Town fights

By Lia Bichel
In a special edition of The Age’s The Melbourne Magazine called Our Liveable City, released last week, Hallam placed last out of 314 suburbs.
The rankings were a result of a study called Liveable Melbourne by Tract Consultants and Deloitte Access Economics. It was based on data from numerous sources, using 14 different criteria.
But Hallam residents and businesspeople said the suburb had all the amenities to make it a great place to live, including public transport, schools, shops, sporting facilities and social clubs.
Manager of the Hallam Hotel Marion Ritchie said she was shocked at the findings.
She said the suburb was an ideal location for many as it was close to the city, the locals were friendly and there was always some sort of entertainment at the local pub.
The top-ranked City of Casey suburb was Eumemmerring, which placed 240 out of 314. It was followed by Doveton at 241. Lysterfield South came in at 246 and Cranbourne at 263.
Berwick placed 274 and Narre Warren at 287.