Six Ways to Compute the Relative Value of Australian Amounts, 1828 to the Present

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In 1932, the year it opened, the fare on the Sydney Harbour Bridge was 6 pence for a car (half that for horse and rider.) In 2011, the relative real price of that 6 pence is $1.93 and the relative labor price is almost $8.00. The income value is $14.00. The current fare on the bridge and the tunnel is a maximum of $4.00, so the commute is a bit more expensive in in terms of goods, but lots cheaper in relative earnings.


An important moment in Australia's industrial development was the first all-Australian mass produced car. The Holden 48-215, commonly known as the "FX", was unveiled at the end of 1948 with a price tag of £733. The sticker price clearly increased but looking at it in 2015 terms we find a price tag of $37440 using the CPI measure. Using the GDP deflator results in a slightly higher value, namely $42,360, though still not dramatically different from the prices of current popular full sized sedan car models. In terms of labour costs the price tag represents $116,740 in 2015 values, using average weekly earnings, which indicates that the average worker had to work substantially longer than their modern counterparts to be able to afford such a car.


Attracting qualified medical personal to remote locations seems to have been a problem now and then. In 1870 the mining community of Yankalilla on the Fleurieu Peninsula advertised for a new surgeon as their current one had decided to move on to even more remote areas. The ad stated that the annual income of the previous resident had never fallen below £260 a year. What does that income buy today? Using the CPI to bring it to 2015 values results in $29,420, hardly an enticing salary. However, compared to average weekly earnings the income represents $285,400, a number quite in line with today's salaries for specialized medical doctors.