Coronavirus: Migrant numbers high in shuttered Melbourne suburbs

Melbourne’s lockdown suburbs ­almost all have high migrant numbers — though the countries of origin vary widely, from Europe to the Middle East and Asia.

A large apartment complex in Brunswick West, one of the Melbourne suburbs which go into lockdown on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

Melbourne’s lockdown suburbs ­almost all have high migrant numbers — though the countries of origin vary widely, from Europe to the Middle East and Asia.

As 300,000 people begin a month of suburban lockdown from Thursday, they will share a common frustration about not being able to go about daily lives.

Census data shows they share another characteristic: high migration. Most suburbs in the lockdown have a higher proportion of people born overseas than the ­national average of 33 per cent.

GRAPHIC: Demographic breakdown

St Albans in the outer northwest has 67.4 per cent of its population born overseas, with the top country of origin being Vietnam.

Nearby Kings Park has 60.6 per cent, also with Vietnam topping the list, and Travancore had 60.9 per cent, with China being the highest country of origin.

Almost four in five people in St Albans (78.8 per cent) had both parents born overseas.

Roxburgh Park, north of Broadmeadows, also had a high proportion of both parents born overseas at 75.4 per cent, with Iraq the highest country of origin.

Fawkner, north of the city but inside the ring road, has 54.8 per cent of its population born overseas, the most common country of birth being Italy. More than two in three residents of Fawkner (68.6 per cent) have both parents born overseas, with Italy again the top country of birth.

In Jacana, adjacent to Broadmeadows, over half the population (51.9 per cent) was born overseas, with India the top for births.

The census data also reveals differences in age, income and education. The median age of Travancore, in Melbourne’s inner north is 29, while at Donnybrook in the city’s far northern outskirts it is 47. Australia’s median age is 38.

In Keilor Park in the middle ring north of the city, there are more people aged 65-69 than any other age group (a cohort more vulnerable to COVID-19), but in Dallas in the outer north babies and toddlers dominate, with 0-4-year-olds most populous.

COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate on the basis of income: Keilor Lodge residents in the outer northwest take home a median income of $1896 a week; on the other side of the income spectrum is Broadmeadows, where the median weekly income is $900.