private dwellings in Westerway.
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,093
- Median weekly personal income
- $493
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 19 (9%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 0 (0%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 36 (17%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 58 (32%)
- Labour-force participation
- 47.1%
- Unemployment rate
- 9.1%
- Employed full-time
- 49
- Employed part-time
- 22
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.
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Common questions about Westerway
Is Westerway a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Westerway rates 21/100 overall (Lower on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Westerway?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Westerway was $285, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $921. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Westerway?
Westerway is a suburb of Tasmania, Australia, in the Derwent Valley local government area.
What is the population of Westerway?
At the 2021 Census, Westerway had a population of about 210.
Is Westerway an advantaged area?
Westerway has an ABS SEIFA score of 874, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 7 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 7% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in Tasmania
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