Rahul Sharma (Editor)

City of Maribyrnong

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Population
  
76,703 (2012)

State electorate(s)
  
Footscray Williamstown

Area
  
31.2 km²

Council seat
  
Footscray

Established
  
1994

Website
  
City of Maribyrnong

Founded
  
1994

Team
  
Western Bulldogs


Mayor
  
Cr Catherine Cumming (2016–17)

Region
  
West Metropolitan Melbourne

University
  
Victoria University, Australia

Federal divisions
  
Division of Gellibrand, Division of Maribyrnong

Points of interest
  
Pipemakers Park, Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne's Living Museum, Cruickshank Park, Maribyrnong Parkrun

The City of Maribyrnong is a local government area within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, 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 parts of the City of Sunshine. At the 2011 Census, Maribyrnong had a population of 71,635. The Estimated Residential Population at 30 June 2012 was 76,703.

Contents

Map of Maribyrnong, VIC, Australia

According to Local Government Victoria, Maribyrnong has the second most ethnically diverse population in Victoria, with 40% of residents born outside Australia.

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 Many of the City's former industrial sites have been replaced by residential developments and for the first time in ten years the City have witnessed population increases. This trend will continue and in the next twenty years Maribyrnong is 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.

Suburbs

  • Braybrook
  • Footscray
  • Kingsville
  • Maidstone
  • Maribyrnong
  • Seddon
  • Tottenham
  • West Footscray
  • Yarraville

    • Community snapshot

    Figures below are drawn from the 2011 Census unless otherwise stated. For detailed demographics visit the City of Maribyrnong Community Profile.

    Population and Cultural Diversity

  • The Estimated Residential Population at 30 June 2012 was 76,703
  • There were 323 people (0.5%) who identified as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • 40% of our population were born overseas and 43% speak a language other than English
  • Largest language groups include Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Greek, Italian and Spanish
  • 9.9% of the population do not speak English well or at all

    • Social and Economic Disadvantage

  • Braybrook and the City of Maribyrnong are the 4th most disadvantaged suburb and municipality respectively, in the metropolitan area on the SEIFA index of disadvantage
  • The unemployment rate is relatively high. As of the September 2012 quarter, the unemployment rate was 7.9% for the City compared to the Melbourne average of 5.5%, and the national average of 5.2%.
  • Unemployment is highest in Braybrook which has an unemployment rate of 15%

    • Households and Housing

  • Average household size is 2.4 people
  • Average weekly household income is $1,258
  • 25% of households are couples with children
  • 26% of households are couples without children
  • 25% of households are lone person
  • 70.6% of households have an internet connection
  • 35.5% of all households are renting (both public and private)
  • Median weekly rent was $280 compared to $300 for Greater Melbourne
  • The median monthly housing loan repayment was $2,167 compared to $1,810 for Greater Melbourne

    • Health and Wellbeing

  • Top three chronic preventable lifestyle diseases for females are heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression
  • For males, the top three diseases are heart disease, lung cancer and stroke
  • Females experience the poorest health in the Western Region sub-region (with a disease burden rate of 134.9 disability adjusted life years per 1,000)
  • Males have the lowest life expectancy in Victoria (74.8 years)
  • Approximately 1 in 5 people have a disability
  • 7.1% of persons have experienced food insecurity (not having access 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.
  • A large percentage of new arrivals are from India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan and are settling through the 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 University, Western Health, Lonely Planet, Highpoint Shopping Centre, Western Bulldogs, 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 University 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 library service run by the Council has five branches: Footscray, Maribyrnong at Highpoint Shopping Centre, West Footscray, Yarraville and Braybrook (recently opened in March 2015). Reflecting the multiculturalism of the community, the library service has a large amount of material in languages other than English. A new branch library at the Bradmill Precinct is planned to replace the current Yarraville Library.

    References

    City of Maribyrnong Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA