There is more to the Bendigo suburb of Long Gully than the reputation for drugs, drink, poverty and bad behaviour that has dogged it for decades.
Public housing backs onto the old Victoria Hill gold diggings but there has been a slow and steady gentrification as new-look homes dot the neighbourhood.
Money has moved up the Calder Highway over the past two years as young professionals, families and established couples from Melbourne relocate or buy in, to flip houses.
The movement works for and against the suburb: It is gradually shaking negative perceptions and residents say the streets are "quieter". But it is also forcing residents who called it home further out to other suburbs.
It is the changing face of Long Gully.
And it is leading one local politician and vocal residents to continue a push for a stronger sense of place and identity through community and connectedness.
Unfair labels driving perceptions
If you ask those who live in the suburb colloquially known as "Bong Gully", that tag is an unfair stamp that highlights prejudice more than perception.
"I didn't really understand growing up, the negative word that Long Gully would receive," local resident Julia Hunt said.
The 2022 ABC Heywire winner is working to destigmatise what it means to grow up in social housing.
"When I say, 'I'm from Long Gully', often I do get a surprised response and they're almost apologising because it's seen so differently," Ms Hunt said.
"And when you receive a response like that, I kind of hold back a little bit, then go on to speak about my positive experience, and hopefully change their perception."
The suburb of Long Gully, just a few clicks away from Bendigo's CBD, was once known as "Little Chicago" in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
And according to long-time resident Julie Clark that perception of crime and poverty will stay with it no matter what work is done.
Ms Clark used to be a volunteer at the local community centre, a hub for people who are vulnerable or in need of help.
"I'm sure the original plan 50-odd years ago, when this estate was built, was built for people to come in, and potentially own their own home … what we would call rent to buy.
Know your neighbour
On a Saturday afternoon in Long Gully it is common to find neighbours talking to each other over the fence, watching out for each other's children and playing together at the park.
"I found that being a tight-knit community, everyone knows everybody," Ms Hunt said.
"I have friends who live maybe in other suburbs of Bendigo and they don't even know their neighbours.
"They live on the same street but they can't even tell me the name of their neighbour and that's surprising to me, because it makes me realise not all communities are like mine."
The haves and have-nots
The 2019 Greater Bendigo Active Living Census found almost 20 per cent of households in the pocket of Long Gully, West Bendigo and Ironbark had run out of food in the previous 12 months -- before the coronavirus pandemic had even hit.
Around 461 people, or 12 per cent of the local population, took part in the survey.
More than 27 per cent of them were overweight and 37 per cent were considered obese.
Almost 20 per cent of people smoked cigarettes compared to the Greater Bendigo average of 10.7 per cent, 60 per cent of people binge-drank alcohol and more than 6 per cent gambled.
But there is a strong sense of pride in what Long Gully does have.
About 95 per cent of Long Gully's residents have rated their facilities of a high quality as opposed to 85 per cent in the neighbouring suburb of Eaglehawk.
For City of Greater Bendigo councillor Dave Fagg, the tag of "Bong Gully" is one that is "a ridiculous kind of insult".
"We kind of laugh sometimes at the perception that people have of Long Gully; that it's this completely dangerous place, that you really wouldn't want to slow down as you drive through or along Eaglehawk Road.
"It's just laughable. Like all neighbourhoods, we have difficulties. But I would say the people who live here, like living here."
Mr Fagg ran his local government election campaign in 2020 on changing the perception of Long Gully, attracting 14 per cent of the vote in his ward.
His platform included increasing the suburb's outcomes when it came to funding and attention from governments and organisations.
And some money has come Long Gully's way in the past weeks and months.
Late last month, the federal government announced close to $700,000 to upgrade Wood Street, Holdsworth Road and Havilah Road.
Data shows new people moving in
Real estate sales data for Long Gully for the past two years shows 38 per cent of purchasers were first home buyers, 46 per cent were investors and 15 per cent were people downsizing.
Real estate agent Mitch Kenny said Long Gully proximity to Bendigo's CBD and relative affordability made it an attractive option for people trying to enter the property market.
"So for those first time buyers, they're kind of picking something up a little bit cheaper, and then making those improvements, which is just helping the area improve as well," he said.
"There's been big, big changes to the people that are buying there compared to say, five or six years ago."
Mr Fagg is urging those new to Long Gully not to treat it as a turnstile but rather, be a part of greater change.
"Don't just treat it as a place where you can buy a cheaper house.
"Treat the neighbourhood as your home, contribute to the neighbourhood, get involved with local organisations, make sure you shop locally," he said.
Collaboration drives positive change in community
Turning life outcomes around is what is driving Mr Fagg, a youth worker, to grow the visibility of the Long Gully Community Garden and the Creek Trail, where people can participate in activities together.
Mr Fagg said when people connected with others by collaborating on positive activities, their sense of self-worth began to improve.
"We do have some statistics in our neighbourhood when it comes to people's social and economic status, when it comes to their employment, which needs to be faced. We need to find ways to overcome them.
"I think for those who live outside Long Gully, it's easy to exaggerate those things and to blow them out of all realistic proportion."
