Suburb by suburb snapshot - Huntly

Huntly is approximately 41.6 square kilometres and has five parks covering nearly 14.5 per cent of total area.

The population of Huntly in 2011 was 1429 people and by the 2016 Census it had risen to 2372 showing substantial growth of 66.0 per cent in the area during that time.

Huntly is a rural township on the Midland Highway, 12 kilometres north-east of Bendigo, but only a few kilometres beyond Bendigo’s urban fringe.

The area has had a rapid change of demographic with the flourishing suburb now home to many young families plunging the median age to one of the lowest in the state.

The name is thought to have been inspired by Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland with the name first given to the local parish in a map drawn in 1854.

Although Bendigo was the site of one of Victoria’s largest gold rushes in 1851, prospecting did not extend to Huntly until some years later.

Rather it was used for pastoral and horticultural activities for food for the gold fields.

This four-bedroom Huntly home built in 2019 sold recently for $575,000.

Huntly underwent a gold rush in 1859, and during the 1860s a company mined the deep lead which ran from Epsom to Huntly.

Several hotels were opened, timber cutting was done for mine props and railway sleepers and farming intensified along the Bendigo and Back creeks.

In 1861 a district road board was created, which was succeeded by Huntly Shire on 13 July 1866.

During the 1920s the mining of pipe clay and tomato growing were local industries.

Until irrigation in the Goulburn Valley increased tomato growing in that area, Huntly tomatoes supplied Melbourne markets and preserving factories.

During the 1940s-60s large quantities of poultry and eggs were supplied from Huntly.

The gradual loss of population to neighbouring Bendigo has been reversed since the 1980s, with Huntly gaining residential development within commuting distance of Bendigo.

Skilled workers were encouraged to build in subsidised housing estates in 2012 on the northern fringe.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Huntly is 0-9 years with households in Huntly being primarily couples with children and are likely to be repaying $1400 – $1799 per month on mortgages. In general, people in Huntly work in a trades occupation.

In 2011, 86.1 per cent of the homes in Huntly were owner-occupied compared with 82.1 per cent in 2016. Currently the median sales price of houses in the area is $433,500.

TIDBIT:

A former courthouse built in 1874 became the home of the Loyal Sir Henry Barkly Lodge in 1930, and then became a memorial hall in 1922

Population: 2372

Male: 49.9%

Female: 50.1%

Median age: 32

5-year population change: 66%

House median value: $516,905

Change in Median Price: (5yrs) is 27%

Median asking rent per week: $380

Average length of ownership: 6 years

Owner occupiers:84%