Town by town snapshot – Dunolly

Dunolly is approximately 110.3 square kilometres and has 37 parks covering nearly 20.2 per cent of total area.

The population 2011 was 908 people and by the 2016 Census it had decreased to 889, showing a decline of 2.1 per cent in the area during that time.  As the regions are becoming more popular, soon to be released Census data should see an increase in the town’s population and city dwellers escape to the country.

Dunolly was the name of a pastoral run taken up by Archibald McDougall in 1845 and he named it after Dunolly Castle, Oban, Scotland, the seat of the McDougall clan.

In 1852 gold was discovered at Moliagul, about 14 kilometres north-west of Dunolly. McDougall’s run was about midway between Moliagul and Dunolly, and in 1854 he sold it to Henry Simson who subdivided it for settlement.

However, gold seekers moved through and beyond Simson’s subdivision, uncovering rich finds, concluding at a particularly rich field in 1856 north of the future township of Dunolly.

 

The miners more or less followed the valley of Burnt Creek, which runs in an arc around the west and south of the present township.

The Moliagul-Dunolly region became renowned for large nuggets and recorded the largest per capita gold production of any mining town in Victoria in 1857.

The Burnt Creek mine exploited reef gold and had a life of 22 years.

A police camp was established at old Dunolly, but the permanent township was surveyed further south and grew quickly.

An Anglican school was opened in 1857, and a borough council was proclaimed on 21 May 1858.

The London Chartered Bank of Australasia built elaborate chambers on the main street, the Broadway, in 1867, and the building is on the Victorian Heritage Register

A hospital was built in 1860, and additions were made to it over the next 70 years.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Dunolly is 60-69 years with households being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying $800 – $999 per month on mortgages. In general, people in Dunolly work in a labourer occupation.

In 2011, 77.7 per cent of the homes in Dunolly were owner-occupied compared with 76.8 per cent in 2016.

Currently the median sales price of houses in the area is $275,000.

 

TIDBIT:

The Moliagul-Dunolly region became renowned for large nuggets and recorded the largest per capita gold production of any mining town in Victoria in 1857.

 

Population: 893

Male: 51.4%

Female: 48.5%

Median age: 57

5-year population change: -2.1%

House median value: $332,000

Change in Median Price: (5yrs) is 51.7%

Median asking rent per week: $260

Average length of ownership: 9 years

Owner occupiers: 81%

Renters: 19%

 

House median sale price:

January 2022: $275,000

January 2021: $262,500

January 2020: $234,500

January 2019: $212,500

January 2018: $179,000

 

House sales per annum:

Period ending January 2022: 17

Period ending January 2021: 18

 

Land median sale price:

January 2022: $177,500

January 2021: $80,000

 

Land sales per annum:

Period ending January 2022: 12

Period ending January 2021: 19