Advertisement

The streets of your town – readers respond to the 2016 Australian census

Crowds spill into the street and neighbouring houses and gardens for the traditional prayers of thanks during the Eid al-Fitr end of Ramadan celebration in Lakemba.
Crowds spill into the street and neighbouring houses and gardens for the traditional prayers of thanks during the Eid al-Fitr end of Ramadan celebration in Lakemba. Photograph: Michele Mossop/Getty Images

The 2016 Australian census results show some suburbs, towns, cities and regions undergoing more change than others. We asked Guardian Australia readers to share their experiences of shifting demographics in their areas – here’s an edited selection of their responses.

We see our towns and suburbs getting busier

Many people, from across Australia, said their neighbourhoods had become more dense, with multistorey, multiunit developments to accommodate population growth.

Postwar and earlier housing stock in the Essendon–Aberfeldie area of Victoria had been replaced with such developments for young urban professionals and families, said Ann Marie.

In Warradale, South Australia, Ashers said old bungalows on large blocks were being bulldozed and replaced with two-storey townhouses, reflecting the drop in median age of the local population.

Young families were drawn to Forrestfield – Wattle Grove in Western Australia by low-cost housing and easy access by road to the CBD 16 kilometres away, said Pia. A new rail line to the airport was expected to attract the travelling employed.

Dave of Beenleigh, Queensland, said his street had gone from mostly owner-occupiers to more than half investment rentals with a “heavily transient population” over the past 20 years.

“It’s sad to see home ownership drop and rental rates increase even in this small town where I grew up,” wrote Rebecca of Bathurst in New South Wales.

In many areas, infrastructure had not been expanded or improved, even as populations had increased. Philippe had lived in the Oyster Bay area of Sydney since arriving in Australia in 1980 and said barely any new roads had been built since: “Going to the city at peak hours is a long traffic jam.”

In Nudgee-Banyo, Queensland, Peter said the number of dwellings had just about doubled in the area in the last six years, with new houses and townhouses “popping up almost non-stop” to accommodate the influx of young, often multicultural families. “Parks are full of people from all nationalities and the sound of children at play ...

“It’s a microcosm of the new Australia. It is a joy to see it all happening, as if it has always been this way.”

We see more diverse faces around us

People in many parts of Australia said there had been an obvious influx of migrants to their neighbourhoods in recent years, particularly from Asian countries and notable in comparison to an ageing European migrant population. Many said they appreciated living in multicultural areas. “I love living in a community that is culturally and ethnically diverse,” said Susan of Noble Park–East in Victoria.

Caroline said many Asian families had moved into the large-scale residential developments in her suburb of Carlingford, NSW, and the “intercultural relationships and families and denser living” were noticeable. In Gordon–Killara, NSW, Robert said the same demographic change had increased the quality of the local housing stock.

Byron had observed major change in the population of Lakemba, Sydney, with a rapid influx of immigrants from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan to the predominantly Muslim suburb in recent years. “About 10 years ago, Lakemba had mostly been a Middle Eastern, Chinese and Vietnamese area, but now it is a mostly Indian, Sri Lankan, Bengali, Pakistani and Nepalese neighbourhood.”

Yarraville, Victoria, was continuing to develop “as a strong and interesting community”, said Sue, with more young families and “more pedigreed dogs”. “House prices are going through the roof,” she said. “The only thing growing faster are the number of espresso machines and Thai, Laotian and Cambodian restaurants.”

Natasha, on the Nelson Bay peninsula in NSW, said her area was predominantly secular “despite a plethora of churches”. The rise of secularism had been the only significant change recorded of Narrabeen–Collaroy by the census but, as resident Nancy said, that “doesn’t show on the outside”.

We see changes in the regions, too

It was not just Australia’s urban centres that were becoming more diverse, though migration centred on cities. Ebelio and his wife had moved to Australia from Venezula eight years ago, and their daughter had been born in Brisbane. For the past two years, they had lived in Success in Western Australia. “We are renting but just started to build our home in the same area. I like the area and how it is growing and the new facilities being built.”

John, of Kadina in South Australia, said it was a “nice place to live”: both quiet and affordable, with easy access to schools, healthcare and banking. “The only downside is the shortage of employment opportunities,” he said. “Aged care is a growth industry, but it’s not suitable for everyone.”

