When I first moved here, if a Mercedes or BMW was seen driving in the streets, we would joke that the driver was checking on their investment property. Times have changed and now electric, hybrid and prestige cars sit in many driveways. In 2023, we had a brush with fame when The Block moved in, and records were set in the suburb, and on the show.

Hampton East has a history of farming, like so much of Melbourne’s middle ring. A neighbour, who has since passed away, told me how when she had moved into our street it was paddocks, with agistment for horses. What is now Basterfield Park, named after a former mayor of Moorabbin who lived opposite, was a tip. I exercise with a group most nights in the park, and we love to watch the swans and other birds raising their hatchlings on the island in the lake. There is a market every second month in summer that attracts large crowds to the park.

Some locals may recall the Nellie Kelly nursery on the corner of South and Bluff roads. It is where the development of the famous hybrid passionfruit vine started. Now it is a retirement-living centre.

We walk the dog to Wishart Reserve, with an adjacent children’s playground, which is evocative of the former Wishart farm that was there, with statues of cows and a barn. The dog park is where everyone knows the name of your dog, but no one ever knows your name, a phenomenon not exclusive to this area.

Hampton East has its tennis club, the Moorabbin West Cricket Club, Moorabbin Kangaroos football ground, plus a baseball field adjacent for the Moorabbin Panthers (all reminders of a former identity). The baseball field was the sporting field of Moorabbin West Primary School, which was de-commissioned and sold for private development during the Kennett schools sell-off of the 1990s.

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Hampton East is part of the first tranche of the state government’s activity centres earmarked for high-density development. I am no longer torn about this. I am hopeful of increased amenity in the local shopping strip on Nepean Highway, which has teetered with total closure repeatedly.

The local milk bar in Keith Street recently closed for business. Thirty years ago, it had a butcher, a greengrocer, a mixed goods (milk bar) and other businesses. There is enormous potential here – who does not love the thought of walking for coffee, lunch, buying clothing, access to veterinary care, gyms and getting their scripts filled. On the latter, Hampton East is spoiled for choice, with no less than three pharmacies within 300 metres of each other, plus a large medical facility and access to a new day surgery.

I looked at crime statistics published online, and Hampton East enjoys an excellent rating of “relatively safe”. Thirteen out of 100, where zero means no crime. Which is an interesting counterpoint to those who shy away from living near lots of public housing.

Hampton East has potential. It was seen to be a good starter home area in the 1950s, when it began its transformation from farmland into modest priced, modest homes amid the Baby Boom. There was a shortage then, of homes, and of supplies, hence the modest sizing – houses were brick-veneer, and not permitted to be over a certain size. My own home included. It is a modest two-bedroom, one bathroom cream brick veneer on a large block. I am increasingly fond of my 1950s home. I do not know how long I will resist the flyers in my letterbox that promise large amounts of money so a developer can use my property to build up to six storeys.

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For now, I like to give a haven to the local birdlife, lizards, foxes, frogs and possums and most particularly to my labrador and cat to enjoy the sunshine with me in my expansive backyard. I am also a relic, I guess.

These days, my neighbours are from many countries, and the area has renters and home owners alike. It is, like most suburbs, evolving. Here’s to the future of Hampton East.

Megan Riley is an executive in the public service, and lives in Hampton East with her dog and a cat.

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