Hills grow as faith fades

By MARA PATTISON-SOWDEN
A SNAPSHOT of the hills has seen a small increase in population while the importance of religion continues to shrink.
The 2011 Census, which was held on 9 August 2011, has revealed that Mount Evelyn, Monbulk and Upwey have all had population increases since 2006.
Monbulk was the largest area to grow, with 741 more people than 2006 and a total population of 3456.
Mount Evelyn has peaked with a population of almost 10,000. The area has grown by 274 since its 2006 population count of 9100.
Upwey has grown by 204 people, with its population reaching 6,964 in 2011.
The 16th Census has also revealed that people living in the hills were more likely to not have a dedicated religion.
More than 40 per cent of Upwey residents have no dedicated religion, that’s 2851 people, while just as many in Monbulk and Mount Evelyn ticked the “no religion” box.
Mount Evelyn recorded 3261 non-believers, while Monbulk showed 1273 people didn’t have a dedicated religion.
The Yarra Ranges itself has grown by almost 5000 people since 2006, with 144,541 people recorded on census night.
Children from birth to 14 years of age made up 20 per cent of the population, and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.5 per cent of the population.
German and Italian were the two languages most spoken at home after English in the Yarra Ranges, but more than 130,000 households spoke only English at home.
There are as many people undertaking technical or further education in the shire – 3709 people – as there are attending university or other tertiary education – 4295 people.