My Local Area

I am an individual that is incredibly vocal about my love for my local area, St. Ives. At an age where my friends are seeking social opportunities and a desire to find the best ‘night-life hot-spots’, they cannot help but complain that St. Ives falls short in this department. However, I truly have a deep appreciation for my local area and have been able to establish a very strong connection to it in the short time I have lived there.

I immigrated to Sydney, Australia with my family at the beginning of 2009. The move was most certainly not an easy one and beyond all the sacrifices we made as a family to complete this move, above all, transitioning into a new school and a new community at the age of sixteen was no easy feat. People often attribute the grief a family experiences when immigrating, to almost that of the grief experienced with a death. It was no secret amongst the members of my family that we were all scared about not knowing where we belonged in the St. Ives community and it took a considerable amount of months for that stress and insecurity to lessen. Now two and half years later, I have more love for my community in St. Ives than I ever remember experiencing in Johannesburg. The question is why?

Physically, St. Ives is a suburb with an area of 17.9km² located on Sydney’s Upper-North Shore. It is based in the Ku-ring-gai municipality and is well-known for its surrounding bush lands and greenery, as well as its marginally hilly terrain. As per the 2006 census data, structurally it is characterised by mostly semi-detached housing with two or more storeys making up 252 of the 4201 dwellings in the area. This is followed closely behind by flat/unit/apartment style living making up a further 222 dwellings (Refer to Graph 2006.5). Such high-rise developments have become predominant around the St. Ives area, much to the community’s dismay. 

When compared to the 2001 census data, it is evident that there has been a considerable amount of development in regards to single dwellings as its number increased from 195 (Refer to Graph 2001.5) to 252. This indicates that 57 new houses were built from 2001-2006 in St. Ives- a noteworthy achievement for 5 years. 

Image 1. High Rise Development in St. Ives
Aronson, S 2011

St. Ives has a mix of both private and public schools, a private school being Masada College which I attended for Year 11 and Year 12 of high school. Interestingly, as viewed from the 2006 census data, 740 students attended a government primary school, whilst 437 students attended private schools (Refer to Graph 2006.4). However, when considering secondary/high school education, the number of students attending a government high school significantly decreased to 395 students whilst private school numbers almost doubled to 807 students (Refer to Graph 2006.4) One can assume that when it comes to education, students attend private schools for secondary education in the hope that the knowledge and skills they receive there will be better than that of a public school. This trend is more evident in regards to high school, as education becomes more of a serious affair when wanting to strive for a high ATAR in order to enter into the field of one's choice. 

When considering the 2001 census data, it is evident that a great deal of change had not occurred in regards to the trend of government versus private schooling from primary education to high school. However, since 2001 there has been a considerable increase in numbers for both types of schooling, particularly with private, high school attendance raising from 666 in 2001 (Refer to Graph 2001.4) to 807 in 2006. This may be attributed to rising immigration numbers for Australia, as evident by New South Wales' growth rate being 1.7% a year as per 2009 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009). 

Population Density Map of St. Ives
ABS 2008, 2006 Census Map Stats: St. Ives

St. Ives is attributed to being culturally diverse with quite a wide range of religious and ancestral backgrounds. As a Jew, community forms a integral part of my religion and that played a significant part in my feeling of belonging to my area. There is a large Jewish community found in St. Ives and its surrounding suburbs. As per both the 2001 and 2006 data, Judaism takes on the third most dominant religion in the St. Ives area with 1 713 Jews recorded living in St. Ives in 2001 to 1 963 in 2006. St. Ives is a very popular suburb for Jewish families as you have access to a private Jewish day school, Masada College, that is in close proximity to one's home, as well as access to two synagogues in the area. 

Image of Masada College - Front Entrance
Aronson S, 2011

Furthermore, Jewish families are naturally dependant on one another as the community is very close-knit and therefore offer each other means of support and care.With the South African contingent being the largest immigrant group in St. Ives, having increased from 1 566 persons in 2001 (Refer to Graph 2001.2) to 1 694 (Refer to Graph 2006.2) in 2006, it is evident that immigrants may move to a particular area where they know a strong support system is established to assist them based on a common background.

