City of Maribyrnong
Encyclopedia
The City of Maribyrnong is a Local Government Area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
. It comprises the inner western suburbs between 5 and 10 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre
. It was formed in 1994 from the merger of the City of Footscray
and part of the City of Sunshine
.
According to Local Government Victoria, Maribyrnong has the second most ethnically diverse population in Victoria, with 40% of residents born outside Australia. At the 2006 Census, Maribyrnong had a population of 63,141.
The City of Maribyrnong is a place of diversity, opportunities and challenges. The level and type of development occurring over the past ten years, and likely to continue for the next ten to twenty years, is unique to inner Melbourne. Many of the City’s former industrial sites have been replaced by residential developments and for the first time in ten years we have witnessed population increases. This trend will continue and in the next twenty years we are expected to welcome an additional 16,000 residents.
The social character of the community is also changing. New residents are generally more educated and classified as higher income earners. The City also continues to attract new cultural groups. People are attracted by the close proximity to Melbourne CBD, period homes, public transport hubs, cultural diversity, and the natural environment of the Maribyrnong River
.
Key statistics:
, Western Health, Lonely Planet
, Highpoint Shopping Centre
, Western Bulldogs Football Club, Mobil Australia and Sugar Australia (CSR).
On average, 34% of the labour force has university qualifications, in some parts of the municipality the proportion is as high as 53%. The highest concentration of university qualified residents is in the Footscray, Seddon, Yarraville corridor.
has two principal campuses located in Footscray with a student population of around 15,000 and staff of almost 1,200. This represents the largest concentration of tertiary activity in Melbourne’s West. Victoria University is also Maribyrnong City Council’s largest employer, second only to Western Health.
service run by the council has four branches: Footscray, Highpoint Shopping Centre
, West Footscray, and Yarraville. Reflecting the multiculturalism
of the community, the library service has a large amount of material in languages other than English.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It comprises the inner western suburbs between 5 and 10 kilometres from the Melbourne city centre
Melbourne city centre
Melbourne City Centre is an area of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is not to be confused with the larger local government area of the City of Melbourne...
. It was formed in 1994 from the merger of the City of Footscray
City of Footscray
The City of Footscray was a Local Government Area located about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1859 until 1994.-History:...
and part of the City of Sunshine
City of Sunshine
The City of Sunshine was a Local Government Area located about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994.-History:...
.
According to Local Government Victoria, Maribyrnong has the second most ethnically diverse population in Victoria, with 40% of residents born outside Australia. At the 2006 Census, Maribyrnong had a population of 63,141.
The City of Maribyrnong is a place of diversity, opportunities and challenges. The level and type of development occurring over the past ten years, and likely to continue for the next ten to twenty years, is unique to inner Melbourne. Many of the City’s former industrial sites have been replaced by residential developments and for the first time in ten years we have witnessed population increases. This trend will continue and in the next twenty years we are expected to welcome an additional 16,000 residents.
The social character of the community is also changing. New residents are generally more educated and classified as higher income earners. The City also continues to attract new cultural groups. People are attracted by the close proximity to Melbourne CBD, period homes, public transport hubs, cultural diversity, and the natural environment of the Maribyrnong River
Maribyrnong river
The Maribyrnong River rises about 50 km north of Melbourne, Victoria , near Mount Macedon. It flows generally southward and combines with the Yarra River to flow into Port Phillip....
.
Wards and Councillors
- Ironbark - Cr Sarah Carter (Mayor 2010-11) (First elected 2008) - Independent
- Sheoak - Cr Martin Zakharov (Deputy Mayor 2010-11) (First elected 2008) - Labor
- Bluestone - Cr Catherine Cumming (First elected 1997) - Independent
- River - Cr Dina Lynch (First elected 2005) - Independent
- Saltwater - Cr John Cumming (First elected 2008) - Labor
- Stony Creek - Cr Sel Sanli (First elected 2007) - Labor. *The VEC alleged Sanli breached the Electoral Act in 2009, but he refused to be interviewed by the commission.
- Wattle - Cr Michael Clarke (First elected 2005) - Labor
Suburbs
- BraybrookBraybrook, VictoriaBraybrook is a suburb 9 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Braybrook had a population of 6940....
- FootscrayFootscray, VictoriaFootscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
- KingsvilleKingsville, VictoriaKingsville is a suburb 9 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Kingsville had a population of 3350....
- MaidstoneMaidstone, VictoriaMaidstone is a suburb 8 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Maidstone had a population of 6050....
- MaribyrnongMaribyrnong, VictoriaMaribyrnong is a suburb 8 km north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong, part of River Ward. At the 2006 Census, Maribyrnong had a population of 8242....
- SeddonSeddon, VictoriaSeddon is a suburb 7 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia lying between Footscray and Yarraville. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Seddon had a population of 4651...
- TottenhamTottenham, VictoriaTottenham is a suburb west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong.Tottenham is mostly an industrial suburb, with the Olex Cable manufacturing facility one of the many industrial businesses located in Tottenham....
