Mount Alexander Shire Council Local Community Planning Project Community Profile Newstead 3462 Image by Leigh Kinrade 1 INTRODUCTION Mount Alexander Shire Council has been funded over three years until May 2014, through the State Government’s Department of Planning and Community Development, to undertake the Mount Alexander Shire Local Community Planning Project (LCPP). The project aims to support local community engagement across the Shire to enable communities to articulate their needs and aspirations through the development of local community-based Action Plans. In September 2011, Council announced that Newstead would be one of three townships to participate in the first round of planning. This document has been formulated to provide some background information about Newstead and a starting point for discussion. ABOUT MOUNT ALEXANDER SHIRE The original inhabitants of the Mount Alexander area were the Jaara Jaara Aboriginal people. European settlement dates from the late 1830s, with land used mainly for pastoral purposes, particularly sheep grazing. Population was minimal until the 1850s, spurred by gold mining from 1851, the construction of the railway line, and the establishment of several townships. Rapid growth took place into the late 1800s before declining as gold supplies waned and mines were closed. Relatively stable between the 1950’s and the 1980’s, the population increased from about 12,700 in 1981 to 16,600 in 2006. The 1 preliminary Estimated Resident Population for 2010 is 18,421 . Mount Alexander Shire (MAS, the Shire) forms part of the Loddon Mallee Region (the Region), which encompasses ten municipalities and covers nearly 59,000km 2 in size, or approximately 26 percent of the land area of the State of Victoria. The Shire is approximately 1,530km 2 in size and comprises several small towns and communities of national historic and environmental significance. The population of the Shire is quite centralised, with approximately two thirds of the population living in the greater Castlemaine area, including the townships of Chewton, Campbells Creek and Barkers Creek. Other primary townships include Newstead, Maldon, Taradale and Harcourt. Formed in 1995 from the merger of the City of Castlemaine, Shire of Newstead, most of the Shire of Maldon and Shire of Metcalfe, Mount Alexander is divided into five wards: Calder Ward, Castlemaine Ward, Coliban Ward, Loddon Ward and Tarrengower Ward. Castlemaine Ward has three councillors while the other wards are represented by one councillor each. 1 Estimated Resident Population – Mount Alexander Shire, Australian Bureau of Statistics, June 2011 2 Figure One: Map of Mount Alexander Shire Figure Two: Map of Newstead 3 ABOUT NEWSTEAD HISTORY The rural township of Newstead is located 56 kilometres south of Bendigo and 17 kilometres west of Castlemaine in the municipality of Mount Alexander. Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the grassy river flats dotted with giant Red Gums along this valley and now known as the Loddon River, formed the homelands of the Jajawurrong people. Local recorded history begins with the Scottish explorer Major Thomas Mitchell’s account of his journey through the area in 1836. His tantalising descriptions encouraged a steady stream of Sydneysiders to move south. Many, now familiar local names, took the opportunity to take up runs in this part of the Loddon Valley. In October of 1860 Newstead Road District was proclaimed and rates were officially collected for the first time. Five years later in February 1865 the Shire of Newstead was born. It remained unchanged until 1915 when amalgamation with Mount Alexander Shire took place. In May 1949 a separation occurred and the Shire of Newstead was proclaimed for a second time. However, with the more recent council amalgamations of the mid 1990s, Newstead is once more part of the Mount Alexander Shire. As early as 1856 the local community wrote asking the National Board of Education for permission to conduct a school. Teaching commenced in the tent chapel at the end of that year. As of September 1862 the school became Number 452 Newstead and in 1877 a new school building was erected on the site. Gold featured significantly in the development of Newstead. At first shallow alluvial gold was discovered, creating several small rushes to the area. In the early 1860s a Chinese camp of almost three thousand inhabitants was to be found along the Jim Crow Creek. Later, gold was extracted by dredge and at one time in the 1940s Newstead was Victoria’s greatest producer. The gold diggers brought prosperity to the squatters of Newstead providing a ready market for their produce and livestock. As well as being a gold town, early Newstead supported a large wool and dairy farming community. However, since the 1960s great changes have occurred and local agriculture now involves a smaller but more diversified sector including cropping, grazing, prime lambs, fine wool, goats, emus, alpacas, herbs, vineyards, organic vegetables and apiarists. In the past thirty years the town has also seen enormous growth in the population associated with the performing and visual arts, music, pottery and writing. 