'Field of Study' trends for St. Ives have displayed that for 2001 and 2006 data, Management and Commerce have been the most popular field of choice, with 1 986 qualifying in 2001 and 2 178 qualifying in 2006. Architecture and Building proved to have a very small contingent of qualifying professionals, with 217 persons in 2001 and 212 in 2006. Due to Management and Commerce being the prevailing profession, one may be interested in it due to the high number of peers or family members within the community that have chosen it. However, though one may be swayed but what others before you have chosen, I believe this trend is rather based on individual choice than choosing a profession particular to your suburb. 

In relation to my field of study, I do feel I lack a sense of belonging amongst my friends that have chosen law or commerce based subjects. However, it has provided me with the opportunity to find a sense a belonging amongst other people that I may not have met should I have chosen to do a different degree. That has given me the opportunity to branch out of my own personal 'social bubble' and learn from and about people from all over Sydney. 

Finally, it is evident to see that there is a wide expanse of persons of all ages living in St. Ives. In 2001, the largest age group in St. Ives was children aged 10-14 years, making up 1 139 persons of the total 14 046 suburb population. (Refer to Graph 2001.1) This in conjunction with the number of single dwelling homes, amends to the fact that St. Ives is a 'family' suburb. The second largest group for 2001 was persons aged 40-44 (Refer to Graph 2001.1)- most likely the '10-14 years' group parents. In 2006, the largest age group was 15-19 years, contributing 1 186 persons to the overall population total of 14 210 (Refer to Graph 2006.1). This is followed closely by the '45-49 years' group who make up 1 230 people (Again, most likely the parents of the '15-19 years' age group. This further solidifies that St. Ives is inhabited by families and their  numbers are continually increasing. This may be attributed to St. Ives open green spaces, educational opportunities and well-formed and supportive communities. 

                                               

Some key places for me within St. Ives are my home, my school, my favourite coffee shop and my favourite restaurant. Naturally my home is most important to me. It is place where I experience a true sense of security, warmth and acceptance. My house is particularly special to me because it is the first house my family has experienced calling home post our immigration. It is a place of sanctity and safety and provides me with comfort and privacy. It was my original connection to the Australian landscape. Having a home that belonged to us, provided us with stability and made us feel a part of our neighbourhood and St. Ives as a whole. 

I have a great love for my school, Masada College. Though integrating into a new school at such a late age was incredibly difficult in the beginning, I left school, having established a very strong friendship group and having gained an incredible amount of knowledge and skill from teachers that were all nurturing, caring and involved. I am most grateful to my school for the opportunities it gave me such as being inducted as a prefect. Being a part of that innovative and exciting group attributed to my sense of belonging amongst my peers that I worked closely with, as well as teachers that were involved with our roles and duties. It provided me with the opportunity to contribute to the betterment of my school and believe I was making a positive difference. 

My favourite coffee shop, Max Brenner and favourite restaurant, Tenka Sushi are both important social spots for my friends and I. When there, I have the chance to spend time with my friends, talk about the happenings in our daily lives and assist in advice where possible. This re-affirms my sense of belonging with my friendship group; something that has become very important now that we are all in our own respective university courses. The places have become our unspoken favourites and represent somewhere that we know we can be open and honest. 

Image of Max Brenner Chocolate Bar
Aronson S, 2011

I questioned as to why I have such a strong love for St. Ives. With the exception of my first few months in Sydney, I know that it is due to the fact that I feel a complete sense of belonging and acceptance within my local area. I feel that St. Ives only downfall is that it lacks social opportunities for older teenagers and young adults. However, I personally feel that the area's shortcomings are its exception, not its rule. St. Ives is a suburb that I believe I would want to bring my children up in and that demonstrates that my relationship with the suburb is one that will last for many a year to come.