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MEET your average Hastings resident – she is 48 years old, was born in Australia, is married, is employed, has a child and a mortgage.
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A wealth of information about our region has been revealed in the 2016 Census data and not surprisingly since 2011, not a lot has changed.
The region’s population has increased by 5,843 to 78,539 residents with 52 per cent of our total population being women.
The average age of a Hastings resident has increased by a year to 48.
Less of us are married (52.4 percent in 2011 decreasing to 50.5 per cent in 2016) while more of us are divorcing (14.7 per cent in 2011 compared to 15.4 per cent in 2016).
Monthly mortgage repayments are still roughly the same at ($1650 a month in 2011 increasing to $1671) however there has been a reasonable rise in average weekly rental payments ($250 in 2011 to $310).
We are earning more with the average household income increasing from $837 in 2011 to $1042 in 2016.
More than 80 per cent of us were born in Australia with the most common ancestries living in the Hastings being English 32.9%, Australian 31.6%, Irish 9.6%, Scottish 7.9% and German 2.9%.
One of the more significant changes revealed in the data was that more Hastings residents have a little less religious-based faith.
In 2011, we were Anglican 29.4%, Catholic 24.7%, no religion 18.1%, Uniting Church 6.0% and Presbyterian and Reformed 4.5%.
However the 2016 Census figures reveal a different story. More than one quarter of people living in our region classified themselves as having no religion with decreases recorded across all faiths including Anglican 24.6%, Catholic 23.1%, not stated 8.8% and Uniting Church 4.8%.
I don’t mind being boringly normal when you see some of the things people are going through around you.
- Brigid Loane, Hastings resident
Meet Brigid Loane – the face of the Hastings
Brigid Loane of Wauchope is proudly ‘average’.
The mum of two has been married to husband Martin for 28 years. Together they have raised two healthy children, Ruby 25 and Harry 20, and are paying off a mortgage in what she describes as a ‘great place to live’.
She works fulltime as a school based training advisor at Newman Senior Technical College.
Young Harry, an apprentice, still lives at home while Ruby rents in Port Macquarie. The $410 a week rental property is the preferred option over Sydney however is a stumbling block towards saving enough money to buy her own home.
Brigid said the family has chosen to live and raise a family in the Hastings because of the lifestyle and its people.
“You can walk down the street here and people will say hello to you,” Brigid said.
“It’s that sort of community support you get living in a smaller town. And we’ve got it all – the lifestyle, nice restaurants, the beaches. And it is definitely more affordable than living in the city.
“We’ve had a great life here and couldn’t ask for anything better.
“I don’t mind being boringly normal when you see some of the things people are going through around you.”