Darren Murphy"Bendigo's a great place to bring up kids. You get the country style community feeling.

‘We wanted to be not too far away from Melbourne but also not too far away from family either. We found our dream home here and have made heaps of friends. Our Buddhist nun neighbour, Tenzin, is like a grandma to our kids. We love her.

There's no such thing as peak hour traffic in Bendigo. We can get anywhere in Bendigo in 10 minutes. We love Rosalind Park and the gardens, especially when the tulips are out. The playground at Lake Weeroona is always a hit and we often have a picnic or fish and chips there. We also have a lot of fun discovering different barbeque or picnic spots in the bush or surrounding small towns.

We love the different events. The Autumn Moon Festival in the Chinese Gardens is amazing. We always have friends come to visit for the Bendigo Easter Festival, there are millions of different things to do here.'

– Darren Murphy

Seven years ago, Darren and Nicole Murphy found their dream home in Bendigo after spells living in Melbourne, overseas and Castlemaine. This year, the couple bought one of Bendigo's iconic businesses: Bendigo Wholefoods. Darren, who has a background in hospitality and business mentoring, runs the shop while Nicole helps out when she can, juggling her job as a Podiatrist and caring for Tessa (3) and Alex (6).


Subscribe

A great way to keep up to date with Business Bendigo, is the Business Bendigo newsletter and it’s easy to subscribe:


It's no coincidence that the most revolutionary advance in Australian banking history originated in the City of Greater Bendigo; or that the last two National Business Women of the Year came from the same city.

Nor should it come as a surprise that Greater Bendigo's population is rapidly approaching 100,000 - making it one of Victoria's fastest growing regional municipalities.

Bendigo has been a major business and industry centre since the gold rush.  Today, Bendigo's business and manufacturing industry is comprised of multi-national, national and small to medium enterprises.

The diversity of Bendigo's business is vast with an increase in the manufacturing sector, growth in retail to cater for the expanding population, business, finance and education. Whilst manufacturing is Bendigo's largest industry by economic output there has been substantial growth in all business sectors.

Gold mining, defence equipment, engineering and a specialist food manufacturing precinct are other areas where industry has flourished in Bendigo.

The Bendigo Bank for example is Bendigo's largest business and has grown to become a major player in Australia's finance industry whilst retaining its operational base in Bendigo. Bendigo Bank is now well established Australia wide with over 3000 staff and over 1 million customers.

Bendigo Bank is one of many local businesses who enjoy great success nationally and internationally. Other businesses include Jimmy Possum, Intervet, Fernwood and GPS Ag.

Many successful businesses have experienced the competitive advantages of establishing their business in Bendigo. The City of Greater Bendigo through its Business Development Unit has a genuine interest in encouraging business development and growth in Bendigo. The Unit not only supports existing local business but also helps new business establish themselves in the region through local business relationships and initiatives.

For further information about Business in Bendigo contact Brian Gould, Manager Business Development on (03) 5434 6137.