Isn’t Brighton East a fascinating suburb? Brighton East is located 12 km south-east of Melbourne’s Central Business District. It recorded a population of 16757 at the 2021 census.
Brighton East is known for its spacious parklands. Dendy Park, Hurlingham Park and Landcox Park are notable. Dendy Park is one of Victoria’s 10 biggest parks.
A massacre of at least 60 Bunurong people is believed to have occurred in the early 1830s. It took place on the site of present-day Hurlingham Park and Landcox Park. The place was known as Warrowen. Warrowen means place of sorrow or incessant weeping. Early settlers knew about it. It was commonplace information in early Melbourne history.
Brighton East is home to several educational institutions. St Finbar’s Primary School is a Catholic school. Brighton Secondary College is also here. Haileybury College is another option. Gardenvale Primary School and St Leonard’s College are located in Brighton East too. Bentleigh West Primary School is near Brighton East.
East Brighton United Football Club calls Dendy Park home. It is known locally as The Vampires. Brighton Soccer Club is the largest Soccer Club in Victoria. Brighton District Cricket Club and Dendy Park Tennis Club are also based at Dendy Park. East Brighton Vampires Football Club competes in the Moorabbin Saints Football League. Brighton Union Cricket Club competes in the South East Cricket Association. They are based at Hurlingham Park. Brighton Bowls Club is situated on the northeastern boundary of Dendy Park.
McLaren Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri was born and raised in Brighton East.
In 2016, Brighton East had a population of 15998 people. 47.4% were male and 52.6% were female. Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.1% of the population. The median age was 44 years. Children aged 0 to 14 years made up 19.9% of the population. People aged 65 years and over made up 21.1%.
Of people aged 15 years and over, 54.8% were married. 9.2% were either divorced or separated. 54.9% of people were in a registered marriage. 7.1% were in a de facto marriage.
In Brighton East, 32.1% of people were attending an educational institution. 32.2% were in primary school. 24.2% were in secondary school. 18.4% were in a tertiary or technical institution. 15.6% of people completed Year 12. 7.5% completed a Certificate III or IV. 10.5% completed an Advanced Diploma or Diploma.
The most common ancestries were English at 24.0% and Australian at 19.8%. Irish came in at 8.4% and Scottish at 7.4%. Italian was 4.1%. 67.3% of people were born in Australia. Other common countries of birth were England 4.8% and China 2.6%. South Africa was 1.7%. New Zealand came in at 1.6% and Poland at 1.1%. 42.3% of people had both parents born in Australia. 38.2% of people had both parents born overseas.
The most common responses for religion were No Religion at 31.1% and Catholic at 22.3%. Anglican was 12.8%. Judaism was 8.8%. 75.7% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin at 2.9% and Greek at 2.9%. Russian was 2.2%. Italian was 1.7% and Hebrew was 1.1%.
There were 7647 people in the labour force. 55.8% were employed full time. 34.9% were employed part-time. 5.2% were unemployed. The most common occupations included Professionals at 34.8% and Managers at 22.0%. Clerical and Administrative Workers were 12.9%. Sales Workers were 9.8%. Community and Personal Service Workers were 8.1%. The most common industries of employment included Computer System Design and Related Services at 3.8%. Hospitals came in at 3.7%. Accounting Services was 2.8%.
The median weekly personal income was 837 dollars. The median weekly family income was 2698 dollars. The median weekly household income was 2065 dollars. 60.1% of people travelled to work by car as a driver. 8.6% used the train. 7.8% worked at home.
In Brighton East, 73.2% of people did unpaid domestic work. 31.8% cared for children. 12.5% assisted people with a disability. 23.3% did voluntary work.
54.5% of families were couple families with children. 32.4% were couple families without children. 12.0% were one parent families.
65.8% of occupied private dwellings were separate houses. 26.1% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses. 7.6% were flats or apartments. 41.4% of dwellings were owned outright. 33.1% were owned with a mortgage. 19.6% were rented. 73.3% of households were family households. 25.0% were single person households.
88.0% of households had internet access. Brighton East offers a blend of history, community and modern living.