Balga, Western Australia

Balga is a suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, 13km north of Perth city's central business district (CBD). Its local government area is the City of Stirling.The name "Balga" was adopted in 1954 and is the Noongar (Aboriginal) word for the indigenous grass tree Xanthorrhoea preissii. It was designed by the State Housing Commission along with Nollamara and Westminster as part of the "Mirrabooka Project", and the laying of streets and building of homes commenced in the 1960s.GeographyBalga is 13km north of Perth, and is bounded by Wanneroo Road to the west, Reid Highway to the south, Mirrabooka Avenue to the east and Beach Road to the north.DemographicsAt the 2011 census, Balga had a population of 10,701.Balga residents had a median age of 31, and median incomes were well below average for the Perth metropolitan area and the region — $490 per week compared with $669 per week in Perth, and $685 in the Perth North West statistical region. The population of Balga was more ethnically diverse than the Perth average, with 49.1% born in Australia and significant minorities from Sudan, Italy, Macedonia, Vietnam and Burma identified in the 2011 census. At the 2011 census, 3.72% of residents identified as Indigenous Australians.