Robertson, Queensland

Robertson Brisbane, Queensland
Robertson sign on Musgrave Road, 2018
Robertson
Coordinates	27°34′00″S 153°03′23″E / 27.5666°S 153.0563°E / -27.5666; 153.0563 (Robertson (centre of suburb))Coordinates: 27°34′00″S 153°03′23″E / 27.5666°S 153.0563°E / -27.5666; 153.0563 (Robertson (centre of suburb))
Population	4,973 (2016 census)[1]
• Density	2,930/km2 (7,580/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4109
Area	1.7 km2 (0.7 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	13.7 km (9 mi) S of Brisbane GPO
LGA(s)	City of Brisbane (MacGregor Ward)[2]
State electorate(s)	Toohey
Federal division(s)	Moreton
Suburbs around Robertson: Nathan Nathan MacGregor Coopers Plains Robertson MacGregor Coopers Plains Sunnybank Sunnybank

Robertson is an outer-southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.^[3] In the 2016 census, Robertson had a population of 4,973 people.^[1]

Geography[]

Robertson is 13.7 kilometres (9 mi) by road (M3 Freeway) south-east of the Brisbane CBD.^[4]

Robertson is loosely bounded by Kessels Road to the north, Mains Road to the east, Mccullough Street to the south, and Troughton Road to the west, but excludes the Sunnybank Plaza Shopping Centre to the south-east.^[5]

The land use is almost entirely residential.^[5]

History[]

Robertson was named on 1 August 1967 by the Queensland Place Names Board in memory of Doctor William Nathaniel Robertson (1866-1938) who was a member of the University of Queensland Senate.^[4] He was also a foundation member of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

In the mid-1960s Robertson was the unsubdivided southern part of Sunnybank, defined by Musgrave Road and a drive-in picture theatre at the corner of Musgrave and Troughton Roads. A shopping centre, Sunnybank Plaza, was opened in 1975 at the south-east corner of Robertson, and a State primary school in the middle of the suburb was opened in 1980. The population grew more than threefold to over 3000 between 1976 and 1986 as the Nathan campus of Griffith University (1975) developed. The primary school's enrolment topped 600 in 2002.^[6]

Sunnybank Plaza was refurbished and enlarged in 1989 and 1995, growing to 30,000 sq metres, with a Kmart, supermarkets, cinemas and 122 other shops.^[6]

Robertson State School opened on 29 January 1980 with 124 students.^[7][8][9] The Robertson State Preschool Centre opened two weeks later with an initial enrolment of 26.^[10] The school was officially opened by the Minister for Education, Val Bird, and by 1987 it had 600 students on roll.^[10]

Robertson's census populations have been:^[1]</ref>^[6]

Census Date	Population
1976	945
1981	2434
1991	3815
2001	4309
2006	4751
2011	4867
2016	4973
2021	TBA

Education[]

Robertson State School[]

Robertson State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 688 Musgrave Road (

27°33′55″S 153°03′22″E / 27.5654°S 153.0562°E / -27.5654; 153.0562 (Robertson State School)).^[11][12] In 2020, the school had an enrolment of 728 students with 50 teachers (46.3 full-time equivalent) and 31 non-teaching staff (18.4 full-time equivalent).^[13] It includes a special education program.^[11]

Student background[]

The school is known for its high performing academic results, with a school ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) value of 1126 in comparison to the average of 1000. It scores a school ICSEA percentile of 91. ^[14]

Students[]

There are a total of 728 enrolments consisting of 355 boys (49%) and 373 girls (51%). 78% of all students have a language background other than English.^[14]

Secondary Schools[]

There are no secondary schools in Robertson. The nearest secondary schools are Sunnybank State High School in Sunnybank to the south and MacGregor State High School in MacGregor to the east.^[5] Many students, however, choose non-catchment partially selective schools such as Brisbane State High School, Mansfield State High School and Queensland Academies for Science, Mathematics and Technology (QASMT) due to their prestigious titles and quality in education.

