INSIDE THIS EDITION… SCHOOL TURNS 120, PAGE 12
1 - 14 JULY, 2022
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BELLARINE’S NUMBER ONE NEWSPAPER
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Stand up, show up Next week is NAIDOC week when Australians celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Barwon Coast is encouraging Bellarine Peninsula residents to Get up, Stand up and Show up to acknowledge and support our local indigenous community, the Wadawurrung people. There will be a ceremony on Monday July 4 at 18W. ■ Story:
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Kaylen, Barwon Coast chief executive Gary McPike, Oliver, Wadawurrung woman Danae Coots, Hazel and Alex will be celebrating NAIDOC week on the Bellarine. (Ivan Kemp) 287709_13
Grove population boom By Justin Flynn Ocean Grove’s population has increased by more than 5000 people during the past decade, according to Census figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The town’s population in August 2021 was 17,714, an increase from 12,555 in 2011 and 14,165 in 2016. The population has almost doubled in the last 20 years – in 2001 it was 9992. The figures released show there are far fewer unoccupied dwellings in Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads compared to five years ago. About one in five dwellings in Ocean Grove
remain unoccupied for most of the year, according to the 2021 Census. In 2016, 27.9 per cent of dwellings were unoccupied, and in 2021 the figure fell to 21 per cent. It was even more evident in Barwon Heads. The 2016 Census showed 34.7 per cent of dwellings in the town remained unoccupied for the majority of the year. By 2021, that figure fell to 25.6 per cent. Barwon Heads’ population has increased from 4332 people 10 years ago to 5459 in 2021. Hodges Real Estate Ocean Grove director Jason Burmistrow said the decrease in the amount of unoccupied dwellings in both towns
could be attributed to the pandemic and a population shift to the coast. “A lot of homes that have sold over the last couple of years during COVID times have been people’s holiday homes,” he said. “They have sold out or moved into it with workplace flexibility. “Over the last two years there hasn’t been a large portion of holiday home buyers in the market. Most of the homes are getting sold to people who want to occupy. “A lot of people saw it as an opportunity to cash out a holiday home and make some good money. “The buyers that we’ve had over the last two
years have sold their home in Melbourne or other regional parts and they’re cashed up and relocated here permanently.” The migration to the Bellarine has also meant bad news for renters. Mr Burmistrow said the current rental and sales markets had softened recently. “When you’re looking over the last year or two there’s been a huge demand for rental properties and we’ve found a lot of those homes did get snapped by people relocating,” he said.
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