Readers don’t have to look far to witness the extraordinary development activity currently underway across Greater Shepparton. Shepparton and the wider Goulburn Valley never cease to amaze the tens of thousands of people who visit Shepparton whether shopping, on business or just driving to and from New South Wales, Queensland or to the snow from South Australia.
The Adviser, the publisher of the popular annual Our Goulburn Valley magazine constantly hears how visitors are surprised at what is on offer and how quickly the face of Shepparton is changing through major developments. Shepparton could be referred to as the hub of the wheel in Northern Victoria, where well over 100,000 shoppers, tourists, and businesspeople visit each week.
Ideally located to business, many 1000s of people funnel into Shepparton from a huge radius, whether it be from Cobram, Yarrawonga, Berrigan, Deniliquin, Echuca, Kyabram, Nagambie, Seymour, Avenel, Euroa, Benalla, Wangaratta and all the towns in between. It isn’t a surprise to hear Shepparton’s accommodation is booked out during the week by business representatives using the city as a base to visit the surrounding towns.
Shepparton is primed for further growth as the outer suburbs of Melbourne become increasingly unattractive places in which to live. Our food processing, agricultural, transport, engineering, retail and health sectors contribute to a vibrant way of life that allows many 1000s of families to live comfortably and geographically close to the Murray River, the High Country and Melbourne.
A standout business celebrating the extraordinary milestone of 100 years of business is Hansen Yuncken, one of Australia’s oldest building companies which has built a large number of Shepparton’s landmark buildings, one being the major GV Health upgrade. The firm celebrates its major milestone at Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) on Thursday, October 30.
Construction has begun on the multi-million dollar, much talked about and planned Stage 1 of GV Link Enterprise Park on Toolamba Road, Mooroopna. The visionary Shepparton and Mooroopna 2050: Regional City Growth project is being developed by the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) and Greater Shepparton City Council.
The $4.9M Princess Park Multi Use Events Pavilion facility is underway at the western end of Nixon Street, Shepparton. The pavilion will feature modern change rooms, umpire facilities, a large social room with a commercial kitchen, tiered seating and undercover viewing areas. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Makers Mile is certainly stamping its mark on Shepparton with a major development of secure mini warehouses, businesses and factories of 40 sqm – 511 sqm in size. More than 50 per cent of the architecturally designed buildings have been sold on Industrial Road off New Dookie Road, Shepparton.
The long-standing successful business and medical clinic that has been operating for a remarkable 95 years, Lister House Medical Centre in Nixon Street, Shepparton has launched a major relocation and expansion program with a state-of-the-art complex being built in North Shepparton. The clinic’s new address is 4 Shelby Court off Numurkah Road North Shepparton, near Solar City Marine & Caravans, and is headed up by Peter Guy. Peter said the new 800sqm building offered new clinic and cutting-edge capabilities and a dedicated team of 27 healthcare professionals.
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) has experienced many 1000s of new visitors with the highly successful Brett Whiteley: Inside the Studio exhibition. The exhibition has attracted a huge number of unique visitors from outside the region, pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the city.
Mooroopna based Gouge Linen & Garment Service, who employ a massive 500 people across several sites, recently opened a state-of-the-art 9000 sqm facility on the North Shore at Geelong. The dynamic home-grown family-owned business run by brothers Phil and Rob Priestly and run by CEO John Calleja also have depots in Bendigo, Ballarat and Melbourne.
A quiet but now known international business in 22 countries around the world and based here in Shepparton, Rubicon Water, continues to tackle the era of water scarcity and ensuing food insecurity on both a national and international scale. The successful company employs 100 staff and has a large manufacturing footprint in Wheeler Street, Shepparton. The company is celebrating its 30th anniversary and is globally helping to conserve billions of litres of water by implementing intelligent control systems within existing open channel networks.
Graham Thomson Motors, the 40 plus years successful truck business, has a new general manager, Anthony Conte. Former GM, Gerard Michele has been promoted to oversee the company’s growing business in Bendigo, Swan Hill, Renmark, Mildura and Broken Hill.
Major property agent in the Goulburn Valley, Rocky Gagliardi of Gagliardi Scott Real Estate has experienced busier than normal property transactions in the commercial property sector with a large number changing hands for generational reasons. “Business owners were retiring, and their estates were being sold. Land tax was also a big reason for commercial / retail property selling,” Rocky said. Some property highlights have been the sale of I-Med Radiology at 104-108 Nixon Street, Shepparton selling for $4.8M. Believe Early Learning childcare centre at 10 McLennan Street, Mooroopna recently sold for $5.9M. Rocky said there was good demand for industrial / shed blocks. The residential market was steady, however there had been a boom in the $600,000 and below first home buyers’ market and added that the higher end of the market had slowed.
Stockdale & Leggo celebrates its 30th anniversary of success this year. Headed up by Scott and Darren Butler, the real estate business opened its doors in Shepparton in 1998. Their first real estate office, run by the late Noel Butler, was opened in Numurkah in 1995.
Jamestrong Precision Packaging of Kyabram continues a growth trajectory with increased volume of specialised packaging in the last 12 months. Manufacturing manager, Leo Voges, told Our Goulburn Valley magazine they had employed extra staff to keep up with demand.
The combination of a generous donation of land by Jim and Angela Andreadis and almost $3M from the state government saw the completion of a state-of-the-art purpose built Foodshare complex in Mooroopna. Shepparton Foodshare opened in 2012 and has distributed a staggering 4M kilos of food to a whole range of neighbourhood, community, services and faith organisations.