Public Transport[]

Robertson is considered a location of reasonable public transport service. The Brisbane City Council bus lines 130 and 140 that pass through Mains Road at the 'Mains Road at Robertson bus stop', operated by Translink, the state public transport operating service, are run on a network of 'no timetable needed' high frequency buses known as Bus Upgrade Zone (BUZ) services. ^[15]

According to the BCC, BUZ services operate daily:

• 6am - 11.30pm
• every 10 minutes or less during commuter peak times
• every 15 minutes or less at all other times.

BUZ Route 130[]

The 130 bus line that runs from Drewvale/Parkinson is a direct express 'City express' service that runs through major commercial precincts and key destinations such as the Sunnybank Commercial Shopping Centre (), Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (QSAC), or formerly known as QEII Stadium, Griffith University key interchange, Mater Hill busway station (Hospital), South bank busway station, Cultural Centre busway station and finally Queen Street bus station in the CBD of Brisbane. ^[16][17]

BUZ Route 140[]

The 40 bus line that runs from Browns Plains, Queensland is a direct express 'City express' service that runs through most main roads as the 130 bus line, however has altered commencement points. This service joins onto the South East Busway as well.^[18]

Other services[]

Other services that run through Robertson are the 135^[19]and 120, which both lead to the city. Other services available from the Mains Rd at Robertson bus stop are the P137,^[20] Creek St CBD express, the 139,^[21] direct link to the University of Queensland via the busway, and the 598 and 599, the Great Circle Lines passing through many suburbs in Brisbane.

Transportation overcrowding[]

Overcrowding on the 130 and 140 bus lines have widely considered an issue for many students and residents in the suburb, and those neighbouring suburbs of Sunnybank, MacGregor, and Sunnybank Hills from 2006 to 2014. ^[22][23][24] However, due to an increase in Translink fares increase, many resorted to privatised transportation, slowly emptying capacity and reducing demand for these public transport lines, being then reported as Australia's most expensive public transport system. ^[25]

However, from 2019 to August 2021, ridership and patronage amongst these lines have slowly increased. Although many other lines throughout Brisbane have upgraded to Bi-articulated buses, the 130 and 140 have not received any upgrades, despite increase in patronage. The council has been unable to provide higher capacity vehicles, especially to cater for such demand during after-school rush from the South Bank busway station due to a high percentage of students from Brisbane State High School travelling on these services from 15:00 AEST to 15:30 AEST. Morning peak hour rush can also be uncomfortable, especially with increased patronage from the newly constructed QSAC Mains Road Park 'n' ride.

Images attached detail capacity of services.

2016 Census Data[]

In the 2016 census, the population of Robertson was 4,973, 50.1% female and 49.9% male.^[1]

The median age of people in Robertson (QLD) (State Suburbs) was 32 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 14.0% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.6% of the population.

People — demographics & education[]

People tables are based on a person's place of usual residence on Census night

People Persons count based on place of usual residence on Census night	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Male	2,482	49.9	11,546,638	49.3
Female	2,494	50.1	11,855,248	50.7
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people	17	0.3	649,171	2.8

In the 2016 Census, there were 4,973 people in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs). Of these 49.9% were male and 50.1% were female. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.3% of the population.

Age	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Median age	32		38
0-4 years	227	4.6	1,464,779	6.3
5-9 years	253	5.1	1,502,646	6.4
10-14 years	219	4.4	1,397,183	6.0
15-19 years	299	6.0	1,421,595	6.1
20-24 years	670	13.4	1,566,793	6.7
25-29 years	574	11.5	1,664,602	7.1
30-34 years	408	8.2	1,703,847	7.3
35-39 years	320	6.4	1,561,679	6.7
40-44 years	264	5.3	1,583,257	6.8
45-49 years	285	5.7	1,581,455	6.8
50-54 years	239	4.8	1,523,551	6.5
55-59 years	233	4.7	1,454,332	6.2
60-64 years	217	4.4	1,299,397	5.6
65-69 years	229	4.6	1,188,999	5.1
70-74 years	181	3.6	887,716	3.8
75-79 years	147	2.9	652,657	2.8
80-84 years	108	2.2	460,549	2.0
85 years and over	112	2.2	486,842	2.1

The median age of people in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs) was 32 years. Children aged 0 - 14 years made up 14.0% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 15.6% of the population.

