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<\/p>\nHeathcote is approximately 130.9 square kilometres and has nine parks covering nearly 25.2 per cent of total area.<\/p>\n
The population in 2016 was 2781 and by the 2021 Census it was recorded at 2962 showing a population growth of 6.5 per cent in the area during that time.<\/p>\n
Heathcote is a rural township in central Victoria, 105 kilometres north-west of Melbourne and 40 kilometres south-east of Bendigo.<\/p>\n
The origin of the name appears to be unclear, alternative explanations are that Heathcote was named after Sir William Heathcote, a British MP from 1854 to 68, or after the prolific wild heath in the area.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
By early 1853 a substantial gold field settlement existed, called the McIvor diggings, with estimates of population varying between 16,000 and 40,000.<\/p>\n
By the next year there were about 2000 people, as diggers moved on.<\/p>\n
The first land sale was in January 1854, when the township was named Heathcote.<\/p>\n
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 (1859).<\/p>\n
A combined courthouse-town hall-council offices was built in 1863, and probably remains the most eye-catching group of buildings in the town.<\/p>\n
On 27 May 1892, Heathcote borough was united with McIvor Shire as its Central Riding.<\/p>\n
Between 1900 and 1970 the town\u2019s population fell from about 1300 people to 1080, partly reflecting the end of gold sluicing and the decline in the timber trade.<\/p>\n
CoreLogic data indicates that the predominant age group in Heathcote is 60-69 years with households being primarily childless couples and are likely to be repaying on average $1,291 per month on mortgages.<\/p>\n
In general, people in Heathcote work in a trades occupation.<\/p>\n
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