Suburb by suburb snapshot – Golden Square

Golden Square is approximately 8.5 square kilometres and has six parks covering nearly 1.6 per cent of total area.

The population in 2016 was 8820 people and by the 2021 Census it has risen to 9220, showing a population growth of 4.5 per cent in the area during that time.

Golden Square is two kilometres west of Bendigo’s city centre with the Bendigo Creek and some of its tributaries flowing through the suburb, and it was in that vicinity in 1851 that gold was discovered, leading to the rushes to the Bendigo goldfields.

A village or township was surveyed in 1854, the year after a Wesleyan church was opened. Part of the Golden Square school (1875) still occupies the original site at the corner of Laurel and Panton streets.

Golden Square, or ‘the Square’ as it’s known, developed as its own identity from 1851, the year the first gold discoveries were made on Bendigo Creek at a place then named Golden Point, and later Golden Square.

The wealth won from the mines resulted in a fairly well-paid workforce, and several substantial civic buildings were constructed.

The Golden Square Football Club entered the Bendigo Football League in 1935 and has won 17 premierships since.

The local public swimming pool on Maple Street was saved from demolition and reopened as a community facility in 2013.

Golden Square was the terminus of the westerly tramline (closed 1973) and it had a railway station on the line from Melbourne to Bendigo.

In 1960 Golden Square High School was opened, and it continued as a secondary college until 2008.

Golden Square’s houses range from cottages to comfortable Edwardian brick structures.

A notable example is Commersdale House built in 1898 on Panton Street.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Golden Square is 20-29 years with households being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying $1000 to $1399 per month on mortgages.

In general, people in Golden Square work in a professional occupation.

In 2011, 64.8 per cent of the homes in Golden Square were owner occupied compared with 63.3 per cent in 2016.

TIDBIT:

Golden Square Football Club won nine BFL premierships in its first 50 years.

Population: 9220

Male: 46.9%

Female: 53.1%

Median age: 39

5-year population change: 4.5%

House median value: $554,000

Change in Median Price: (5yrs) is 67.7%

Median asking rent per week: $400

Average length of ownership: 11 years

Owner occupiers: 65%

Renters: 35%

House median sale price:

May 2022: $520,000

May 2021: $428,500

May 2020: $344,000

May 2019: $339,750

May 2018: $325,000

House sales per annum:

Period ending May 2022: 196

Period ending May 2021: 198

Land median sale price:

May 2022: $316,000

May 2021: $213,000

Land sales per annum:

Period ending May 2022: 12

Period ending May 2021: 35