Registered marital status People aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Married	2,103	49.1	9,148,218	48.1
Separated	59	1.4	608,059	3.2
Divorced	216	5.0	1,626,890	8.5
Widowed	201	4.7	985,204	5.2
Never married	1,708	39.8	6,668,910	35.0

Of people in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs) aged 15 years and over, 49.1% were married and 6.3% were either divorced or separated.

Social marital status People aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Registered marriage	1,763	45.3	8,001,141	47.7
De facto marriage	166	4.3	1,751,731	10.4
Not married	1,964	50.4	7,024,973	41.9

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), of people aged 15 years and over, 45.3% of people were in a registered marriage and 4.3% were in a de facto marriage.

Education	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Preschool	48	2.6	347,621	4.8
Primary - Government	241	13.0	1,314,787	18.2
Primary - Catholic	37	2.0	380,604	5.3
Primary - other non Government	23	1.2	231,490	3.2
Secondary - Government	144	7.7	827,505	11.5
Secondary - Catholic	57	3.1	338,384	4.7
Secondary - other non Government	70	3.8	280,618	3.9
Technical or further education institution	118	6.3	424,869	5.9
University or tertiary institution	805	43.3	1,160,626	16.1
Other	67	3.6	198,383	2.8
Not stated	249	13.4	1,707,023	23.7

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 37.5% of people were attending an educational institution. Of these, 16.3% were in primary school, 15.1% in secondary school and 49.7% in a tertiary or technical institution.

Level of highest educational attainment People aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Bachelor Degree level and above	1,629	37.9	4,181,406	22.0
Advanced Diploma and Diploma level	341	7.9	1,687,893	8.9
Certificate level IV	42	1.0	551,767	2.9
Certificate level III	250	5.8	2,442,203	12.8
Year 12	1,018	23.7	2,994,097	15.7
Year 11	99	2.3	941,531	4.9
Year 10	258	6.0	2,054,331	10.8
Certificate level II	0	0.0	13,454	0.1
Certificate level I	0	0.0	2,176	0.0
Year 9 or below	244	5.7	1,529,897	8.0
No educational attainment	48	1.1	145,844	0.8
Not stated	258	6.0	1,974,794	10.4

Of people aged 15 and over in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 23.7% reported having completed Year 12 as their highest level of educational attainment, 6.7% had completed a Certificate III or IV and 7.9% had completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.

2011 benchmarks are not available for this data item.

People — cultural & language diversity[]

Ancestry, top responses	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Chinese	1,951	33.1	1,213,903	3.9
English	668	11.3	7,852,224	25.0
Australian	562	9.5	7,298,243	23.3
Indian	337	5.7	619,164	2.0
Irish	254	4.3	2,388,058	7.6

The most common ancestries in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs) were Chinese 33.1%, English 11.3%, Australian 9.5%, Indian 5.7% and Irish 4.3%.

Respondents had the option of reporting up to two ancestries on their Census form, and this is captured by the Ancestry Multi Response (ANCP) variable used in this table. Therefore, the total responses count will not equal the persons count for this area. Calculated percentages represent a proportion of all responses from people in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs) (including those who did not state an ancestry).

