New ABS population data reveals there are fewer Gympie children

Research has revealed a surprising change in the Gympie region, with one age group diminishing despite a 13 per cent surge in the local population. Read why this is happening.

A rapidly expanding population is bringing an influx of new people and opportunities to the Gympie region, but one demographic is disquietingly missing from the equation.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal that from 2011 to 2021, the number of children aged 0-14 in the Gympie region shrank by more than 130.

This was despite the region’s total population growing by more than 6000.

The 0-14 age group now makes up only 17.8 per cent of the region’s population, down from 20.4 per cent in 2011 and 22.3 per cent in 2001.

Worse, the region’s 0.5 per cent growth in the past decade in that youngest age group was only a third of the state’s average of 1.4 per cent.

The only demographic with a worse rate was the 25-44-year-old range, the group which would be those younger children’s parents.

Gympie mother Justine Penny with daughter Florence.

Gympie mother Justine Penny said the figures were a “shock”.

She was aware of several shortfalls in the area when it came to catering for the region’s children.

For the past six months she had been driving her 12-year-old daughter Florence to Brisbane once a week so she could continue pursuing her artistic interests.

She said new families who moved to the region could find it did not suit their needs, with most shops closing at midday on Saturday.

Mrs Penny was also unsure why things that catered to the youth demographic – like the now-closed Gympie Jungle playground in Tozer St – struggled to get a foothold.

“It absolutely puzzles me,” she said.

There had been successful businesses, like Gympie Playback and its video arcade.

The region’s long-standing economic struggles and low median wage meant even those could be out of reach to some families.

ABS demographic data showing the decline in the number of children in the Gympie region.

“These things cost money,” Mrs Penny said.

University of Queensland demography expert Dr Elin Charles-Edwards said the absence of that earliest age group reflected a low level of “natural” growth for the region.

It was instead being driven by migration from other areas.

That population growth was a “positive story”, Mrs Charles-Edwards said, but if the trends continued there were long-term issues on the horizon.

These included reducing the social connections within the region, to the point even fielding social football teams for the regions’ youth could become difficult.

Justine Penn said it was “puzzling” that facilities like Gympie Jungle's (Phil Wilson pictured) had failed to get a foothold in the region.

Then there were the problems posed by a rapidly ageing population, not the least of which was the potential shortage of workers needed to support a growing aged care industry.

“Regional councils tend not to like age statistics to become too old,” Mrs Charles-Edwards said.

Reversing the problem of an ageing population, which was not unique to Gympie, was “really difficult” but did not involve anything unexpected: more jobs and access to quality schools were part of the solution.

She said Gympie might also benefit from the spill-over of the Sunshine Coast population boom.

Attracting overseas migrants was another option.

“The low fertility we see in Gympie, it’s not just a Gympie story,” Mrs Charles-Edwards said.

Mrs Penny said the region still had significant gaps it needed to fill for the 10-14 age bracket.

“I do feel we are missing things,” she said.

Originally published as New ABS population data reveals there are fewer Gympie children