Cavendish vs Melville Forest
Melville Forest is the younger of the two, with a median age of 36 against 49 in Cavendish. In both, the large majority of households own their home and the large majority of homes are detached houses. In Cavendish, about half of households are people living alone. In Melville Forest, most households are couple families. On these figures, Cavendish tends to suit older residents, while Melville Forest suits families with children and couples.
Which one suits you?
There is no overall winner — the suburb that suits a family with school-age kids is routinely the wrong one for someone commuting into the city. So each of these answers its own question, against a checklist you can see, using the same figures in the tables below.
Families with school-age kids
Cavendish
ahead on 2 of the 6 things we measure here
- has more parks and reserves (7 vs 1)
- carries lower crime risk (13/100 vs 44/100)
Weighs schools, house stock, crime, parks, childcare, and who already lives there.
First-home buyers
Too close to call
Nothing among the 1 things we measure here separates them by enough to be worth acting on.
Weighs mortgage stress.
Renters
Melville Forest
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- has cheaper rent ($150/wk vs $175/wk)
Weighs rent, rental stress, and how much is for rent.
Commuting to the city
Cavendish
ahead on 2 of the 3 things we measure here
- has a shorter drive in (218 min vs 232 min)
- sits closer to the CBD (314.9 km vs 331.7 km)
Weighs distance, drive time, and walkability.
Downsizers and retirees
Cavendish
ahead on 2 of the 4 things we measure here
- has more residents already 65 and over (27% vs 6%)
- carries lower crime risk (13/100 vs 44/100)
Weighs who already lives there, GPs, walkability, and crime.
Investors
Melville Forest
ahead on the one thing that separates them
- is growing faster (50.0% vs 9.6%)
Weighs population growth.
Where they sit
Cavendish and Melville Forest drawn to the same scale. Both outlines are shown together, so the map answers whether they share a border and how their areas compare.
Bars start at zero. Scores, risks and rankings are drawn against their full 0–100 range; other rows are drawn in proportion to the larger of the two.
Side by side, out of 100
Risks are inverted — shown as safety and low exposure — so a longer bar always means better.
Demographics
Cavendish has more residents (366 vs 63); Cavendish skews older (49 vs 36).
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 366 +83% vs other | 63 |
| Population trend (2016 → 2021) | +9.6% | +50.0% |
| Median age | 49 | 36 |
| Median household income | $75,504/yr +18% vs other | $61,724/yr |
| Median weekly rent | $175/wk +14% vs other | $150/wk |
Age profile
Share of residents in each band, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (20.6%).
Who lives together
Household composition, 2021 Census.
Who owns and who rents
Occupied private dwellings by tenure, 2021 Census.
Where residents were born
Largest overseas birthplaces, as a share of all residents, 2021 Census. A dash means that country is not among the suburb's own eight largest.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (4.8%).
Qualifications
Highest non-school qualification, residents 15+, 2021 Census.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (15.9%).
What people live in
Occupied private dwellings by structure, 2021 Census.
Zoning mix
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Rural and farming | 98% | 94% |
| Parks and recreation | 1% | 6% |
| Infrastructure and transport | 1% | 0% |
| Zoning sets what may be built, not what is there today. A single address can sit in a different zone to the suburb around it. Zones as at 2026-09. | ||
Development activity
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| New dwellings approved | 43 across Southern Grampians same for both | |
| Approvals change year on year | +200% same for both | |
Ranking within VIC
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| House price | — same for both | |
| Income | Higher than 42% of VIC | Higher than 23% of VIC |
| Schools | — same for both | |
| Walkability | Higher than 38% of VIC | Higher than 55% of VIC |
| Affordability | — same for both | |
| EV adoption | Higher than 63% of VIC | — |
| NBN connectivity | Higher than 36% of VIC | Higher than 68% of VIC |
Liveability
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | — same for both | |
| Score | — same for both | |
| Socio-economic band | mid-range socio-economic decile 6/10 | very advantaged area decile 10/10 |
Risk profile
Melville Forest carries more crime risk (44 vs 13); Cavendish carries more bushfire risk (57 vs 38).
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Bushfire | Moderate 57/100 | Low 38/100 |
| Crime | Low 13/100 | Moderate 44/100 |
| Flood | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Coastal erosion | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Aircraft noise | None 0/100 same for both | |
| Industrial facilities nearby | 0 within 5 km same for both | |
Schools
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the suburb | 1 | 0 |
| Rated above peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated at peers | 0 same for both | |
| Rated below peers | 1 | 0 |
Schools in Cavendish
- Cavendish Primary School Government · Primary below peers
Schools in Melville Forest
No schools recorded inside this suburb's boundary. Children here will be zoned to schools nearby.
Amenities in the suburb
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Cafes & restaurants | 1 | 0 |
| Parks & reserves | 7 | 1 |
| Childcare | 1 | 0 |
| GPs | 1 | 0 |
| Police stations | 1 | 0 |
| Waterways | 17 | 3 |
Mobility
Melville Forest sits further from the CBD (331.7 km vs 314.9 km).
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Walkability score | 0/100 same for both | |
| Distance to Melbourne | 314.9 km | 331.7 km +5% vs other |
| Drive time (normal traffic) | 218 min | 232 min |
| Electric vehicle share | 0.7% postcode 3314 | 0.0% postcode 3315 |
| Rooftop solar per 100 dwellings | 40 postcode 3314 | 32 postcode 3315 |
How people get to work
Method of travel on census day 2021 — which fell during COVID restrictions, so working from home is inflated and every travel mode understated.
Bars are drawn against the largest share shown (62.5%).
Setting
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Elevation | 224 m above sea level, at the suburb centre | 246 m above sea level, at the suburb centre |
NBN connectivity
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Connectivity score | 28/100 | 30/100 |
| Most common technology | Fixed wireless same for both | |
| Full-fibre (FTTP) share | 0% 166 premises | 0% 26 premises |
Climate
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rainfall | 604 mm same for both | |
| Summer max (Jan) | 26.5°C same for both | |
| Winter min (Jul) | 4.7°C same for both | |
Council rates
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Average residential rate | $1,892/yr same for both | |
| Council | Southern Grampians same for both | |
Federal electorate
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Division | Wannon same for both | |
| Member | Dan Tehan same for both | |
| Party | Liberal same for both | |
First Home Owner Grant
| Cavendish | Melville Forest | |
|---|---|---|
| Grant amount | $10,000 same for both | |
| Property price cap | $750,000 same for both | |
| Eligibility | New same for both | |
Tags
More comparisons
Other comparisons with Cavendish
Other comparisons with Melville Forest
Information shown is provided as-is from Australian government and commercial data sources.
Always verify with the relevant authority before making property decisions.
See Data Sources and How We Calculate for details.