In a television first, SBS and Blackfella Films’ new three-part documentary series Meet the Neighbours follows eight households from diverse cultural backgrounds as they leave the city behind and seek to live and work in the small town of Maryborough, Victoria, for three months.
Presented by Myf Warhurst, this bold social experiment provides insight into the challenges faced by regional Australia, including a lack of affordable housing, skilled workers shortages, and under-investment in crucial services and infrastructure. It’s not just the fate of one town that hangs in the balance. Meet the Neighbours reflects on what the bigger solutions might be for towns doing it tough right across the nation.
Maryborough, home to around 8000 people, used to be one of the most vibrant, multicultural, and wealthy places on earth. Today, this old Goldrush town is one of the least ethnically diverse and most disadvantaged towns in Australia, and its population is ageing fast.
Many regional Australian towns are experiencing ageing populations, declining birth rates, major skills shortages and socio-economic disadvantage. As they look for solutions, experts say a key factor in ensuring the future prosperity of these regional towns is the arrival of new migrants.
Meet the Neighbours follows The Welcome to Central Goldfields pilot project, driven by the local council and Maryborough community with support from peak body, AMES Australia, who specialise in migrant settlement in regional Australia.
The eight diverse households from the city bring a range of skills, expertise, and talent to the town, from healthcare professionals to a teacher, a journalist, a chef, a truck driver, and a star cricket player. Some are planning to set up their own businesses. The new residents send their children to the local school, support and join community groups, and even bring some night-time entertainment to the town.
The Singh family are among the eight households who make the move to Maryborough in 'Meet the Neighbours'. Credit: SBS
If we can’t keep a small town connected, the worst that can happen is you have two Australias – one young and one old”George Megalogenis – Australian journalist, political commentator, and author, from episode 1
Can the new residents breathe new life into the town, and will the move be life-changing for them?
SBS Head of Unscripted, Joseph Maxwell, said: “Meet the Neighbours is extraordinarily ambitious and has the potential to kickstart an important national conversation about the challenges facing parts of regional Australia. It’s another example of the way we tackle big issues through our innovative documentaries at SBS.”
Meet the Neighbours is a Blackfella Films production for SBS.
Blackfella Films’ most recent success The Australian Wars (which is streaming ) was winner of the Most Outstanding Factual or Documentary Program at the Logie Awards 2023. International awards include the BANFF International Rockie Award for Best Docuseries, MIPCOM Diversify TV’s Excellence Award for Representation of Race and Ethnicity (Scripted) and multiple New York Festivals Television & Film Gold Awards.
Blackfella Films Producer, Darren Dale, and Series Producer and Writer, Jacob Hickey, said of the new series: “There’s been much talk for many years about decentralisation, government initiatives and special programs, to sell and realise the goal of life beyond our capital cities. But the reality is, numbers don’t lie. In many regional areas, retirees now outnumber children. Predominantly white, Anglo and growing older, this is in stark contrast to the burgeoning, multicultural capital cities, where economies and populations have been supercharged by the arrival of overseas migrants.
“The intention of Meet the Neighbours is to shine a light on what is a divided, two speed and unequal Australia, and what some solutions to this disparity might be.”
Screen Australia’s Head of Content, Grainne Brunsdon said: “Meet the Neighbours is an exciting new series from the award-winning team at Blackfella Films, who have a strong track record of creating powerful documentaries that spark important national conversations. This documentary is poised to unveil the challenges faced by Australian regional towns and highlights the immense value of living in a culturally diverse society.”
Cricketer Akon is among those who make the move. Credit: SBS
VicScreen CEO, Caroline Pitcher, said: “Meet the Neighbours documents a bold social experiment, igniting a powerful dialogue about migration and community across the country. We’re proud to back such an important Victorian documentary series and have no doubt that the impact of this project will continue long after the cameras stop rolling.”
Meet the Neighbours will be available to stream free from Wednesday 1 November, or you can tune in weekly Wednesdays from 1 November at 7:30pm on SBS.
Meet the Neighbours will be available to stream on SBS On Demand in five languages: Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. The series will also be available with audio description for blind and low vision audiences.
Migrants make the move to Australia for long-term jobs
Migration’s impact on regional Australia is vital, but visas need to be forthcoming, agent warns .
“Some historians claim the migrant communities of the goldfields were Australia’s first experience as a multicultural society; although most new arrivals were British, many also came from countries such as the Germany, Poland and China” -
“Between 1851 and 1861 about 500,000 people came to Australia from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, China, America, Italy, France, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, India, Africa, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.” -
“Gold was first discovered in Maryborough in 1854, and by the following year, the district had attracted at least 4600 Chinese settlers” -
“People from England, Scotland, Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, China, Italy, Germany, France, New Zealand, America, Canada and even Jamaica sought their fortunes on some of the richest goldfields the world has ever seen.” -
43.5% Australian, 45.9% English - courtesy of Blackfella Films as informed by George Megalogenis email to Blackfella Films “Maryborough is officially one of the whitest towns, 50.8% of Australians were born overseas, or has at least one migrant parent. Maryborough is 19.1%, regional Victoria is 27.7% by comparison”
“SEIFA combines Census data such as income, education, employment, occupation, housing and family structure to summarise the socio-economic characteristics of an area. Lower rankings indicate most disadvantaged, Maryborough ranked 1 nationwide - Suburbs and Localities, Indexes, SEIFA 2021.xlsx -
Common issues in locations facing disadvantage on multiple fronts are jobless parents; low income; youth not in employment, education or training; and people leaving school before Year 10. -
“Central Goldfields Shire remains the most socioeconomically disadvantaged municipality in Victoria and one of the most disadvantaged in Australia” - - March 27 2018
"I was amazed by the level of unemployment that existed [then] and some of the social problems. Two generations of people have come through this town and are suffering the same problems.” -
Maryborough Median age 51 in 2021 , compared to Maryborough median age in 2011 – 48 -
Twenty years of population change ;
Australian fertility rate hits record low
Jump in job ads across regional Australia
