Bendigo, northwest of Victoria, is thriving economically because of a steady influx of new arrivals. And migration has brought an injection of diversity to the old gold-rush town.
Growing up, Say Ka Trace Hlaing never dreamed she'd become a dental nurse. As a member of Myanmar's ethnic minority Karen population, she spent the first 12 years of her life in a refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border.
Say Ka says, "Every day was the same, I hardly went outside the camp because I was told it wasn’t safe. I really love Bendigo, it's very multicultural. There's a lot of people and I have a lot of friends, and I have a good community."
Ms Hlaing has called Bendigo home since just after she arrived in Australia, nine years ago.
She’s now among several Karen refugees working at Bendigo’s dental health service.
Also displaced by the conflict in Myanmar, Nay Chee Aung arrived with his family in 2011.
Mr Aung arrived in Bendigo with his family in 2011. Source: Supplied
He says "When we were in Burma, most of us lived in small villages, so we tend to prefer regional or the countryside than metropolitan areas."
It was education, work and services that enabled Mr Aung, his mother and brothers to give back to the community. Mr Aung now works as an interpreter and settlement caseworker.
Since 2007, Karen refugees have been steadily settling in the former gold-rush town of Bendigo, northwest of Melbourne. Team Manager at Bendigo Community Health Services, Kaye Graves, says they're now part of the region's fabric.
"All of our people of refugee backgrounds are working where there are job shortages. They’re also contributing and building our capacity in other job areas. People are thriving here. They're working, they're studying, they're playing sport, we've got the best soccer players."
Over ten years, they’ve grown from fewer than a dozen to more than a thousand today.
Commissioned by AMES Settlement Services, a Deloitte report has found the Karen community has injected almost 70 million dollars into Bendigo’s economy, creating almost 200 new jobs.
At a time the federal government is flagging a cut to Australia’s migrant intake, Community Engagement Officer at AMES Settlement Services, Mr Laurie Nowell says Bendigo represents the long-term success of its migrant settlements.
Mr Laurie says "There’s also been a significant benefit in social capital. The regions are crying out for more population, you know, we're seeing regional towns and cities unable to fill employment vacancies, you know they've got ageing populations, young people are moving to the cities, so there are lots of opportunities for migrants and refugees to be settled in the regions."
One of the biggest employers in Bendigo is chicken producer Hazeldenes.
Staff at Bendigo chicken producer Hazeldene's. Source: SBS News
General Manager of Marketing at Hazeldenes, Michelle Daniel, says Karen employees make up 120 of the 800-strong workforce.
This isn’t just a short-term boost to the local economy.
Given the younger demographic of the Karen population that’s settled here in Bendigo, it’s expected the labour force will only continue to grow.
And locals believe it’s led to a more inclusive and cohesive society, and for Mr Aung, it's home for life.
