Appendix E: Location of surviving Korean veterans

E.1 Introduction
E.2 Australia
E.3 NSW and ACT
E.4 Queensland
E.5 Victoria
E.6 Western Australia
E.7 South Australia
E.8 Tasmania
E.9 Northern Territory
E.10 Discussion
References

E.1 Introduction

This section describes the geographic location of Australian veterans of the Korean War for whom a residential address had been identified as at 31 December 1999. Places of residence for these veterans were determined by the postcode recorded on the electoral roll for each individual.

The information has been mapped by shading each postcode area according to the frequency groupings of inhabitants shown in the legend. Postcode areas differ considerably in size and shape, as can be seen on the maps and some postcode areas contain non-residential areas, such as businesses, recreational facilities and parks.

The postcodes for 130 veterans known to be alive in December 1999 could not be mapped because the postcode given for those veterans is that for a Post Office box or is otherwise not connected with an identifiable geographical location. In the case of a further 70 veterans, no postcode was available because the current address could not be found or because the veteran was known to be living overseas.

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E.2 Australia

Table E-1 shows the numbers of surviving Korean War veterans for whom a current address has been identified by state of residence. New South Wales and Queensland have the highest number of veterans at 36.4 per cent and 23.1 per cent respectively. The table also shows that 80.2 per cent of Korean War veterans live in the eastern mainland states. The table also illustrates that proportionally more Korean War veterans live in Queensland and the ACT when compared to Australian males 65 years or older. Conversely, proportionally less Korean War veterans live in Victoria and South Australia than non-veteran counterparts.

The veteran population distribution has been compared with the distribution of Australian males because of the low number of female veterans who served in Korea during the Korean War. The Nominal Roll includes 58 female veterans, of whom only 37 are known to be alive.

Further discussion in this Chapter on veteran demographics uses a classification of "Rural and Remote Areas" (RARA) first developed in 1991 by the then Commonwealth Departments of Primary Industries and Energy and Human Services and Health. This was revised in 1994 to include categories of "capital city" and "other metropolitan area" and is now known as the "Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Area" (RRMA) classification system. The RRMA categorises all "statistical local areas" (SLAs) in Australia according to their remoteness.

The boundaries of SLAs are determined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). SLAs can be further aggregated into "statistical divisions" to provide a regional overview, although this level had not been used in the current analysis.

The RRMA classification system uses the following definitions:

Table E-2 shows the numbers of surviving Korean veterans for whom a current address has been identified, by RRMA category. In addition to their concentration in the eastern states, veterans are predominantly urban metropolitan dwellers, with 66.8 per cent living in the State and Territory capitals or other metropolitan areas. This corresponds to the Australian population in which 64.4% of those 65 years or older live in capital cities or other metropolitan areas. ²

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E.3 NSW and ACT

Of the 3,157 Korean War veterans residing in NSW 2,087 (66.1% per cent) live in the Sydney metropolitan or other metropolitan areas (Table E-3).

Map E-1 shows the numbers of veterans resident in New South Wales by residential postcode. In Sydney, veterans live throughout the metropolitan region, but with concentrations in the western and south-western suburbs.

Map E-1

Significant concentrations are located in a band stretching from Blacktown and Penrith through Fairfield, Cabramatta and Liverpool to Casula and Moorbank. The Campbelltown, Appin area and south to the southern tablelands also include significant numbers of veterans, as do the south-western suburbs of East Hills, Revesby, Picnic Point and Lugarno, along the Georges River. Many of these suburbs would have been growth areas during the 1960s and 1970s, and would also have been convenient for access to the Holsworthy Army Base during that period.

Lower numbers of veterans are located in various Sydney beach suburbs from Port Hacking and Cronulla north towards Gosford.

Outside Sydney, the most striking concentration of Korean War veterans is located in the Gosford/Wyong region. The postcodes from 2250 to 2263, incorporating, among other locations, Gosford, Avoca Beach, Woy Woy, Umina, Wyong, Terrigal, The Entrance and Norah Head, contain 267 veterans, or 8.5 per cent of the NSW total.