Meg, in Caloundra-Kings Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, said underemployment in her town had worsened in the past five years. “It seems fewer people are tertiary educated than in inner-city suburbs, and small businesses are the main source of employment.” She also noted that the population was “overwhelmingly white and older”: “It’s very noticeable if you’re used to living in a more multicultural capital city.”

Cyril said the rural country town of Yass was thought by many to have “lost its soul” due to the high number of commuters from Canberra, who “just sleep in Yass”, he said. “These people do not generally mix with the locals.” (Nigel, also of Yass, said it offered Canberrans a “fantastic country lifestyle … I see nothing but good times ahead for this thriving community”.)

Joey Hunt and his family moved to Gladstone in Queensland five years ago, in the middle of the mining boom. “Now it has gone bust,” he said. “The house prices have plummeted. There are several houses in my street that have been up for sale for years, even though the prices have dropped by at least $100,000.”

At the same time, he said there were “many unfamiliar faces” in the neighbourhood as new people moved in. The local high school had opened another class in the second term to accommodate lots of new enrolments. “The rest of us are being too cautious – will we be the next one to lose our job or made redundant?!”

We think classification is arbitrary

Many people in Sydney commented on the impacts of gentrification in their neighbourhoods, most of them negative. “As the area has become more gentrified, we are seeing less of the community spirit and connectedness that made it so great 10-15 years ago,” said Tilly of Coogee-Clovelly in Sydney. “A pity.”

Laurie said it was “essentially useless” for the census to group Dee Why and North Curl Curl together as one area, with the former multicultural and cosmopolitan and the latter “a typical whitebread suburb with very little ethnic diversity”. “You rarely hear a foreign language at Curl Curl Beach. At Dee Why Beach, you’ll hear five walking from the surf club to the pool.

“It is an outpost of modern Australia in the sterile seventies culture of the rest of the northern beaches.”

Lesley had lived in Newtown in Sydney’s inner-west since 1993 and said it had changed “quite dramatically”: “The character of the area is being lost through overdevelopment and an influx of hipsters.”

The premium placed on some suburbs at others’ expense had led to some quirks of categorisation. Kevin’s two-bedroom apartment was advertised as being in the Ashbury area of Sydney when he bought it 20 years ago. He found out several months after moving in it was considered Canterbury North. “Somehow Ashbury was the more upmarket suburb. Who knew? More importantly, those not from the area didn’t care – it was still the west.”

Two years later, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the area as being in Sydney’s inner-west. “Fast forward a couple of decades and P-platers drive Audis or BMWs around our streets,” says Kevin. “Our block now has security. There’s a metropolis of high rises a short walk away (too many, in fact).

“Still, the area has character. Not that it didn’t before. It’s just different now.”

Jennifer, who had lived in Balmain since 1997, also pointed to luxury cars as evidence that the area had become wealthier, even as local businesses and restaurants seemed to struggle. “I call it a ‘moneyed recession’,” she said. “I might just be nostalgic but Balmain in the 80s was a far more lively and interesting place.”

We really like where we live (or a lot of us do)

Liz Doherty had lived in Bayswater, Victoria, for 25 years and was enthusiastic about its future prospects. She wanted to see new houses designed to be in keeping with the older-style homes in the area to protect its aesthetic, and for “some gorgeous shops and cafes happening” to liven up the area.

“Baysie is a great place to live, close to the city [and] the freeway ... And the residents are pretty awesome.”

Barbara had moved to the Oatlands - Dundas Valley area of NSW 18 months ago and had found it to be a “very quiet, supportive, friendly neighbourhood [with] lovely natural bushland”. The abundant birdlife adjacent to her property was “very important” in her life, she said.

Philippe, who had complained about the traffic in Oyster Bay, nonetheless praised his “Aussie enclave”, even as it has become less affordable and more congested. “We see a gentrification of all the suburbs around – better shops, restaurants and services. We are surrounded by beautiful parks and sports facilities. It is still a great hidden area well served by train.

“I still enjoy living here with all the birds coming to my garden. I still have my little oasis in the middle of Sydney.”