Rural City of Swan Hill
Local government area in Victoria, Australia
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The Rural City of Swan Hill is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the north-western part of the state. It covers an area of 6,115 square kilometres (2,361 mi2) and, in August 2021, had a population of 21,403.[1] It includes the towns of Swan Hill, Lake Boga, Manangatang, Nyah, Nyah West, Piangil, Robinvale, Ultima and Woorinen South.
Rural City of Swan Hill | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location in Victoria | |||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Victoria | ||||||||||||
| Region | Loddon Mallee | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1995 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Swan Hill | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Les McPhee | ||||||||||||
| • State electorates | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 6,115 km2 (2,361 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 21,403 (2021)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 3.5001/km2 (9.0652/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Gazetted | 20 January 1995[3] | ||||||||||||
| Website | Rural City of Swan Hill | ||||||||||||
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The Rural City is governed and administered by the Swan Hill Rural City Council. Its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Swan Hill; it also has a service centre located in Robinvale. The Rural City is named after the city of Swan Hill, the Shire's major urban settlement, which had a population of 10,869 in 2021.[4]
History
The Rural City of Swan Hill was formed in 1995 in what was described as a "natural amalgamation"[5] of the City of Swan Hill, Shire of Swan Hill, and a small portion of the Shire of Kerang comprising the southern Tresco district.
Proposing the new LGA in a 1994 report, the Local Government Board described the area as Victoria's "salad bowl". The Rural City was to take in the regional service hub of Swan Hill, a mix of dryland and irrigated agriculture, and a tourism sector oriented around the Murray River and Lake Boga. A public consultation carried out by the Shire of Swan Hill in 1994 found that more than 60% of respondents were in favour of the merger.[5]
Council
Current composition
The council is composed of four wards and seven councillors, with four councillors elected to represent the Central Ward and one councillor per remaining ward elected to represent each of the other wards.[6]
| Ward | Party | Councillor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central | Independent | Chris Jeffery | ||
| United Australia Party[7] | Stuart King | |||
| Independent | Bill Moar | Mayor (2019–2022) | ||
| Independent | Ann Young | Mayor (2016–2019) | ||
| Lakes | Independent | Les McPhee | Mayor (2022-present) | |
| Murray-Mallee | Independent | Nicole McKay | ||
| Robinvale | Independent | Jacqui Kelly | Elected in 2023 on a countback to replace Jade Benham[8] | |
Administration and governance
The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Swan Hill Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Swan Hill, and its service centre in Robinvale.
Townships and localities
The 2021 census, the rural city had a population of 21,403 up from 20,584 in the 2016 census[9]
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Annuello | 25 | 40 |
| Bannerton | 40 | 78 |
| Beauchamp^ | 44 | 44 |
| Beverford | 336 | 337 |
| Bolton | 12 | 15 |
| Boundary Bend | 132 | 154 |
| Bulga | 3 | 0 |
| Castle Donnington | 131 | 139 |
| Chillingollah | 5 | 3 |
| Chinangin | 6 | 3 |
| Chinkapook | 32 | 17 |
| Cocamba | 4 | 4 |
| Fish Point | 15 | 11 |
| Gerahmin | 21 | 11 |
| Goschen | 27 | 35 |
| Gowanford | 3 | 8 |
| Happy Valley | 85 | 87 |
| Kenley | 48 | 64 |
| Kooloonong | 39 | 19 |
| Kunat | 36 | 45 |
| Lake Boga | 985 | 982 |
| Lake Powell | 19 | 86 |
| Liparoo | 38 | 33 |
| Manangatang | 309 | 274 |
| Meatian^ | 20 | 19 |
| Miralie | 0 | 0 |
| Murnungin | 12 | 14 |
| Murrawee | 143 | 126 |
| Murraydale | 125 | 105 |
| Narrung | 18 | 24 |
| Natya | 38 | 40 |
| Nowie | 21 | 24 |
| Nyah | 530 | 536 |
| Nyah West | 663 | 673 |
| Nyrraby | 18 | 18 |
| Pental Island | 135 | 159 |
| Piangil | 259 | 230 |
| Pira | 10 | 16 |
| Polisbet | 5 | 5 |
| Robinvale | 3,088 | 3,497 |
| Speewa | * | # |
| Swan Hill | 10,905 | 11,186 |
| Swan Hill West | 4 | 11 |
| Tol Tol | 142 | 175 |
| Towan | 11 | 13 |
| Tresco | 209 | 162 |
| Tresco West | 152 | 153 |
| Turoar | 0 | 8 |
| Tyntynder | 151 | 157 |
| Tyntynder South | 268 | 250 |
| Tyrrell^ | 13 | 16 |
| Ultima | 174 | 173 |
| Ultima East | 3 | 0 |
| Vinifera | 159 | 163 |
| Waitchie | 48 | 43 |
| Wandown | 0 | 0 |
| Wemen | 111 | 128 |
| Winlaton | 7 | 0 |
| Winnambool | 22 | 8 |
| Wood Wood | 85 | 91 |
| Woorinen | 260 | 262 |
| Woorinen North | 87 | 94 |
| Woorinen South | 356 | 404 |
^ - Territory divided with another LGA
* - Not noted in 2016 Census
# - Not noted in 2021 Census
Sister cities
Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