Country of birth	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Australia	1,636	32.9	15,614,835	66.7
Other top responses
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	854	17.2	509,555	2.2
Taiwan	423	8.5	46,822	0.2
India	318	6.4	455,389	1.9
Hong Kong (SAR of China)	165	3.3	86,886	0.4
Malaysia	138	2.8	138,364	0.6

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 32.9% of people were born in Australia. The most common countries of birth were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 17.2%, Taiwan 8.5%, India 6.4%, Hong Kong (SAR of China) 3.3% and Malaysia 2.8%.

Country of birth of father and/or mother, stated responses	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Both parents born overseas	3,660	73.5	8,051,196	34.4
Father only born overseas	158	3.2	1,488,092	6.4
Mother only born overseas	171	3.4	1,094,591	4.7
Both parents born in Australia	759	15.3	11,070,538	47.3

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 15.3% of people had both parents born in Australia and 73.5% of people had both parents born overseas.

Country of birth of father, stated responses	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	1,117	22.5	704,658	3.0
Australia	929	18.7	12,231,150	52.3
Taiwan	466	9.4	49,681	0.2
India	368	7.4	616,939	2.6
Vietnam	169	3.4	320,208	1.4

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), the most common countries of birth for male parents were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 22.5%, Australia 18.7%, Taiwan 9.4%, India 7.4% and Vietnam 3.4%.

Country of birth of mother, stated responses	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	1,112	22.4	699,074	3.0
Australia	923	18.6	12,643,365	54.0
Taiwan	500	10.1	54,536	0.2
India	371	7.5	605,777	2.6
Vietnam	180	3.6	335,060	1.4

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), the most common countries of birth for female parents were China (excludes SARs and Taiwan) 22.4%, Australia 18.6%, Taiwan 10.1%, India 7.5% and Vietnam 3.6%.

Religious affiliation, top responses	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
No Religion, so described	1,665	33.6	6,933,708	29.6
Catholic	684	13.8	5,291,834	22.6
Buddhism	394	7.9	563,674	2.4
Not stated	348	7.0	2,238,735	9.6
Anglican	311	6.3	3,101,185	13.3

The most common responses for religion in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs) were No Religion, so described 33.6%, Catholic 13.8%, Buddhism 7.9%, Not stated 7.0% and Anglican 6.3%. In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), Christianity was the largest religious group reported overall (41.3%) (this figure excludes not stated responses).

Language, top responses (other than English)	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Mandarin	1,421	28.7	596,711	2.5
Cantonese	382	7.7	280,943	1.2
Korean	146	2.9	108,997	0.5
Vietnamese	131	2.6	277,400	1.2
Gujarati	113	2.3	52,888	0.2
English only spoken at home	1,594	32.1	17,020,417	72.7
Households where a non English language is spoken	1,011	62.3	1,971,011	22.2

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 32.1% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 28.7%, Cantonese 7.7%, Korean 2.9%, Vietnamese 2.6% and Gujarati 2.3%.

People — employment[]

Employment People who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Worked full-time	1,102	48.0	6,623,065	57.7
Worked part-time	851	37.1	3,491,503	30.4
Away from work	94	4.1	569,276	5.0
Unemployed	249	10.8	787,452	6.9

There were 2,296 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs). Of these 48.0% were employed full time, 37.1% were employed part-time and 10.8% were unemployed.

The ABS Labour Force Survey provides the official estimates of Australia's unemployment rate. More information about Census and labour force status is provided in Understanding the Census and Census Data. View the data quality statement for Labour force status (LFSP)

Employment - hours worked Employed people aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
1-15 hours per week	319	15.6	1,218,823	11.4
16-24 hours per week	312	15.3	1,079,236	10.1
25-34 hours per week	217	10.6	1,193,445	11.2
35-39 hours per week	404	19.8	2,031,263	19.0
40 hours or more per week	696	34.1	4,591,801	43.0

Of employed people in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 15.6% worked 1 to 15 hours, 15.3% worked 16 to 24 hours and 34.1% worked 40 hours or more. View the data quality statement for Hours worked (HRSP)

