Balga, Western Australia

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Balga is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling. Its post code is 6061.

The name "Balga" was adopted in 1954 and is the Noongar (Aboriginal) word for the indigenous grass tree Xanthorrhoea preissii, formerly known as the Black Boy.

It is considered by many to be a lower class suburb, mainly due to a large percentage of public housing and a reputation for criminal activity due to the relatively abundant Aboriginal population. However, this reputation is changing. Balga, while depressed when compared to the rest of the northern suburbs, has never been an area of abject poverty. It maintains the same standard of living that is common throughout Australia.

Although the majority of serious crime in the area remains to be drug related, there is a culture of violence and minor criminal activity associated with the youth of the community, (mainly stemming from the notorious Balga Senior High School). As acknowledged by the Western Australian Police, graffiti/vandalism, assault and drug traffiking are a problem amongst the youth of Balga, but are also linked to the gang activity in the area.

Gang activity has increased in Balga since the mid ‘80s, as it has throughout the neighbouring suburbs of Girrawheen and Koondoola (the 3 suburbs are often referred to as the KGB). Many of these groups, such as the Dragon Boys (named after the feature film), can be traced to the children of south-east Asian refugees, often from Vietnam.The most well known gang would be the Balga Boys or Boyz who are known throughout Perth however this can be a collective term for gangs from Balga and Westminster.

In 1994 the southern half of Balga was renamed as a new suburb called Westminster. Once disassociated with the name Balga, Westminster property values increased significantly. In 1998 the state government instituted the New North Project to further improve the status of Balga and surrounding suburbs, demolishing a number of State Housing Commission terrace complexes. According to Department of Land Information, Balga currently (as of 2006) has had a housing value growth rate ~5% higher than the state average. As suburbs expand further north, its lower housing values and proximity to Perth city is likely to cause this trend to escalate.