Telling tales of South Sydney

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditure Survey, the postcodes of Chippendale (2008), Surry Hills (2010), Potts Point (2011), Alexandria (2015), Redfern (2016), Waterloo (2017) and Erskineville (2043) spend around $30 less on groceries each week than the Sydney average of $134.

They all spend less money on seafood, fruit and vegetables and confectionary and chips, preferring to buy fast food and takeaway food instead. A Chippendale household spends around $37 per week on take away, some $5 greater than the average, while Redfern and Waterloo residents were $2 and $5 lower than the average.

When it comes to a drink, South Sydneyites have a bigger palate, but generally prefer to drink at licensed premises rather than at home or elsewhere. Chippendale, Alexandria and Erskineville all spend more than $6 a week on a beer at their local, while Waterloo spends close to $0.50 – less than the average of $4.56.

Heavier smokers are lying about the place as well, but the figures are not alarming. Chippendale, Surry Hills, Redfern and Waterloo spend more than $12 a week on tobacco, a bit more than a pack a week, but only marginally higher than the Sydney average of $11.74.

South Sydneyites are also more likely to travel overseas, with the exception of Redfern and Waterloo. Chippendale residents spend around $300 more per year on the big overseas trip compared to the average of $1,148.

Smaller houses mean we prefer not to get that lovable dog and cat and constrain them to a backyard the size of an audacious kennel and, naturally, we all spend less on gardening, or at least choose to attend to the tasks ourselves.

Not so encouraging is our tendency to donate less to charities compared to the Sydney average of $130 per year. More complementary is our penchant for a good book and our realistic attitude to winning the lottery. All postcodes spent more than the average $252 a year on books with the exception of Waterloo, and all spent less than the average $36 a year on lottery tickets, with Chippendale the most realistic and Alexandria the most opportunistic. Depending on your disposition.

Thanks to Alan Lawrence from Salmat for supplying the SSH with the data.

Photo: Ben Falkenmire - Thai take-away – serving it up to Chippendale residents

Source South Sydney Herald September 2007 - www.southsydneyherald.com.au