freds11

I bought my house in Maylands 4 years ago, and had been renting in the area on-and-off for 6 years prior to that. The reviews here are as bipolar as the suburb itself, they touch on the good and the bad, the horrendous and the pristine beauty and struggle to reconcile it all together. I will try and break down my observations into in-depth distinct categories - this bizarre place deserves at least that. After all this is the suburb that Lonely Planet rated as being one of the coolest places to live in Australia, and in the same breathe it's a place some of Perth's poorest citizens would refuse to move (or move back) to.

I will start things off with the negatives and end with the positives - the Ugly, the Bad, the Good and the Sublime.

The Ugly

The worst parts of Maylands can be captured in the homelessness, poverty and other social issues that permeate the area. I don't mention the word 'crime', because despite reputation Maylands presently sits in the middle according to current local crime statistics, it's worse than some and a lot better than others. In fact, in terms of inner-city suburbs Maylands is significantly safer than Perth, East Perth, Northbridge, Highgate, Burswood, Rivervale, Belmont and Redcliffe - suburbs that have a similar proximity to the city.

Maylands does experience a significant homelessness issue however, with many people moving from remote and inner city areas to access emergency food, accommodation and medical facilities close-by. Violence and drug-use is rife, however the primary difference between other areas is that the violence is typically intra-familial (amongst themselves) as opposed to targeted externally (against innocent bystanders), this is evidenced by crime stats. With that said, sensible residents would be careful in walking around certain areas at night, such as walking home from the train station past a certain hour.

Much of this homelessness is observed between the train station, 8th ave, the RISE and Coles/IGA Shops. In relation to the RISE, I'm aware of some people disbanding a mixed-netball team after feeling unsafe walking back to their cars after a game - this is an incredible disappointment for an area trying to promote a strong sense of community.

Next to homelessness, the next great issue are the decaying apartment buildings close to Guildford Rd and Central Maylands. Not everyone knows the full story around this however; while some of these buildings are just 'cheap and old' (and attract social issues from charging low-rent) there are also some other buildings that are neither public nor private - they were created by Len Buckeridge through BGC as a means to provide low-cost housing to the poor. Fast-forward to today, these apartments are not maintained and may even be structurally unsound – semi-homeless people move in-and-out and there have been massive issues with drugs and other illegal activities (trafficking, prostitution etc). This is no way to help the poor and needy, and it’s unknown what will happen with these apartments long-term.

The Bad

Coles Maylands and surrounds – I’d really like to include this in the ‘Ugly’ section but that might come across as over-dramatic. It truly is the worst shopping centre I’ve visited, and I’ll drive to Morley/Belmont/Midland just to get away from it.

Why? Firstly, the carpark is possibly the worst designed in human history. I’ve heard car's can't insured around the Arc de Triomphe roundabout in Paris, one day I think they’ll create a similar clause for Coles Maylands. If you can even get in that narrow entrance when someone else is trying to leave, you'll need your remaining luck trying to avoid the cars reversing out every 3 or 4 bays(because every spot in that car park is a blind spot) and finding a safe place to land your wheels. The parking lanes appear closer than normal and every person I know who lives in Maylands has had some sort of incident (ding, prang, minor crash) at some stage.

Then there’s the people – surely every negative personality-type is represented in this food-giving institute. Rushing, hostile faces shoving past you to get the last box of eggs, exasperated staff trying to manage the ever expanding self-service checkout (god forbid any patrons are required to talk to someone), people honking and swearing at each other, there’s a range of beggars and drug-dealers out the front who send a few curses your way if you fail to pony up the dough. I’ve witnessed multiple thefts, fights and a couple of cases of domestic violence all localised in this little grocery love-nest.

Coles are also responsible for the fenced, barren wasteland across the road between Mr. Hawker and KFC. They own it – it’s been sitting there for years and makes the whole area resemble a Harlem trash yard. Why would they sell and create opposition? The fact is though that it looks utterly horrendous and its valuable land not being utilised to support the community.

