Editing Bendigo (section)

=== Decline and regeneration ===
[[File:Sandhurst in 1884.jpg|thumb|left|Bendigo from Camp Hill, 1886]]
Bendigo was declared a city in 1871. Rapid population growth brought a water shortage, partially solved with a new viaduct that harnessed the [[Coliban River]].
The architect [[William Charles Vahland (architect)|William Charles Vahland]] (1828–1915) left an important mark on Bendigo during this period. He is credited with the popular cottage design known as a Vahland House. The cottage design that has vastly been customised shares a common theme of a central door, a sash window either side, a central hallway that runs the entire length of the house and [[verandah]]s ordained in iron lace, a style that was soon adopted across the state of Victoria. Vahland also designed more than 80 buildings, including the [[Alexandra Fountain]], arguably the most prominent monument in Bendigo, with its granite dolphins, unicorns, nymphs and allegorical figures. A [[Trams in Bendigo|tram network]] was established by 1890, some of which is still in operation as a tourism service currently.

[[File:Bendigo Streetscape.jpg|thumb|[[Alexandra Fountain]] in [[Charing Cross (Bendigo)|Charing Cross]], c. 1920s, now listed along with the surrounding buildings on the [[Victorian Heritage Register]]]]
[[File:A Chinese woman wearing traditional qipao standing in the bushland with two borzoi dogs in the bushland of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1930.png|thumb|A [[Chinese Australians|Chinese Australian]] woman wearing traditional [[Cheongsam|qipao]] standing in the bushland with two [[borzoi]] dogs in the bushland of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1930s]]
After a temporary drop in population, renewed growth occurred from the 1930s as the city consolidated as a manufacturing and regional service centre, though gold mining continues.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Recent growth has been most heavily concentrated in areas such as Epsom, Kangaroo Flat, Strathdale and Strathfieldsaye.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

On 28 March 2013, the [[Dja Dja Wurrung]] people were formally recognised as the [[traditional owner]]s for part of Central Victoria, including the land on which the City of Greater Bendigo sits.

In 1994, under municipal reforms of Victoria's [[Jeff Kennett|Kennett government]], the City of Bendigo was abolished and merged with the Borough of Eaglehawk, the Huntly and Strathfieldsaye shires, and the Rural City of Marong to form the larger City of Greater Bendigo. The population of the city increased from around 78,000 in 1991 to about 100,617 in 2012. Bendigo is currently one of the fastest-growing regional centres in Victoria.<ref name="forecast.id.com.au" />