Town by town snapshot - Heathcote

Heathcote is approximately 130.9 square kilometres and has three parks covering nearly 14.2 per cent of total area.

The population in 2016 was 2781 people and by the 2021 Census it had risen to 2962 showing growth of seven per cent in the area during that time.

Heathcote is a rural township in central Victoria, 105 kilometres north-west of Melbourne and 40 kilometres south-east of Bendigo.

The origin of the name appears to be unclear, alternative explanations are that Heathcote was named after Sir William Heathcote, a British MP between 1854-68, or after the prolific wild heath in the area.

Apart from pastoral runs in the Heathcote district, settled occupation occurred when gold was discovered at the McIvor Creek, a stream running between two ranges and along which the Heathcote township was later laid out.

By early 1853 a substantial gold field settlement existed, called the McIvor diggings, with estimates of population varying between 16,000 and 40,000.

By the next year there were about 2000 people as diggers moved on.

The first land sale was in January 1854, when the township was named Heathcote.

In that year, a National School and the Anglican church were opened and by the end of the 1850s there were also Presbyterian and Wesleyan churches, regular Catholic services and a hospital which opened in 1859.

A combined courthouse-town hall-council offices was built in 1863, and probably remains the most eye-catching group of buildings in the town.

On 27 May 1892, Heathcote borough was united with McIvor Shire as its central riding.

Between 1900 and 1970 the town’s population fell from about 1300 people to 1080, partly reflecting the end of gold sluicing and the decline in the timber trade.

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Heathcote is 60-69 years with households being primarily childless couples likely to be repaying $1000 – $1399 per month on mortgages.

In general, people in Heathcote work in a trades occupation.

In 2011, 80.4 per cent of the homes in Heathcote were owner-occupied compared with 77.2 per cent in 2016.

TITBIT:

On 27 May 1892, Heathcote borough was united with McIvor Shire as its central riding.