Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.Yes, crime, Karens and property are the reasons this wealthy bayside suburb hits the headlines, but this particular Brighton story starts several decades ago and half a world away on the road to Lebanon’s Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport.
El Mouallem boarded his very first flight to travel all the way to Melbourne to reunite with his sweetheart, Sally, whom he met while she was travelling, and to meet her family. Soon after he arrived, his prospective father-in-law, Fred Seoud, showed off nearby Dendy Street Beach. And waiting for him there were the beach boxes.
“I come to this place and I am safe. I can be who I am. I’m sorry but not many people here understand how lucky we are. I have come here, to be honest, not just to the best country but to the best state and the best suburb. I came with absolutely nothing. Nothing.”Supporters talk about Brighton as a village, or a bubble, or “better than Disneyland”, while detractors call it cliquey, or even superficial and fake. And they also talk about crime.
“We urge the community to heed one clear message from this – if you don’t lock your doors and windows, the odds of falling victim to a home burglary increase exponentially.”Police have run a dedicated night-time operation targeting burglaries and car thefts across Melbourne, including Bayside, since March 2023.
I am at trendy cafe The Pantry, also on Church Street, explaining this to Patricia Ilhan, 59. The Brighton rich-lister, widow, and breast cancer survivor who sold her beachfront garden for $20 million is listening intently when suddenly she lets out a hoot aimed behind my right shoulder.Ilhan has four children. Jaida Ilhan, 23, studying a university post-graduate degree, has arrived to catch up with a girlfriend at the next table.
Two years ago Ilhan married Chris Blackman, whom she had known since their daughters Jaida and Makenzi were friends at preschool. The couple own and run The Finishing Touch, an expert packing and unpacking service about to celebrate its 30th anniversary that employs about 150 local women mainly aged in their 50s and 60s.
In March, a social and affordable housing project on the corner of New and Rusden streets opened with a mix of 151 social and 140 market rental one two and three-bedroom homes. For the first time, Homes Victoria leased the land to a not-for-profit partner, Building Communities, to manage the flats for 40 years.