- West FootscrayWest Footscray, VictoriaWest Footscray is a suburb 7 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, West Footscray had a population of 9776.-Medicine:...
- YarravilleYarraville, VictoriaYarraville is a suburb 6 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Yarraville had a population of 12,726....
Community Snapshot
Figures below are drawn from 2006 Census unless otherwise stated. For detailed demographics visit the City of Maribyrnong Community Profile.- Population is 69,825 (ABS estimate, June 2008)
- 68% of all residents are aged 18–64 (4% above Melbourne average)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents increased by 9.6% since 2001 to 262 (0.4%) - slightly smaller than the Victorian average - with the highest concentration (68 persons or 1.0%) in Braybrook
- 24,487 (38.9%) residents were born overseas compared with 23,705 (39.9%) in 2001 and 25, 945 (44%) in 1996 - a small but steady decline – while averages remain higher than the Victorian and the Melbourne Statistical Divisions
- 21,535 (87.9%) residents born overseas were from non-English speaking countries - a small increase (.8%) since 2001
- 43% of residents spoke a language other than English (top languages: Vietnamese, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Macedonian)
- One in five overseas born persons (24%) do not speak English well or at all
- Indian born population increased by 165% and Chinese born increased by 70% in the past five years
- The City rates 3rd on SEIFA index of disadvantage (after Dandenong and Brimbank) - Braybrook is most disadvantaged while Maribyrnong is most advantaged
- Unemployment is high at 6.9% (December, 2008) compared to Greater Melbourne which averages 5.4%
- Employed residents number 28,246 - 18% work and live here
- 54% of households have no internet connection
- There is a large proportion (28.1%) of lone person households
- Average weekly household income is $932; (30.3% of men and 40.7% of women earn between $1–$400 per week while12.4% of women and 20.1% of men earn more than $1000 per week)
- 35% of all households rent either public or private accommodation
- 22.1% of households spend 30% or more of gross household income on rent or mortgage payments
- The median house price was $500,000 (compared to Western region $300,00) and the median apartment price was $350,00 (compared to $250,00 Western region)
- 24.4% of residents experience transport limitations
- 7.1% of residents experience food insecurity (i.e. not having access at all times to enough food for an active and healthy life).
Emerging Cultural Groups
Between 2003 and 2008, the City received a total of 4,769 new arrivals. The majority arrived as skilled migrants (46%), followed by family migration (33%), and humanitarian entrants (21%).Key statistics:
- A large proportion of arrivals under humanitarian migration arrived with low to very poor English language skills
- The majority of new arrivals were in the 20-29 year age bracket, with the majority male
- Large percentages are new arrivals from India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan are settling through skilled migration stream
- Over 90% of new arrivals from Burma and Sudan arrived in the City as humanitarian migrants
- Family migration is significant from Vietnam and the United Kingdom, with persons settling in communities
Business
The City of Maribyrnong is a dynamic economic entity. There are approximately 5,392 businesses employing in excess of 35,000 people, yet the resident workforce is only around 28,246. Manufacturing was the largest employer of Maribyrnong residents with 3,451 employees, followed by retail with 2,668, health care 2,576; scientific and technical services 2,185 and education with 2,145. Maribyrnong’s key employers include Victoria UniversityVictoria University, Australia
Victoria University is a multi-sector tertiary institution based in Melbourne, Australia with 10 campuses.VU offers qualifications in higher education, vocational education , and short courses...
, Western Health, Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
, Highpoint Shopping Centre
Highpoint Shopping Centre
Highpoint Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre located in Maribyrnong, Victoria, in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The centre has over 400 stores including a four-level Myer department store, Target, Big W, Harris Scarfe, Safeway supermarket, Best and Less, Rebel...
, Western Bulldogs Football Club, Mobil Australia and Sugar Australia (CSR).
On average, 34% of the labour force has university qualifications, in some parts of the municipality the proportion is as high as 53%. The highest concentration of university qualified residents is in the Footscray, Seddon, Yarraville corridor.
Tertiary
Victoria UniversityVictoria University, Australia
Victoria University is a multi-sector tertiary institution based in Melbourne, Australia with 10 campuses.VU offers qualifications in higher education, vocational education , and short courses...
has two principal campuses located in Footscray with a student population of around 15,000 and staff of almost 1,200. This represents the largest concentration of tertiary activity in Melbourne’s West. Victoria University is also Maribyrnong City Council’s largest employer, second only to Western Health.
Secondary
Maribyrnong’s five secondary schools employ approximately 530 staff and cater for over 4000 students. These figures are set to increase as Maribyrnong Secondary College completes its transformation into Victoria’s first public elite sports school.Libraries
The libraryLibrary
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
service run by the council has four branches: Footscray, Highpoint Shopping Centre
Highpoint Shopping Centre
Highpoint Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre located in Maribyrnong, Victoria, in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The centre has over 400 stores including a four-level Myer department store, Target, Big W, Harris Scarfe, Safeway supermarket, Best and Less, Rebel...
, West Footscray, and Yarraville. Reflecting the multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
of the community, the library service has a large amount of material in languages other than English.