Shire of Macedon Ranges

❧

Wikipedia

Shire of Macedon Ranges
Local government area
Location in Victoria
Location in Victoria
Official logo of Shire of Macedon Ranges
CountryAustralia
StateVictoria
RegionLoddon Mallee
Established1995
Council seatKyneton
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal divisions
Area
[1]
 • Total
1,748 km2 (675 sq mi)
Population
 • Total51,458 (2021)[2]
 • Density29.438/km2 (76.245/sq mi)
Gazetted19 January 1995[3]
WebsiteShire of Macedon Ranges
LGAs around Shire of Macedon Ranges
Mount Alexander Mitchell Mitchell
Hepburn Shire of Macedon Ranges Mitchell
Moorabool Melton Hume

The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a local government area in Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its native forests, geographical attraction Hanging Rock, and artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of 1,748 square kilometres (675 sq mi).[1] It is located in between the cities of Bendigo and Melbourne. In August 2021 the shire had a population of 51,458.[1] It includes the towns of Gisborne, Gisborne South, Kyneton, Lancefield, Macedon, Malmsbury, Mount Macedon, New Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Romsey and Woodend.

The Shire is named after the region's major geographical feature, the Macedon Ranges. It has become one of Victoria's most popular tourist attractions[4] and contains some of its most sought-after real estate.[5]

It is governed and administered by the Macedon Ranges Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Kyneton, it also has service centres located in Gisborne, Romsey and Woodend.

Old logo used up to early 2013

Macedon Ranges was one of the highest-rated areas in Australia in the Quality of Life Index 2008. It was the highest rated in Victoria (outside Melbourne), and was 13th of 590 Australian local government areas.[6]

History

The Shire of Macedon Ranges was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Romsey, Shire of Gisborne, Shire of Newham and Woodend, and most of the Shire of Kyneton (excluding the Trentham district, which was absorbed into the Hepburn Shire).[3]

Macedon Ranges Shire's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994. The administrative centres of the former LGAs are marked by green dots.

Council

Current composition

Ward boundaries in use since 2008. Expand the map and click on a ward to see the ward name

The council is composed of three wards (East, South and West) and nine councillors, with three councillors per ward elected to represent each ward.[7]

Since October 2024, Macedon Ranges has consisted of the following councillors:[8]

Ward Councillor Notes
East Ward Cassy Borthwick Deputy Mayor
Daniel Young
Andrew Scanlon
South Ward Dom Bonanno
Alison Joseph
Rob Guthrie
West Ward Jennifer Anderson
Kate Kendall Mayor
Janet Pearce

Administration and governance

The Council meets in the Council chambers at Gisborne, which is also the location of one of the Council's administrative centres. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Kyneton, and its service centres in Gisborne, Romsey and Woodend.

Education

Gisborne Secondary College, the largest secondary school in the shire, is located in Gisborne, and provides both academic and vocational programs for over 1000 students from across the Macedon Ranges.[citation needed]

Kyneton Secondary College is Kyneton's state secondary school, along with Sacred Heart College (Catholic), and Braemar College east of Woodend (Ecumenical, co-educational) as the largest non-government secondary schools in the shire.[citation needed]

Candlebark School (R-12, near Romsey) and Alice Miller School (7-12, near Macedon), both founded by Australian author and educator John Marsden, provide alternative education options.[9]

There are several primary schools across the shire.

Townships and localities

In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 51,458 compared to 46,100 in the 2016 census.[10]

Population
Locality20162021
Ashbourne196242
Baynton10795
Baynton East*#
Benloch135138
Bolinda197185
Bullengarook645714
Bylands^131117
Cadello1325
Carlsruhe327382
Cherokee5668
Chintin106111
Clarkefield^320303
Cobaw70104
Population
Locality20162021
Darraweit Guim402402
Denver^150148
Drummond^283294
Edgecombe94103
Fern Hill^104125
Gisborne8,99910,142
Gisborne South799854
Goldie227253
Greenhill^5460
Hesket168178
Kerrie8183
Kyneton6,9517,513
Kyneton South124116
Population
Locality20162021
Lancefield2,4552,743
Lauriston236247
Macedon2,0402,073
Malmsbury^831905
Monegeetta218207
Mount Macedon1,3351,450
New Gisborne2,3872,509
Newham506533
Pastoria4875
Pastoria East3851
Pipers Creek159189
Riddells Creek3,9474,390
Population
Locality20162021
Rochford7171
Romsey4,7465,797
Sidonia1328
Spring Hill^198200
Springfield39
Tantaraboo*#
Taradale^448524
Toolern Vale^724818
Trentham East^153181
Tylden^535645
Woodend5,8066,732
Woodend North304315

^ - Territory divided with another LGA
* - Not noted in 2016 Census
# - Not noted in 2021 Census

References

  1. 1 2 3 "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  2. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "2021 Community Profiles: Macedon Ranges (S) (Local Government Area)". 2021 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 8 May 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  3. 1 2 Victoria Government Gazette – Online Archive (1837–1997). "S2 of 1995: Order estg (Part 8) the Shire of Macedon Ranges". State Library of Victoria. State Government of Victoria (published 19 January 1995). pp. 3–4. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Visit Macedon Ranges". Visit Macedon Ranges.
  5. ↑ de Silva, Christine (13 December 2017). "Mt Macedon's own legendary Camelot with links to Arthur Streeton hits the market". News.com.au. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  6. ↑ "BankWest Quality of Life Index 2008" (PDF). BankWest. 20 August 2008. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  7. ↑ Local Government in Victoria. "Macedon Ranges Shire Council". Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure. State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Councillors & Wards". Macedon Ranges Shire Council. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "Australian writer John Marsden, author of Tomorrow series, dies aged 74". ABC News. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "Census | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 11 January 2023.

37°21′00″S 144°37′00″E / 37.35000°S 144.61667°E / -37.35000; 144.61667