A Social Ranking of Melbourne Suburbs

The importance of the residential area as an index of soc position has been widely recognized in studies of Ur soc structure. In Australia only one study of the soc ranking of residential areas exists, based on the reputational technique-A. A. Congalton's 'Occupational Status in Australia' (Studies in Sociology, 1963, 3, U of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia). This study develops a residential scale for Melbourne, using an objective technique. Census data for 1961 are analyzed by means of ecological is & principal components analysis, & 2 scales are derived. The lstis based on SE characteristics only, but the 2nd incorporates ethnic diff's as well. A classification of the 133 suburbs of Melbourne is made on both scales. A comparison of the 2 scales yeidis some hyp's about ethnicity as a factor in Melbourne's system of soc stratification. AA.