THERE are likely more than a few central Victorians quietly sweating as a result of the much publicised leak of private information of users of adultery website Ashley Madison.
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There are 2479 accounts registered to email addresses originating in the Bendigo/Kennington/White Hills area – about 7.5 per cent of the population in the 3550 postcode.
Big Hill, Golden Gully, Golden Square, Kangaroo Flat and Specimen Hill residents appeared to be far less adulterous, with 508 accounts registered or 3.4 per cent of those in the 3555 postcode.
According to the data, 4.36 per cent of Castlemaine residents are keen for some side action, with 245 accounts registered to addresses in the 3450 postcode.
There were 52 accounts registered in the Harcourt/Ravenswood area; about 4.1 per cent of its population.
Residents in the Epsom/Axedale area appear to be the most happily wed.
The 3551 postcode had one of the lowest rates of email addresses registered to Ashley Madison accounts.
There were 318 accounts registered in that area, accounting for 1.73 per cent of its population.
Epsom/Axedale also has a lower rate of divorce and separation than other postcodes in the region. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows about 7 per cent of residents in postcode 3551 are separated or divorced.
According to ABS, Castlemaine is a hot location for divorcees. About 12.7 per cent of its residents are divorced or separated.
Central Victorians are far from the state’s most prolific users of the site – that dubious honour belongs to those in Melbourne’s inner-city suburbs as well as residents of Frankston and Melton.
The analysis comes from data scientists working at Fairfax Media who are analysing the data, and from developer Luke Metcalfe, who works at online property search engine NationMaster.
The analysis draws on the locations that users entered when signing up to Ashley Madison.
People can easily insert fake addresses, but there are strong incentives to insert an address close to where you live or work as Ashley Madison goes to some lengths to pair users with other adulterers in their local area.
Mr Metcalfe's analysis draws on the postcodes associated with the millions of credit card transactions from around the world made on the Ashley Madison site, which was also included in the leak.
