The last section of the Calder Freeway was complete in 2009 with the connection between Elphinstone and Harcourt North.

For the first time, motorists between Bendigo and Melbourne would no longer need to travel through Harcourt.

But rather than commiserate the occasion, Harcourt plans to celebrate the 10 year anniversary next year with a big party.

Harcourt Progress Association secretary Jacqueline Brodie-Hanns said the freeway had instead further connected the town to Bendigo, Melbourne and Kyneton, allowing more people to move to Harcourt.

“Harcourt has the youngest average population in Mount Alexander Shire, in the 40s,” she said.

“It’s because it’s really accessible to a lot of places, while still being a beautiful small town.

“The local primary school doesn’t capture all of the kids here. They go to 14 different schools, mostly in Castlemaine, Bendigo and Kyneton.”

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Harcourt is now growing so fast that its population is predicted to almost double to 1100 by 2021 as more residential subdivisions are approved.

The opening of the La Larr Ba Gauwa mountain bike park earlier this year, combined with the popular miniature railway, recently-formed Harcourt Organic Farming Alliance and the Mount Alexander Fruit Gardens is seeing more and more people visit the town.

There was one main problem however: the town centre.

“One of the main priorities now is to really consolidate the town centre,” Ms Brodie-Hanns said.

“There’s still nothing to really tie the entire town together, like a proper township in the centre.

“We aren’t really seeing the economic flow-on yet, but that will come eventually. The council is developing an economic plan and identifying how we can capture the growth in the amount of people coming to Harcourt.”

Finding ways to further bring together the town’s local producers was also a priority. They range from apples, cherries and olives, to eggs, honey and other roadside vendors.

There are plans for a monthly fresh food market too.

Karen and Ben Thomson have lived in Harcourt for some time, and recently decided to start a free book exchange library in front of their house.

“The Castlemaine Historical Society were going to take them to the tip, so I thought I’d taken them off their hands and start a free book library,” Ms Thomson said.

“I just couldn’t handle them going to the tip.

“Judging by the shelves, it looks like someone has come already to take some.”

They welcomed the changes taking place in the town, believing more housing would bring back the town’s centre.

“I think the increased housing is great for the town,” Mr Thomson said.

“Eventually more shops will open and Harcourt will begin to have a real heart again.

“It would be nice to see the town grow more so businesses feel this is good place to set up and invest.”

Others believe Mount Alexander Shire Council needed to do more to encourage businesses to set up.

One resident said there were still improvements to make, but doubted whether the council had the funds to provide everything Harcourt needed and if it was a desirable town for business.

Diane Baker, who operates the local post office, said there was no shortage of people who faced difficulties in town, with cost-of-living pressures among the most common.

“I guess working at the post office, a lot of people who pay their bills here are older. People in their 80s and 90s still come in here to pay them because it’s what they’ve always done,” she said.

“They struggle with the cost of living these days.”

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