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Balwyn,
Victoria 3103
From Wikipedia.
Balwyn is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east from
Melbourne's central
business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of
Boroondara. At the 2006
Census, Balwyn had a population of 15,312.
Named after a farm established on the hill overlooking
Canterbury Gardens, it means home of the vine. The
south west part of the suburb is known as Deepdene.
Balwyn in the north is separated from Balwyn
North by Belmore Road, is bounded in the west by
Burke Road, in the south by an irregular line along Mont
Albert Road, Northcote Avenue and Whitehorse Road, and in the
east by a line some distance to the east of Union Road.
History
Balwyn Post Office first opened on
26 August 1874 in a rural area, closed in 1894, then reopened
in 1920. [4]The suburb developed in the post WWII
boom and was populated by a mixture of professional and
working class families, although it is now primarily
professional and mercantile, this being the demographic that
can afford the higher real estate prices. Consequently, higher
real estate prices have formed a prominent part of the
psycho-social makeup of Balwyn's inhabitants. The initial boom
occurred along the Whitehorse Road tramline, which defined the
working class Deepdene factory (such as the Wade handbag and
the Jarvis-Walker fishing rod factories) and shop strip and
the Balwyn shops around the intersection with Burke Road.
South of the tramline was generally elite while the slopes
down to the north was populated by aspiring middle classes,
workers and frugal professionals such as teachers and bank
managers. With Deepdene State School at its western
extreme, it drew a mixed student population that contrasted
with the student population of Balwyn
High School located in the area that became known
as North
Balwyn, which was populated later than the rest of
the suburb by a higher socio-economic group.
Apart from the significant religious establishments of the
suburb, local almost village churches sprang up with the boom
of young people post war, one example of which was the
Deepdene Methodist Church. Now defunct, the church was a
thriving focus for young people's fellowship, a scout troop,
fundraising as well as mothers' and other groups that defined
a viable neighbourhood. In addition to its social function in
nurturing the development of young people given the
opportunities of a scholastically elite school, an ever
expanding employment market and the excellent public health
regime of the era, the church was adopted by the Rev Dr A. H.
Wood upon his retirement as Principal of the Methodist Ladies' College in Kew.
Wood made an indelible contribution to the suburb through this
role, and the effect remains evident in the 2000s in the lives
of people he influenced at that time.
Today
Balwyn is also home to the exquisite Maranoa Gardens, a native garden
developed by citizens. The suburb has been immortalised by the
Skyhooks single named after the
suburb, 'Balwyn Calling', while The Age
newspaper described the suburb as "arguably Melbourne's most
loved" whilst conceding "Balwyn has never, and will never, be
called "a vibrant, exciting and influential suburb" .
Sport
The suburb has an Australian Rules football team, The
Balwyn Tigers, competing in the Eastern Football League.
2008
economic crisis
Because of the economic crisis of 2008, house prices
in Melbourne's private school belt were hammered in the second
half of 2008. The price of an average house in Balwyn dived
21.6 per cent to $956,000 over the three months to the end of
December 2008. By comparison, median house prices across all
Melbourne suburbs fell by 9.7 per cent in the year ending
2008.
Falling share prices forced many wealthy home owners in
Melbourne's prestigious suburbs to sell their homes to cover
share margin
calls or because they had lost their jobs in the
finance and banking sectors. According to one analyst,
property prices in Melbourne's wealthy inner-city suburbs tend
to be very closely aligned to the state of global and domestic
share markets.[
Notable
residents
Source Wikipedia
|
Australian Bureau of Statistics
| PERSON CHARACTERISTICS |
| (Place of usual residence) |
|
PERSON CHARACTERISTICS  |
Selected
Region |
% of total persons in
Region |
Australia |
% of total persons in
Australia |
|
| Total persons (excluding overseas visitors) |
15,312 |
- |
19,855,288 |
- |
| Males |
7,145 |
46.7% |
9,799,252 |
49.4% |
| Females |
8,167 |
53.3% |
10,056,036 |
50.6% |
| Indigenous persons (comprises Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander) |
8 |
0.1% |
455,031 |
2.3% |
In the 2006 Census (held on 8th
August 2006), there were 15,312 persons usually resident in
Balwyn (Suburb): 46.7% were males and 53.3% were females. Of
