Future Victoria: How Melbourne suburbs’ identities are changing as demographics shift
Bundoora is the new Coburg, Pakenham is the new Glen Waverley, and Ferntree Gully is the new Burwood. Melbourne’s outer suburbs are increasingly taking on the identities of areas closer to the city — here’s why.
Future Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Future Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Any true Melburnian knows that Brighton and Brunswick are poles apart, and no one would dare compare Diamond Creek to Dallas.
But some middle and outer-Melbourne suburbs are taking on the identities of their inner-city cousins, as rising house prices, rents and everday costs of living push people — and in turn the cultural distinctions — further afield.
Here’s how our suburbs are changing.
NORTHERN MELBOURNE
As house prices continue to skyrocket in once working-class Northcote, many of the establishments and people that made Northcote a renowned artistic hub have moved further north.
Coburg has picked up that mantle and is now home to an increasing number of quirky shops, independent cafes and artistic communities, experts say.
For its part, Castlemaine, in regional Victoria, has become known as the new Coburg.
While for Coburg — the new Northcote — those priced out of the suburb were now looking to Bundoora to settle.
Social researcher and demographer Bernard Salt said that trend could be seen across Melbourne’s sprawling map and beyond.
“This is a story of Melbourne’s growth. Melbourne is quite unlike any other Australian capital city, it’s like a fried egg — there’s a rich, creamy yolk in the centre, which is all the hipster suburbs within 7km of the city or so, and then there’s the egg white that spreads out in every direction,” Mr Salt said.
“There’s a lot of intra-city migration going on; people being brought up in one suburb and they orientate to other suburbs they are familiar with. It’s very rare for people to ‘sector-hop’.”
SOUTHERN TO SOUTHEAST MELBOURNE
As an example, Mr Salt said if you were brought up in Glen Waverley, you were likely to look for a home in Narre Warren or Pakenham.
“And so you see the same demography continued, with the next generation moving out,” he said.
The demography of Narre Warren and Pakenham echoes that of Glen Waverley and Mulgrave just 30 years ago, he said.
Those who would like to live in Mount Waverley or Burwood, are now heading towards Ferntree Gully, which still contains the hallmarks of the Great Australian Dream — a front and backyard and separate houses.
“It’s comfortable, you’re cradled by the Dandenongs in one direction and the security and stability of establishment suburbia to the east. It’s a very idyllic spot,” he said.
Twenty or so minutes north of Ferntree Gully are Ringwood and Croydon, which have become an extension of Nunawading and Box Hill.
“They’re part of the greatest urban corridor in Australia, which is Whitehorse Road and Maroondah Highway,” Mr Salt said.
In the northeast, Eltham — known for its mudbrick homes, bushy landscape and strong artistic ties — has easily become the new Heidelberg, which is of course forever linked to the Heidelberg School artists’ movement.
“Social change happens relatively slowly, and it’s by degrees. And then someone will make the observations and people will say ‘yeah, I see that’,” Mr Salt said.
MORE FUTURE VICTORIA NEWS:
THE MIDDLE-RING MELBOURNE SUBURBS THAT MILLENNIALS LOVE
WHERE VICTORIANS FEEL MOST AND LEAST SAFE
‘RING OF CITIES’ PLAN TO EASE MELBOURNE POPULATION CRUSH
WESTERN MELBOURNE
This evolution has evolved to include more patches of Melbourne, as our booming population requires more land and housing.
This means places such as Point Cook are experiencing their first wave of change.
And the primary reason for suburbs’ shifting identities boils down to gentrification and rising property rises.
As popular suburbs become too expensive to buy into — and especially for the types of people who are normally attracted to them — they head out just a bit further to re-create their aspirations, Mr Salt said.