Speaking of KFC – the eating options in Maylands have always been notoriously limited. This IS getting better with the introduction of more small bars/café’s – but seriously, for such a high-density suburb it’s amazing how few places you can get a meaningful meal. In 2019, a new Fish and Chip opened on the corner of East/Maylands (another crap-tastic looking building from the ‘yesteryears’). The line outside of this place reached all the way to the bus-stop. Imagine that - the low-earning, public transport using public just couldn’t wait for a filling, reasonably priced takeaway meal. This is in contrast to areas such as Victoria Park and Morley that have more restaurants than people. Perhaps this will change over time?

Public Transport – although everything is close (train/buses), some services only run every half an hour to an hour – during peak time the buses are completely packed before they make it to Guildford Rd. For such a high-density area this will certainly need to be addressed at some point.

Mosquito’s – yes they suck, although it depends where you live.

Finally, Maylands is a high-density suburb that seems to get even more high-density with every passing minute. Those old 50’s homes don’t have the same heritage status that Guildford and Mount Lawley attract, it’s pretty common to see another Victorian style house with adjoining chook-farm knocked over for another 8-14 dwelling unit. This wouldn’t be so bad if we were seeing some of the older apartment buildings knocked over and replaced, but unlike other countries Aussie buildings just seem to sit there and rot for all eternity.

The Good

Well that felt cathartic! The ‘Bad’ and the ‘Ugly’ contains thoughts I mutter under my breath and to the bin chickens that rummage through the industrial bins, but now it’s onto the Winners! The first ‘good’ things about Maylands include (in no particular order) – the diversity, the (non-Coles shoppers) people in the community, the school and the proximity.

The proximity – this can’t be denied, anyone who visits Maylands from over east or overseas remarks upon how close the place is to the city. Every person I’ve worked with in the city can’t believe that it only takes 5-10 mins to get home (even in peak hour sometimes), whereas the regular city-joe lands up in front of a hot meal sometime after Married at First Sight finishes up around 9pm. Not only that, Maylands is close to other key areas such as the Swan Valley, Guildford, Victoria Park (Albany Highway), South Perth/Mount Lawley/Leederville. Most people really don’t feel the need to travel miles as everything is catered for close by.

The diversity and the school is an interesting one, I partly chose the area due to my relationship being mixed – and it has been fascinating meeting people from all backgrounds in our parenting groups. Sadly, many young families move away and buy larger homes in the suburbs after their first or second child, but some do stick around – in my parenting group alone we have people from Finland, France, Italy, Poland, Burma, Indonesia, America etc. the list goes on and on. Then there’s the school, my kids are too young but by all reports it is a well-managed independent school with passionate teachers. It’s interesting to think that Maylands once had two MASSIVE primary schools, that dwindled down to one barely populated school, and back to immense numbers (around 800 by all reports) – all over a 40 year period.

My neighbour’s kid has a mix of friends, a couple living in low-cost apartments from developing nations, and a couple living in mansions around the south end of Maylands or those facing the river. Now that’s the diversity I’m after – it’s important for kids to make friends with kids from a range of circumstances, not just a bunch of rich kids in White areas or purely poverty-stricken kids from low socio-economic areas. I hope the same for my own when they attend the local school.

Speaking of these areas, the mix of housing truly is baffling – around Lake Bungana and Lake Brearley exist houses as beautiful as those you’d see situated in the Darling Harbour... and then half a kilometre up the road you’ve got dilapidated apartment buildings. In between this you’ve got a mix of villas, townhouse complexes (old and new) and old homes. There’s character and uniqueness, and certain areas really do feel ‘alive’ – go for a jog at night and see all the people on their balconies and backyards around Tranby house facing the river, sipping on a wine or playing the guitar. No street looks the same, just as every dwelling has a completely different design – some hideous, some beautiful, some predictable and some weird – nonetheless all together it makes for a serious blend.

The Sublime

The section we’ve all been waiting for, I’ve left the glaring omissions till last.