Smaller concentrations are grouped north to and within Newcastle, while other significant groups are located further north at Taree, Port Macquarie, Kempsey, Coffs Harbour, Ballina and Lismore. Of note, the area around Tweed Heads and south of the Gold Coast, covered by postcodes 2485 to 2487, contains a further 77 veterans, the most concentrated group in the north coast.

Significant concentrations of veterans are also located on the NSW south coast. In particular, postcode 2540 (Huskisson, Jervis Bay, Sussex Inlet, etc) with 69 veterans, contains the equal highest number of veterans of any postcode in Australia. Coincidently, the other postcode with this number of Korean War veterans (6210), covering Mandurah, etc in Western Australia, is also in reasonable proximity to a Naval base, although both have also been popular tourist areas for some time.

Overall, 219 (6.9 per cent) veterans live within areas covered by postcodes along the south coast from Kiama to Moruya (2533 to 2541). This region includes Nowra and a number of popular tourist areas, including Batemans Bay, Mollymook and Ulladulla.

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Map E-2

Map E-2 shows the numbers of veterans resident in the Australian Capital Territory by residential postcode. Table E-4 shows that there are no veterans living in the ACT classified as living outside the metropolitan area. As with the Sydney western suburbs, veterans tend to be grouped in suburbs that were popular growth areas during the 1960s and early 1970s. In particular, these include Ainslie, Dickson, Downer and Lyneham in the north and Curtin, Garran, Hughes, Mawson, etc in the Woden area. The Weston Creek suburbs are also well represented. Among the Belconnen suburbs, surprisingly, the outer suburbs of Charnwood, Flynn, Higgins, etc (postcode 2615), with 25 veterans, appear to be the most popular, with the closer Belconnen suburbs covered by postcodes 2614 and 2617 having a combined total only four higher.

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E.4 Queensland

Map E-3 shows the numbers of veterans resident in Queensland by postcode. Of the 2,004 Korean War veterans residing in Queensland, 936 (46.7 per cent) live in the Brisbane metropolitan region (Table E-5). Numbers are spread widely throughout the metropolitan region, with larger numbers more common in the outer suburbs. Within the metropolitan area, 72 veterans are located in postcodes representing Amberley and Ipswich (4300 to 4306).

Map E-3

Outside the Brisbane metropolitan area, the next largest group live in the Southport to Coolangatta and Gold Coast hinterland area. There are 316 (15.8 per cent) veterans living in areas covered by postcodes 4205 to 4285. A further 201 (10.0 per cent) live in the Sunshine coast region in areas covered by postcodes 4550 to 4580. Some 117 (5.8 per cent) live in the region south of the Sunshine coast towards Brisbane, in the Bribie Island, Caboolture area covered by postcodes 4505 to 4510.

These numbers highlight the extent to which Queensland veterans are concentrated in the south-east corner of the State. The Brisbane metropolitan area and the regions identified above account for 1,570 veterans or 78.3 per cent of all Korean War veterans living in that State. Outside these areas, smaller numbers of veterans live in Toowoomba and the Darling Downs area, the Fraser Island/Hervey Bay area and the coastal cities from Bundaberg to Cairns.

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E.5 Victoria

Map E-4 shows veterans by postcode and Table E-6 shows the numbers by RRMA classification. Melbourne has the highest concentration of Korean War veterans in Victoria, with 1,011 Korean veterans (64.6 per cent) living in the metropolitan area.

Map E-4

An examination of numbers by postcode reveals that, in common with Sydney, many veterans tend to be located out from the city centre in areas that are likely to have been growth areas during the 1960s and 1970s. However, a concentration of Korean War veterans is located along the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay and, in particular, within the Mornington Peninsula.

Outside the metropolitan area, Geelong with 56 veterans (postcodes 3214 to 3221) has the second largest concentration. Among other regional areas, Bendigo (35 veterans) and Ballarat (28 veterans) are also notable.

A further identifiable grouping of veterans is in the region from the Latrobe Valley to Lakes Entrance. This area was a significant source of employment during the post-Korean War period arising initially from the growth in demand for brown coal generated power and later with the development of the Bass Strait oil fields.

