Vacant dwellings in rural areas

Simone - Myth Buster

Simone has a rich background in human geography, demography and urban planning – a background that was useful in her previous roles in the Commonwealth and State Governments, and now as part of the forecast team at .id. From the Queensland coast to the southern suburbs of Perth, Simone produces population and dwelling forecasts that help local governments make informed decisions about future service and planning needs. She is a regular contributor to .id’s blog and has spoken at several conferences on how our cities and regions are changing. She is a big advocate of evidence-based planning and how Census and other data can inform this. Outside of work Simone is a keen traveller and photographer – interests that tie in well with her professional life and help her to understand “place”.

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3 Responses

  1. Charmaine says:

    An interesting article. Many small rural villages in the Southern Highlands of NSW (probably under your 200 limit for this story) have high numbers of weekenders. Mostly Sydney based residents who live part time in the area. These appear to be affluent people seeking the quiet, inclusive rural lifestyle that they miss in the City. Some are making plans to retire and live permanently or maintain the rural-city split.

  2. malcolm webster says:

    i am currently putting a book together of my artwork, landscapes and barns of Victoria over the last 50 years. During those 5 decades i have noticed that rural Victoria has fallen into deep malaise. Some big rural towns still kick along, just, but cross their outskirts, it becomes clear, something is seriously wrong; the great Australian rural character is being abandoned for the modern city slick, easy living, instantly gratifying lifestyle. A recent drive from Murchison to Euroa shocked me at the number of derelict and disheveled properties within sight of the road. In a different direction, a drive to Clunes showed the same, many shops in the main street empty. In other locations off the beaten track like Bolwarra, Stanley or Eldorado, no change has occurred since the sixties, when the odd T model Ford could still be found in a barn or a lane off the main street. In the extreme, Orroroo, SA, is a virtual ghost town, Woods point and many tiny towns like it in Victoria, not far behind. For me, i made good, cosy money, arriving there in an air conditioned modern car with a brush and a canvas, long after the pioneers of our great land were leaving.It is a heartrending and sorrowful sight to see the population deserting the land. I feel saddened at whats going on out there.The relentless Sun has driven every drop of blood and water and hope, out of the dust i fear, even the towns’ traditional pubs are empty any day you might peer through their windows, the decorative leadlights, a last saving face, to what was once a place of roaring trade, raucous laughter and land of plenty. Agriculture is now the domain of the John Deere combine. But passing Ritchies Auctions at Corio, bound for Torquay the vast acreage there, seen from the highway, was full of them, rows and rows of other farm machines, all going cheap. I could cry.

    • Andrew Hedge says:

      Thanks for your comment Malcolm. A quick search showed me your artwork, which shares the beauty you see in rural Victoria. I appreciate what you’re saying – I live in Melbourne but take a trip to Echuca to visit my wife’s family (one of the towns that is bucking the trend) and when you compare what $600k gets you in the bush vs within a one-hour commute of Melbourne – it makes you wonder why more people don’t take the plunge and go for the good life and the big verandah in the country. While the decline in the population of regional towns is certainly the trend, I have friends who would like to find their rural idyll as you did – hopefully the towns are as welcoming of the digital nomads as they were of your profession, as I’m not sure it’s a new generation of farmers (at least not on a commercial scale) who’ll turn the tide.

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