Occupation Employed people aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Professionals	564	27.5	2,370,966	22.2
Managers	236	11.5	1,390,047	13.0
Clerical and Administrative Workers	226	11.0	1,449,681	13.6
Community and Personal Service Workers	222	10.8	1,157,003	10.8
Sales Workers	222	10.8	1,000,955	9.4
Labourers	220	10.7	1,011,520	9.5
Technicians and Trades Workers	197	9.6	1,447,414	13.5
Machinery Operators and Drivers	107	5.2	670,106	6.3

The most common occupations in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs) included Professionals 27.5%, Managers 11.5%, Clerical and Administrative Workers 11.0%, Community and Personal Service Workers 10.8%, and Sales Workers 10.8%. View the data quality statement for Occupation (OCCP)

Industry of employment, top responses Employed people aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Cafes and Restaurants	115	6.1	253,385	2.4
Higher Education	88	4.7	155,985	1.5
Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals)	75	4.0	411,808	3.9
Takeaway Food Services	65	3.5	189,447	1.8
Supermarket and Grocery Stores	55	2.9	254,275	2.4

Of the employed people in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 6.1% worked in Cafes and Restaurants. Other major industries of employment included Higher Education 4.7%, Hospitals (except Psychiatric Hospitals) 4.0%, Takeaway Food Services 3.5% and Supermarket and Grocery Stores 2.9%. View the data quality statement for Industry of employment (INDP)

Median weekly incomes People aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Personal	471		662
Family	1,453		1,734
Household	1,398		1,438

The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs) was $471.

View the data quality statements for: Total personal income (INCP) Total family income (FINF) Total household income (HIND)

Travel to work, top responses Employed people aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Car, as driver	1,162	56.6	6,574,571	61.5
Bus	271	13.2	323,201	3.0
Car, as passenger	146	7.1	489,922	4.6
Worked at home	105	5.1	503,582	4.7
Walked only	79	3.8	370,427	3.5
People who travelled to work by public transport	342	16.7	1,225,668	11.5
People who travelled to work by car as driver or passenger	1,352	65.8	7,305,271	68.4

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), on the day of the Census, the most common methods of travel to work for employed people were: Car, as driver 56.6%, Bus 13.2% and Car, as passenger 7.1%. Other common responses were Worked at home 5.1% and Walked only 3.8%. On the day, 16.7% of employed people used public transport (train, bus, ferry, tram/light rail) as at least one of their methods of travel to work and 65.8% used car (either as driver or as passenger). View the data quality statement for Method of travel to work (MTWP)

Unpaid work People aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Did unpaid domestic work (last week)	2,652	62.0	13,143,914	69.0
Cared for child/children (last two weeks)	997	23.3	5,259,400	27.6
Provided unpaid assistance to a person with a disability (last two weeks)	439	10.3	2,145,203	11.3
Did voluntary work through an organisation or group (last 12 months)	762	17.8	3,620,726	19.0

In Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), of people aged 15 years and over, 62.0% did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census. During the two weeks before the Census, 23.3% provided care for children and 10.3% assisted family members or others due to a disability, long term illness or problems related to old age. In the year before the Census, 17.8% of people did voluntary work through an organisation or a group.

Unpaid domestic work, number of hours People aged 15 years and over	Robertson (Qld)	%	Australia	%
Less than 5 hours per week	981	22.9	4,298,593	22.6
5 to 14 hours per week	898	21.0	4,944,578	26.0
15 to 29 hours per week	424	9.9	2,189,776	11.5
30 hours or more per week	353	8.2	1,710,970	9.0

Of people who did unpaid domestic work in the week before the Census in Robertson (Qld) (State Suburbs), 21.0% worked 5 to 14 hours, 9.9% worked 15 to 29 hours and 8.2% worked 30 hours or more.

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robertson, Queensland.

• "Robertson". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
• ourbrisbane.com website, Robertson section