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E.6 Western Australia

Of the 902 veterans residing in Western Australia, 651 (72.2 per cent) live in the Perth metropolitan area (Table E-7). This is the highest percentage of veterans living in a metropolitan area in Australia, outside the Australian Capital Territory. Map E-5 shows the numbers of veterans by their residential postcode. The insert map, 'Perth and surrounds', shows that the higher concentrations of veterans occur in a ring of postcodes which surrounds the city centre and the inner postcodes.

Map E-5

South of the city, 69 veterans (the equal highest for any postcode in Australia) live in the postcode of Mandurah (6210) and a further 53 live in the postcodes 6168 and 6169, covering Rockingham, Garden Island, Safety Bay, Waikiki, Warnbro, etc. Postcodes covering the general south-west region, from Collie and Bunbury through Busselton to Albany and including Narrogin and Beverley (6225 to 6330) account for a further 77 veterans.

Small numbers of Korean War veterans live in Geraldton, Carnarvon, Esperance and Kalgoorlie/Boulder. Few veterans live in the remaining areas of the State.

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E.7 South Australia

Of the 489 veterans residing in South Australia, 340 (69.5 per cent) live in the Adelaide metropolitan area. A further 111 (22.7 percent) live in "other rural areas", ie SLAs with populations below 10,000 (Table E-8).

Map E-6

Map E-6 shows the numbers of veterans by residential postcode. The insert map, 'Adelaide and surrounds', shows veterans living predominantly in postcodes which extend in a band that runs northeast from the city, including Salisbury and in the postcodes which surround the southern suburb of Morphett Vale.

On an individual postcode basis, lesser, but still significant numbers are in suburbs ranging from Glenelg and Brighton on the coast, through Marion, Mitcham in the South to Burnside on the fringes of the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Around Salisbury and in the band to the northeast, there are concentrations in the postcodes which either adjoin or have ready access to the Edinburgh RAAF Base or the Defence Research Centre near Salisbury. However, there are now no Korean War veterans recorded against the Edinburgh postcode (5111).

Outside Adelaide, veteran populations largely reflect the general State population. Regional groupings include:

• Murray Bridge and the Lake Alexandrina area including Victor Harbour, Goolwa and Murray Bridge;
• The Murray River region around Waikerie and Renmark;
• The lower south-eastern region around and including Mt Gambier and Millicent; and
• The Port Lincoln, Tumby Bay area at the southern end of the Eyre Peninsula.

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E.8 Tasmania

Of the 279 veterans living in Tasmania, 133 (47.7 per cent) live in the Hobart metropolitan area (Table E-9 and Map E-7).

Map E-7

Outside the Hobart area, significant concentrations of Korean War veterans are centred around Launceston and Devonport and their surrounding districts. Smaller numbers of veterans live in north coast towns from Ulverston to Smithton, along the east coast, and in rural centres along the Midland Highway between Hobart and Launceston.

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E.9 Northern Territory

The Northern Territory has the lowest number of veterans, with 55 (0.6 per cent). Their distribution shows the same urban/rural split as found in the other States (Table E-10). The Darwin metropolitan area has 34 (61.8 per cent) of the Northern Territory veterans (Map E-8). A further 13 (23.6 percent) live in Alice Springs and surrounding regions (postcode 0870).

Map E-8

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E.10 Discussion

Surviving Australian male veterans of the Korean War are similar to the Australian population in living predominantly on the coast of the eastern states. They are generally urban metropolitan dwellers with approximately 57 per cent living in the State and Territory capitals. Within each metropolitan area, veterans tend to live in postcodes covering areas that would have been outer/developing suburbs during the 1960s and 1970s, relatively few live in the city centre or the adjoining inner suburbs.

Where veterans are living outside the metropolitan areas, many have settled in popular retirement areas. These include:

• the NSW North and South coasts;
• the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria; and
• the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast regions of Queensland.

References

1

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Population by age and sex, cat.no. 3201.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001.

2

Australian Bureau of Statistics. Older People, Australia: A social report, cat.no. 4109.0.Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999.