Georges, I'm unable to tell you whether to invest in these places, but as a Melburnian I can tell you that Castlemaine is very popular with thirty-something inner city people wanting a tree change. The town is very attractive, not too far from Melbourne (but not really commuting distance although I know someone who comes to Melbourne twice a week), has all services, growing rapidly, strong arts/literary/cultural communities, popular tourist destination, lots to see and do. I like the place very much, despite the hippies (heheh). I read last year that the major source of its population growth is from the City of Darebin in Melbourne, which takes in suburbs such as Northcote and Thornbury. Chewton, a little town just to the south, is also lovely and almost part of Castlemaine itself now.
I also have heard that Maryborough is one of the poorest towns, with a lot of social problems, but I don't know much more than that. I would also be very interested to hear from the more experienced about Maryborough's potential for buying an IP, given its proximity to Castlemaine, Maldon, and so on. A person like me, who knows nothing about IP, but who does know a bit about Castlemaine, might look at a map and think that Maryborough (or Avoca, for that matter) might be a good long term investment. Would I be completely wrong about that? Has anyone purchased here for those or other reasons?