Brits taking over Perth's northern suburbs
WANDER the streets of Perth's northern suburbs, and you'll be forgiven for thinking you're in a sunny corner of the UK.
WANDER around the streets of Perth's Northern suburbs, and you'll be forgiven for thinking you're in a sunny corner of the UK.
Like the Costa Brava in Spain, the stretch of stunning coastline has proved popular with Brits.
In fact, it's so popular the the British High Commission in Canberra recognises the area as the biggest concentration of Brits outside the UK.
The centre of area is Mindarie, about 40km north of Perth.
Alex Bowen works at the 'The Boat' pub here.
As one of only a few Australians in the area, he admits he often struggles with the assortment of strong English, Scottish and Welsh accents that bounce around the bar.
"There are a couple of other Aussies who work here, but I would say it's about 60 per cent English," he said.
"While I do sometimes feel a bit like the odd man out, having them behind the bar is pretty handy. I find it hard to understand the different accents, so it's good to have colleagues who can understand them."
According to last year's census, the seven most English suburbs in Australia are all located along Perth's northern coastal strip.
The new suburb of Jindalee tops the list with 36.6 per cent, Mindarie has 27.3, Connolly 27, Burns Beach 26.9, Carramar 24 per cent, Butler 23.45 per cent and Tapping 22 per cent. When you add the Scots and Welsh into the mix, it's higher. And when the Australian-born children of these expats are subtracted, second-generation Aussies are thin on the ground.
Of 7420 inhabitants of Mindarie, only 1718 can claim both parents were born in this country (23.15 per cent). In Butler, only 2512 (26 per cent) of 9651 residents are second-generation Australians and in Jindalee, only 220 of 1181 (18.6) per cent can say the same.
All up, 230,501 West Australians were born in the UK. Kiwis make up the second-biggest migrant group (70,730), followed by South Africans (35,323) whose numbers have almost doubled since the 2006 census.
The British High Commissioner to Australia, Paul Madden, said the nation had the largest number of UK expats, followed by the US and Spain. WA was, historically, the first port of call for most of them, including his own aunt.
"My mother's sister was a 'Ten Pound Pom' who settled in Freo in the '60s," he told PerthNow.
"The economic dynamism, the great climate and the outdoor lifestyle make it a really attractive place to live. These people-to-people links are one important part of the very close relationship between Britain and Australia."
Mindarie MP John Quigley believes the high concentration of Brits in his constituency has had a positive effect on the area.
"Contrary to what people say about whingeing Poms, my experience as a local representative is that they are a group which seldom have anything to complain about compared with my previous electorate of Innaloo," he said.
"They generally have a very positive attitude and are grateful to be living by the beach, in the land of milk and honey.
"I only have one complaint to make about them. When I go down to watch the Rugby World Cup or the cricket, I find I am the only one barracking for Australia. They all still barrack for England. I have had many an argument over a pint of Guinness. But apart from that I think it's great."
The 2011 census highlighted significant changes in Perth's ethnic and cultural mix from the 2006 census.
The number of Indian residents jumped from 14,096 to 29,918 and the number of Chinese to make their home here doubled from 8001 to 16,691.
There was an even bigger jump in migrants from the Philippines, from 6866 to 17,230.