Chewton, VIC
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Chewton is a historic gold-mining village in central Victoria, about 5 kilometres east of Castlemaine and 116 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, in the Mount Alexander Shire. Gold found nearby at Barkers Creek in 1851 set off one of the great rushes of the Mount Alexander diggings, drawing tens of thousands of diggers within months. The town was surveyed in 1854, and as the shallow alluvial gold ran out, miners turned to the deep quartz reefs; the Wattle Gully mine, opened in 1876, still works today. Reminders of the boom survive in the Red Hill Hotel of 1854, the 1858 town hall and the 1879 post office. Chewton keeps its own character while slowly becoming part of greater Castlemaine.
Around the national middle
Chewton is more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 997, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Chewton at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 763
- Median age
- 51
- Median weekly household income
- $1,245
- SEIFA score
- 997
- Coordinates
- -37.0913, 144.2696
Chewton demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Chewton using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is mid-life (45–64) at 34%, 14% of homes are rented, and 12% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 112 | 15% |
| Youth (15–24) | 43 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 145 | 19% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 264 | 34% |
| Seniors (65+) | 202 | 26% |
Share of the 766 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 170 | 50% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 114 | 34% |
| Rented | 49 | 14% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 330 | 98% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 336 occupied private dwellings in Chewton.
- Median weekly rent
- $300
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,517
- Average household size
- 2.1 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,781
- Median weekly personal income
- $687
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 84 (12%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 23 (3%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 7 (1%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 365 (58%)
- Labour-force participation
- 53.9%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.2%
- Employed full-time
- 151
- Employed part-time
- 156
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Chewton
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Chewton is January (average daytime high around 29.9°C) and the coolest is July (around 12.6°C). The area receives roughly 637 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.9°C | 16.6°C | 41 mm |
| Feb | 28.5°C | 15.7°C | 20 mm |
| Mar | 25.8°C | 14.6°C | 40 mm |
| Apr | 20.9°C | 11.6°C | 55 mm |
| May | 16.1°C | 8.9°C | 62 mm |
| Jun | 13.3°C | 7°C | 64 mm |
| Jul | 12.6°C | 6.2°C | 59 mm |
| Aug | 13.6°C | 6.2°C | 63 mm |
| Sep | 16.5°C | 7.7°C | 59 mm |
| Oct | 20.6°C | 9.7°C | 72 mm |
| Nov | 23.5°C | 11.8°C | 56 mm |
| Dec | 27.1°C | 14.2°C | 46 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
Common questions about Chewton
Where is Chewton?
Chewton is a suburb of Victoria, Australia.
What is the population of Chewton?
At the 2021 Census, Chewton had a population of about 763.
Is Chewton an advantaged area?
Chewton has an ABS SEIFA score of 997, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 56 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 56% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Chewton?
Chewton has average daytime highs of about 20.7°C and overnight lows of about 10.9°C, with roughly 637 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
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