Firstly, I need to comment on the finer aspects of the community- I understand that everyone’s experiences are different but the online community is simply marvellous, people give away free items that really should cost money, and I’ve read about multiple occasions of people helping others with moving heavy items, fixing things, and even minding someone’s child when they had to go to the emergency department. Why does this happen? Many people in Maylands live alone for a variety of reasons – they’ve moved here from somewhere else, they’ve experience a relationship breakdown or loss of job, or perhaps they’re just insular – because of this not everyone has a large support network handy, so the community becomes this network. There’s so many examples of this occurring in this unique suburb. Furthermore, there are ‘working bee’ groups around the peninsula that involve volunteers pruning toxic/invasive weeds and planting natives etc. Some of the public parks and riverfront areas have been transformed by dedicated volunteers from a range of backgrounds. If you have a dog, then there’s multiple dog-meets at various parks where friendships have been formed amongst a range of different people. Moral of the story is – if you’re alone then Maylands is a good place to not be alone if you don’t wish to be anymore.

Secondly, the entertainment precinct. The rebuild the 8th Ave area has undergone is nothing short of amazing – in the space of a couple of years we’ve seen the introduction of many unbelievably unique venues – a live underground music bar, a nostalgic wine venue, an amazing family-friendly brewery, a delicious cake shop and a few café’s that are permanently packed. There’s literally something to meet everyone’s needs. There’s a few existing café’s/restaurants that have been around for a while that have been enhanced by these new businesses – yes there’s still a few rundown places but there’s got to be something for everyone. The only minor negative about 8th ave is continued vacant properties, but this seems to be a theme all over Perth at present.

If addition to this thriving scene are some of the institutes around the peninsula itself – the Pensinsula Tea Gardens/Tranby House, Noggo’s, Maylands Golf Course, Maylands Waterland, the Yacht Club and more. Not to mention the Ballet, WA Youth Jazz Club and the Historical Society. Tranby is the perfect place to sit by the river and have high tea, the golf course put on cheap pub-style meals and (usually) a live band for dancing on Sunday evenings, Maylands Waterland is currently being re-done but will likely entertain small families when completed in late-2021. All these places have sweeping views of the river. The Golf Course is due for a complete refurbishment, and there have been plans to redevelop the iconic Maylands Brickworks into a new entertainment precinct (café/bar/function venu). If the council plays its cards right, Maylands could become a chief drawcard for any new visitors to the city.

Finally, the best thing about Maylands is obviously its pristine, natural beauty. From what I understand, Maylands is one of the only peninsula suburbs in Australia – the suburb is surrounded by the Swan River on 3 sides. The riverfront parks are sensational, Bardon Park is mesmerizingly beautiful and offers a number of playground options for the kids, as is Berringa Park, Maylands Foreshore Reserve and Tranby Reserve. Go for a cycle and see any number of families picnicking along the shore, swimming, fishing, playing sports or on the playgrounds. As an ardent kayaker, I’ve seen the suburb from the perspective of the river and it’s simply spectacular. There’s every type of tree, plant, bird and water bird. Although man-made, Lake Bungana and Lake Brearley are beautiful and retain families of oblong turtles.

The inner parks are wonderful also, De Lacey and Gibbney attract scores of families, sports players (soccer, cricket, roller hockey, basketball etc) and dog groups. If you want to see multiculturalism work, go down to Gibbney Reserve on a Sunday evening and you’ll see it all in perfect harmony – I guarantee you’ll meet someone new every time you go down.

Summary

Can you understand the schizophrenic relationship I (and many others) have after reading this review? You may not agree with it all, but I feel I’ve covered a lot of points that sum up Maylands. At times I’m planning my exit from this place, at other times I consider my family the luckiest in the world.

There’s so much this suburb already has, including a vast amount of untapped potential. It also has the potential to completely implode, if something isn’t done about the situation with the apartments, some commercial areas and better ways of supporting the homeless then it could revert back to the horrible reputation it had in the 80’s and 90’s.

Time will tell if this is the place I want my kids to spend the first 18 years (at least) of their lives or if we will need to up and move. Ultimately, it is the people and the community that will keep Maylands afloat or sink it beneath its water-laden boundaries.