4 The Newstead Hotel c.1894, DEMOGRAPHICS Newstead’s 486 residents live in 220 local households, with unoccupied dwellings at about 17% (45 dwellings), an indication that there are some houses used as holiday accommodation. Newstead’s age profile is roughly aligned to the regional Victorian average, with somewhat less adults in the 18 to 64 age group (55.4% for Newstead compared to 59.1% for regional Victoria) and somewhat more who are aged 65 and over (18.8% for Newstead compared to 15.9% for regional Victoria). The median age of Newstead residents is 46. Current migration trends indicate a population increase in the greater Newstead area (rural west) of approximately 2.3% between the years 2001 and 2006. According to the Loddon Mallee South Regional Strategic Plan the capacity for expansion in settlements such as Newstead is limited by the surrounding forest and needs to be carefully considered, particularly in the light of findings from the 2009 Bushfires Royal Commission. However, the report also finds that Newstead is capable of meeting its projected population growth. 2 Despite the projected population increase, school attendance at the local primary school, Newstead Primary School is dropping, with a smaller number of preschoolers coming 2 Loddon Mallee Regional Strategic Plan – Southern Region, 2010 5 through - enrolments for 2012 are at 60 compared to 73 in 2011. 25.2% of the under-18 population attend secondary school, and 12.2% attend a tertiary institution. Castlemaine, Maryborough and Bendigo are the favoured destinations for high school students. There are also lower numbers of preschool children coming through meaning the local playgroup and kindergarten, Newstead Preschool may struggle for numbers without an injection of new families coming into town. By way of explanation this decrease in school numbers may be attributed to the fact that Newstead has a lower ratio of couples with children families at 36.2% compared to RV with 42.7% and a slightly higher number of sole parent families at 20% compared to 15.4%. Anecdotal evidence also points towards a number of families choosing to send their children to primary schools in surrounding townships. In terms of Religion 59.5% of Newsteadians described themselves as having a faith (either Christian or non-christian) while 31.8% stated they had no religion. ECONOMICS Newstead supports two pubs, a community centre, cafe, general store, post office, a Rural Transaction Centre (with internet café, banking facilities, library, daycare and other services), a small licensed IGA supermarket and bakery, a swimming pool and a hairdressers. It also has a licensed cafe, a butcher, two small shops selling antiques and collectables, and three local vineyards. There are several accommodation choices ranging from farm stays to a motel. Newstead Post Office (image by Leigh Kinrade) Newstead Swimming Pool Newstead (rural west) scores 994 on the SEIFA index of disadvantage*** (the benchmark score being 1000) – meaning that is neither significantly advantaged nor disadvantaged. By comparison, Mount Alexander Shire scores 981 on the index and Bendigo 984. A significantly higher proportion than average of Newstead locals own their own home outright (46.8% compared to a regional Victorian average of 38.8%), whilst 28.6% are paying 6 off a mortgage and 19.1% rent their home, lower than the regional Victorian average of 22.4%. Average loan repayments and rental costs are lower than elsewhere, but there are more households earning a lower income; and less earning a higher income, than when compared to the regional Victorian average and that of the Mount Alexander Shire. Unemployment in Newstead is considerably higher than the rest of Victoria and currently sits at around 9.7% in the area and 11.5% in the township compared to 5.4% state-wide. In Newstead, 50.7% of people in the labour market are employed full time, while 33% are employed on a part time basis. COMMUNITY LIFE AND LEISURE o Community Groups Priding itself on its rich community life, Newstead is home to 40 active community groups and has a strong history of volunteerism. Community facilities include a community hall, outdoor swimming pool, race park and Rotunda park for events such as the twice yearly Newstead Market. Amongst others, there is a women's group, a community garden, four churches, performers group, organic growers group, playgroup, senior citizens club, men’s shed, lawn bowls club, croquet club, football club, karate club, netball club, walking group and spinners group. Annually, Newstead holds a folk music festival in late January, with artists coming from all around Australia and some from overseas. Another highlight in the town’s calendar is 'Chopped' magazine’s annual, Chopped Rod & Custom show, which brings traditional style rods and custom cars from all ov er Australia into the town for a weekend during spring.