Town by town snapshot – Maryborough

The size of Maryborough is approximately 48 square kilometres and has 77 parks covering nearly 47.2 per cent of total area.

The population of Maryborough in 2016 was 7922 and by the 2021 Census it had grown to was 8160, up three per cent in the area during that time. Although, down from the 3.8 per cent increase of the 2011 to 2016 reporting period.

Maryborough is a rural city situated towards the west of the rich Victorian goldfields region that includes Ballarat, Castlemaine and Bendigo.

Maryborough is on the Pyrenees Highway and is the intersection of railway lines from Castlemaine to Avoca and from Ballarat to Inglewood.

Maryborough was founded on a gold field and prior to the discovery of gold the Maryborough region was the Charlotte Plains pastoral run taken up by the Simson brothers.

In March 1853, gold was found at Maryborough resulting in a rush, the alluvial finds were rich and a 40-pound nugget was discovered in July 1853 and caused no slackening of population.

Known as Daly’s Flat for a short time, Assistant Gold Commissioner, James Daly, named it Maryborough, after his Irish birthplace.

It is estimated that the Maryborough district had 25,000 people by September 1854.

The town was surveyed in 1855, and allotments sold in October of that year.

The Maryborough borough was proclaimed on 31 March 1857 and by then there was a school, Catholic and Wesleyan churches.

In 1865 Maryborough was an established mining town with the entire district dominated mining operations, the town had a hospital, a court, a mechanics’ institute and numerous hotels.

Agriculture was undeveloped because of scarce summer water, but the Goldfields reservoir was built in 1862.

The railways opened lines in four directions from Maryborough in 1874-75, and the large and well-appointed railway station was completed in 1892.

The four local brickworks could scarcely supply enough building bricks at one stage. Maryborough achieved an unusual diversity of industry for a medium size town and continued to do so for the next 80 years.

The court house (1893) completed the buildings at the town square.

By the turn of the century gold mining was decreasing and population growth stabilised.

After World War II Maryborough secured early funds for sewerage and roadworks, modernising its infrastructure several years in advance of other country towns.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Maryborough continued to seek new industries.

It was proclaimed a city on 31 March 1961 and by the end of the 1960s it had 56 factories employing 1400 people.

On 19 January 1995, Maryborough city was united with most of Talbot and Clunes, Bet Bet and Tullaroop shires to form Central Goldfields shire

CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Maryborough is 60-69 years with households being primarily childless couples likely to be repaying $1000 – $1399 per month on mortgages. In general, people in Maryborough work in a labourer occupation.

In 2011, 68.8 per cent of the homes in Maryborough were owner-occupied compared with 66.6 per cent in 2016.

TITBIT:

Known as Daly’s Flat for a short time, Assistant Gold Commissioner, James Daly named it Maryborough, after his Irish birthplace.

Population: 7922

Male: 47.8%

Female: 52.2%

Median age: 50

5-year population change: 3.8%

House median value: $396,000

Change in Median Price: (5yrs) is 82.6%

Median asking rent per week: $255

Average length of ownership: 11 years

Owner occupiers: 71%

Renters: 29%

House median sale price:

April 2022: $360,750

April 2021: $295,000

April 2020: $240,000

April 2019: $235,000

April 2018: $210,750

House sales per annum:

Period ending April 2022: 210

Period ending April 2021: 211

Land median sale price:

April 2022: $105,000

April 2021: $102,500

Land sales per annum:

Period ending April 2022: 47

Period ending April 2021: 57