the total population in Balwyn (Suburb) 0.1% were Indigenous
persons, compared with 2.3% Indigenous persons in
Australia. |
|
|
|
| AGE
|
Selected
Region |
% of total persons in
Region |
Australia |
% of total persons in
Australia |
|
| Age groups: |
 |
| 0-4 years |
677 |
4.4% |
1,260,405 |
6.3% |
| 5-14 years |
2,132 |
13.9% |
2,676,807 |
13.5% |
| 15-24 years |
2,344 |
15.3% |
2,704,276 |
13.6% |
| 25-54 years |
5,635 |
36.8% |
8,376,751 |
42.2% |
| 55-64 years |
1,775 |
11.6% |
2,192,675 |
11.0% |
| 65 years and over |
2,750 |
18.0% |
2,644,374 |
13.3% |
|
|
| Median age of persons |
41 |
- |
37 |
- |
In the 2006 Census 18.3% of the
population usually resident in Balwyn (Suburb) were children
aged between 0-14 years, and 29.6% were persons aged 55 years
and over. The median age of persons in Balwyn (Suburb) was 41
years, compared with 37 years for persons in Australia. |
|
|
|
| SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS |
Selected
Region |
% of total persons in
Region |
Australia |
% of total persons in
Australia |
|
| Australian citizenship |
13,240 |
86.5% |
17,095,569 |
86.1% |
| Persons born overseas |
4,562 |
29.8% |
4,416,037 |
22.2% |
| Overseas visitors (excluded from all other
classifications) |
152 |
1.0% |
206,358 |
1.0% |
In the 2006 Census, 86.5% of
persons usually resident in Balwyn (Suburb) were Australian
citizens, 29.8% were born overseas and 1.0% were overseas
visitors. |
|
|
|
| COUNTRY OF BIRTH |
|
| MAIN RESPONSES IN SELECTED REGION |
Selected
Region |
% of total persons in
Region |
Australia |
% of total persons in
Australia |
|
| Australia |
10,090 |
65.9% |
14,072,944 |
70.9% |
| China |
756 |
4.9% |
206,591 |
1.0% |
| England |
526 |
3.4% |
856,939 |
4.3% |
| Malaysia |
406 |
2.7% |
92,337 |
0.5% |
| Hong Kong |
308 |
2.0% |
71,802 |
0.4% |
| New Zealand |
214 |
1.4% |
389,463 |
2.0% |
In the 2006 Census, 65.9% of
persons usually resident in Balwyn (Suburb) stated they were
born in Australia. Other common responses within Balwyn
(Suburb) were: China 4.9%, England 3.4%, Malaysia 2.7%, Hong
Kong 2.0% and New Zealand 1.4%. |
|
|
|
| LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME |
|
| MAIN RESPONSES IN SELECTED
REGION |
Selected
Region |
% of total persons in
Region |
Australia |
% of total persons in
Australia |
|
| English only spoken at home |
10,918 |
71.3% |
15,581,333 |
78.5% |
| Mandarin |
951 |
6.2% |
220,601 |
1.1% |
| Cantonese |
868 |
5.7% |
244,553 |
1.2% |
| Greek |
479 |
3.1% |
252,220 |
1.3% |
| Italian |
303 |
2.0% |
316,890 |
1.6% |
| Vietnamese |
136 |
0.9% |
194,855 |
1.0% |
In the 2006 Census, English was
stated as the only language spoken at home by 71.3% of persons
usually resident in Balwyn (Suburb). The most common languages
other than English spoken at home were: Mandarin 6.2%,
Cantonese 5.7%, Greek 3.1%, Italian 2.0% and Vietnamese
0.9%. |
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|
|
| RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION |
|
| MAIN RESPONSES IN SELECTED
REGION |
Selected
Region |
% of total persons in
Region |
Australia |
% of total persons in
Australia |
|
| Catholic |
3,915 |
25.6% |
5,126,882 |
25.8% |
| No Religion |
3,289 |
21.5% |
3,706,557 |
18.7% |
| Anglican |
2,318 |
15.1% |
3,718,248 |
18.7% |
| Uniting Church |
1,102 |
7.2% |
1,135,422 |
5.7% |
| Eastern Orthodox |
706 |
4.6% |
544,165 |
2.7% |
In the 2006 Census, the most
common responses for religious affiliation for persons usually
resident in Balwyn (Suburb) were Catholic 25.6%, No Religion
21.5%, Anglican 15.1%, Uniting Church 7.2% and Eastern
Orthodox 4.6%. |
|
|
|
| MARITAL STATUS (Population aged 15 years and
over) |
Selected
Region |
% of persons aged 15
years and over in Region |
Australia |
% of persons aged 15
years and over in Australia |
|
| Married |
6,737 |
53.9% |
7,900,684 |
49.6% |
| Never married |
3,873 |
31.0% |
5,278,600 |
33.2% |
| Separated or divorced |
897 |
7.2% |
1,801,979 |
11.3% |
| Widowed |
998 |
8.0% |
936,813 |
5.9% |
In the 2006 Census, 53.9% of
persons aged 15 years and over usually resident in Balwyn
(Suburb) were married, 31.0% never married, 7.2% separated or
divorced and 8.0% widowed. |
|
|
|
| LABOUR FORCE (Population aged 15 years and
over) |
Selected
Region |
% of persons in the
labour force in Region |
Australia |
% of persons in the
labour force in Australia |
|
| Total labour force (includes employed and
unemployed persons) |
7,267 |
- |
9,607,987 |
- |
| Employed full-time |
4,153 |
57.1% |
5,827,432 |
60.7% |
| Employed part-time |
2,396 |
33.0% |
2,685,193 |
27.9% |
| Employed away from work |
229 |
3.2% |
337,991 |
3.5% |
| Employed hours not stated |
188 |
2.6% |
253,567 |
2.6% |
| Unemployed |
301 |
4.1% |
503,804 |
5.2% |
| Not in the labour force |
4,727 |
- |
5,271,116 |
- |
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