Years ago, a friend told me she’d bought a house in Bentleigh East. My now husband and I, long-term St Kilda renters, smiled indulgently at the news and agreed to visit. We joked we’d need a packed lunch for the trip. Blame it on youthful ignorance.
And now, here I am, a resident of Bentleigh East for more than 20 years – first as a renter then, because we liked it so much, as a home owner. The road I live on literally ends at the beach, a fact I didn’t twig to initially because, homing pigeon-style, I returned to St Kilda when I craved sea views.
Ages ago, my husband started calling our suburb “God’s country”. It was tongue in cheek at first, mostly because he finally had off-street parking and a shed big and solid enough for beer brewing and guitar practice alike. He was smitten by the time he discovered his St Kilda barber, Dmitry, had a brother called Roman with a shop in walking distance from our new place. Hence, the same family has been cutting his locks for 30 years now.
The more I see what’s going on in the world, the more the moniker fits. Returning to the housing commission estate where I grew up in the west, I see the neglected, broken swings and grassless playgrounds, and feel angry for the local children.
Should I mention that come election time, Bentleigh is labelled a bellwether seat? There’s a certain irony to all this largesse given the area’s namesake, Thomas Bent, is considered one of Victoria’s most dubious premiers. Politician and land speculator, he was notorious for buying land cheaply, just before infrastructure projects increased property values.
Bentleigh East’s streets teem with schoolkids and dog walkers. This place is fit. We seem to have more outdoor exercise stations, ovals, parks, sports grounds and clubrooms than you can poke a Nike at.
I’m not suggesting we’re spoilt or overindulged, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a patch of public green without shaded seating and a selection of play equipment. We’ve got GESAC, the Glen Eira Sports and Aquatic Centre, and I’ve personally jogged alongside Cathy Freeman. OK, she was whipping around Duncan McKinnon athletics track, technically on the border of Bentleigh East, and I stopped to watch her go. Who wouldn’t?
Bentleigh East sometimes feels like a catalogue photoshoot for healthy family living, modern Australian style. We’ve got good schools, big parks, busy local shopping strips, and a strangely abundant choice of healthcare providers. I can walk down the road and get an ultrasound, an X-ray, have my blood taken and get a dose of radiation.