Caroline Springs is a relatively new area that had a bad reputation about a decade a go. First because the media sensationalised illegal cock fighting as something that was endemic of its residents. It wasn’t; it was a tiny minority of unethical people treating animals illegally.
Second, I was struck by the number of people who lived in the longer established outer suburbs in the West who looked down on the families who moved into these new estates.
There was both a class and racist undertone as it was predominantly young middle-class non-English speaking migrant background and working class people from various ethnicities who first flocked to this area. Now this suburb has expanded greatly and it is relatively expensive compared to prices only a few years ago.
It will be interesting to see whether this area becomes gentrified in the near future with house prices ever increasing. I’m ever fascinated with the need to construct artificial lakes in these new estates. This lake is a central feature along the centre of the shopping precinct, compete with ducks and a “do not swim” warning.
The Other Sociologist 