Mount Alexander Shire
Local government area in Victoria, Australia
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The Mount Alexander Shire (officially Shire of Mount Alexander) is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of 1,530 square kilometres (590 mi2) and, in August 2021, had a population of 20,253.[1] It includes the of Castlemaine, Chewton, Elphinstone, Maldon, Newstead, Harcourt, Taradale, Fryerstown and Campbells Creek. The traditional owners of the land are the Dja Dja Wurrung.[4]
Shire of Mount Alexander | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location in Victoria | |||||||||||||
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| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Victoria | ||||||||||||
| Region | Loddon Mallee | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1995 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Castlemaine | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Rosie Annear | ||||||||||||
| • State electorates | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 1,530 km2 (590 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 20,253 (2021)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 13.24/km2 (34.28/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Gazetted | 19 January 1995[3] | ||||||||||||
| Website | Shire of Mount Alexander | ||||||||||||
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The Shire is governed and administered by the Mount Alexander Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Castlemaine. It also has service centres located in Maldon and Newstead. The Shire is named after Mount Alexander, north-east of Castlemaine, the name of which was historically applied to the broader Castlemaine region and goldfields.
History
An earlier "Shire of Mount Alexander", centred around Guildford, existed from 1871 until 1915, when it was absorbed into the Shire of Newstead.[5][6]
The modern Shire was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the City of Castlemaine, Shire of Newstead, Shire of Metcalfe (less the Redesdale district) and Shire of Maldon (less the area around Eddington township).[3]
Council
Current composition
The council is composed of eight single member-wards.[7]
| Ward | Party | Councillor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barkers Creek | Independent | Rosie Annear | Mayor | |
| Calder | Independent | Anthony Cordy | ||
| Campbells Creek | Independent | Bill Maltby | ||
| Coliban | Independent | Phillip Walker | ||
| Forest Creek | Independent | Toby Heydon | Deputy Mayor | |
| Loddon River | Independent | Matthew Driscoll | ||
| Moonlight Creek | Greens | Lucas Maddock | ||
| Tarrengower | Independent | Rosalie Hastwell | ||
Administration and governance
The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Castlemaine Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Castlemaine, and its service centres in Maldon and Newstead.
Townships and localities
In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 20,253, up from 18,761 in the 2016 census.[8]
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Barfold | 88 | 82 |
| Baringhup | 205 | 185 |
| Baringhup West | 16 | 11 |
| Barkers Creek | 457 | 487 |
| Bradford | 9 | 12 |
| Campbells Creek | 1,786 | 2,071 |
| Campbelltown^ | 55 | 51 |
| Carisbrook^ | 1,115 | 1,192 |
| Castlemaine | 6,757 | 7,506 |
| Chewton | 1,313 | 763 |
| Chewton Bushlands | 45 | 50 |
| Drummond North^ | 187 | 203 |
| Eastville^ | 24 | 13 |
| Eddington^ | 96 | 113 |
| Elphinstone | 555 | 633 |
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Faraday | 158 | 194 |
| Franklinford^ | 66 | 71 |
| Fryerstown | 228 | 232 |
| Glenluce | 20 | 17 |
| Golden Point | 105 | 102 |
| Gower | 45 | 45 |
| Green Gully | 62 | 71 |
| Greenhill^ | 54 | 60 |
| Guildford^ | 333 | 330 |
| Harcourt | 943 | 1,038 |
| Harcourt North^ | 265 | 291 |
| Irishtown | 15 | 16 |
| Joyces Creek^ | 12 | 20 |
| Langley | 40 | 52 |
| Lockwood South^ | 961 | 1,052 |
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Maldon | 1,513 | 1,665 |
| Malmsbury^ | 831 | 905 |
| McKenzie Hill | 502 | 775 |
| Metcalfe | 185 | 190 |
| Metcalfe East | 29 | 25 |
| Moolort^ | 32 | 44 |
| Moonlight Flat | 77 | 85 |
| Muckleford | 405 | 426 |
| Muckleford South | 45 | 33 |
| Myrtle Creek^ | 67 | 68 |
| Neereman | 24 | 23 |
| Newstead | 754 | 820 |
| Nuggetty | 85 | 64 |
| Ravenswood'^ | 436 | 443 |
| Ravenswood South | 78 | 76 |
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Redesdale^ | 240 | 299 |
| Sandon | 81 | 89 |
| Shelbourne^ | 452 | 423 |
| Strangways^ | 87 | 101 |
| Strathlea^ | 24 | 33 |
| Sutton Grange | 132 | 160 |
| Taradale^ | 448 | 524 |
| Tarilta^ | 21 | 26 |
| Tarrengower | 64 | 56 |
| Vaughan | 64 | 55 |
| Walmer | 223 | 262 |
| Welshmans Reef | 233 | 210 |
| Werona^ | 46 | 43 |
| Yandoit Hills | 28 | 44 |
| Yapeen | 213 | 272 |
^ - Territory divided with another LGA
