Golden Square is a suburb of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Its local government area is the

City of Greater Bendigo The City of Greater Bendigo is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2021, had a population of 123,632. It includes the ci ...

. At the 2021 census, Golden Square had a population of 9,220.

History

Gold was discovered in the bed of the Bendigo Creek in the spring of 1851, about 200 metres from where the Golden Square Hotel now stands, sparking the gold rush that established the Australian city of Bendigo. Two women, Mrs Kennedy and Mrs Farrell, are commonly credited with having made the discovery. The Post Office opened on 10 January 1863. The local swimming pool was built in 1918 originally called the Golden Square Baths, later renamed to Golden Square Swimming Pool.

Today

Golden Square is home to The Bulldogs Football and Netball Team competing in the

Bendigo Football League The Bendigo Football Netball League (previously known as the Sandhurst Football Association, Bendigo and District Football Association, Bendigo Football Association and Bendigo Football League) is an Australian rules football and netball compe ...

, Golden Square Secondary College (which has since been closed), Golden Square Primary School, (which is merger of Laurel street and Maple street campuses) and the Golden Square Shopping Centre. The historic Golden Square Swimming Pool was originally proposed to be closed by the council in 2010, however it was saved and still runs today as a volunteer-run pool operated by the community itself with pool patronage increasing on a yearly basis. The new Bendigo Police station is located on the edge of Golden Square and was opened in March 2007. The local railway station on the Melbourne to Bendigo railway opened with the line but was closed in 1981.

Notable people

Golden Square Football Club The Golden Square Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bulldogs'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the Bendigo suburb of Golden Square, Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Bendigo Football Netball Lea ...

has produced AFL stars such as Brownlow Medallist Greg Williams, Richmond stars

Wayne Campbell Wayne Campbell (born 23 September 1972) is a retired Australian rules football player and administrator for the Richmond Football Club in the AFL. He also had assistant coaching roles at the Western Bulldogs for two years. On 29 December ...

and Nathan Brown, and former Fitzroy, Brisbane and Melbourne player Nick Carter. Leading AFL player manager

Ricky Nixon Ricky Lee Nixon (born 3 April 1963) is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL and a former sports agent. At the height of his career, he was one of the most high-profile sports agents in Australia, and a powerful figure in the AF ...

also started his playing career at Golden Square before playing VFL football with Carlton, St Kilda and Hawthorn. Other former VFL players to hail from Golden Square include Des Dickson,

Ray Byrne Ray Byrne (born 16 July 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton, Collingwood and Geelong during his eleven-year career in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Byrne will be remembered as one of the most unfort ...

Tony Southcombe Robert Anthony Southcombe (born 21 July 1950) is a former Australian rules football player who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football leag ...

and

Peter McConville Peter McConville (born 17 August 1958) is a former Australian rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players ...

. The Golden Square Football Club has achieved 5 consecutive senior premierships in the Bendigo Football League (2009 to 2013), the first of its kind for the club.

References

External links

City of Greater Bendigo Council Website

Golden Square Pool Website
{{City of Greater Bendigo Suburbs of Bendigo Bendigo