Suburb Snapshot: Linton

The rural hinterland town of Linton is approximately sixty-five square kilometres and has six parks covering nearly 3.2 per cent of total area. The population of Linton in 2011 was 591 people and by the 2016 Census it was unchanged.

Linton was first occupied for pastoral purposes in 1838 by Joseph Linton and his pastoral run was known as Emu Hill or Linton’s, but more importantly, the name of Linton’s Diggings was given when gold was found on the property in 1854.

Several leads were discovered a few kilometres north of the initial discovery, and in 1860 a township was surveyed in their vicinity, adjacent to Springdallah Creek. The township had a population of 382 and the diggings had over 1500 people, indicating that the survey was based on an existing settlement which had two hotels, a blacksmith and a butchery.

Several shops and a bank moved from the Diggings to the town in the following year. Gold mining continued during the 1870s and 80s, but by the mid-1890s it had lessened.

The connection of Linton to Ballarat by rail assisted the growth of pastoral and agricultural activities, and in 1911 and 1916 the line was extended southwards to Cressy and westwards to Skipton. The railway line was closed in 1985 and has been made a rail trail.

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

In 2011, 84 per cent of the homes in Linton were owner occupied compared with 85.9 per cent in 2016.

Source: Ballarat Times News Group