The City of Greater Bendigo is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in August 2021, had a population of 121,470.

The city is governed and administered by the Greater Bendigo City Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Bendigo, it also has service centres located in Heathcote, Huntly, Marong and a couple of other locations within Bendigo. The city is named after the main urban settlement lying in the centre-west of the LGA, that is Bendigo, which is also the LGA's most populous urban area with a population of 99,122.

History

The City of Greater Bendigo was formed on 7 April 1994, initially from the amalgamation of the former City of Bendigo with the Borough of Eaglehawk, the Shire of Strathfieldsaye, the Shire of Huntly and the Rural City of Marong. In January 1995, the rural western flank of the city (part of the former Rural City of Marong) was moved into the new Shire of Loddon, while the city gained the Redesdale district from the Shire of Metcalfe.

center|thumb|The city's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994. The administrative centres of the former LGAs are marked by green dots.

Council

thumb|right|[[Bendigo Town Hall]]

Current composition

The council is composed of nine single member wards. The most recent election was held in October 2024.

Lockwood Ward has been vacant since 17 November 2025 when John McIlrath, who was elected at the 2024 election, resigned. He was succeeded by current councillor Donna Nicholas after a by-election held in March 2026.

{| class="wikitable"

|+The current council (elected in 2024)

!Ward

! colspan="2" |Party

!Councillor

!Notes

|-

|Axedale

|| 

| Independent Liberal

| Shivali Chatley

|

|-

|Eppalock

| | 

| Independent

|Aaron Spong

|

|-

|Epsom

| | 

| Independent

|Andrea Metcalf

|

|-

|Golden Square

| | 

| Independent

| Karen Corr

| Deputy Mayor

|-

|Kennington

| | 

| Independent Labor

| Abhishek Awasthi

|

|-

|Lake Weeroona

| | 

| Independent

| Thomas Prince

| Mayor

|-

|Lockwood

| | 

| Independent

| Donna Nicholas

|

|-

|Ravenswood

| | 

| Independent Labor

| Damien Hurrell

|

|-

|Whipstick

| | 

| Victorian Socialists

| Owen Cosgriff

|

|}

List of mayors

Administration and governance

The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Bendigo Town Hall offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at its administrative centre on Lyttleton Terrace in Bendigo and its service centres in Heathcote, Huntly and Marong and also on Hopetoun Street and St Andrews Avenue in Bendigo.

2023 council election review

In the lead up to the 2024 Victorian local elections, The Victorian Electoral Commission conducted a review into the electoral structure of multiple Victorian councils, including the City of Greater Bendigo, The review found that the city should adopt nine single-councillor wards at the election, namely:

  • Axedale Ward
  • Eppalock Ward
  • Epsom Ward
  • Golden Square Ward
  • Kennington Ward
  • Lake Weeroona Ward
  • Lockwood Ward
  • Ravenswood Ward
  • Whipstick Ward

Towns, suburbs and localities

At the 2021 census, the city had a population of 121,470 up from 110,477 in the 2016 census

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|-

! colspan="3" | Population

|-

! Locality !! 2016 !! 2021

|-

| || 215 || 272

|-

| Ascot || 1,968 || 2,571

|-

| || 43 || 42

|-

| || 352 || 452

|-

| || 802 || 984

|-

| || 288 || 355

|-

| Bagshot North || 30 || 39

|-

| || 17 || 12

|-

| Bendigo || 5,512 || 5,652

|-

| Big Hill || 261 || 281

|-

| || 4,363 || 4,476

|-

| || 75 || 70

|-

| Derrinal || 49 || 99

|-

| || 38 || 42

|-

| || 5,691 || 5,538

|-

| || 5 || 13

|-

| || 2,092 || 2,246

|-

| || 776 || 847

|-

| || 359 || 376

|-

| Eppalock || 685 || 746

|-

| || 4,325 || 5,014

|-

| || 3,955 || 3,989

|-

| || 63 || 57

|-

| || 211 || 213

|-

| || 8,820 || 9,220

|-

| || 654 || 718

|-

| ^ || 265 || 291

|-

| || 2,793 || 2,962

|-

| || 44 || 23

|-

| || 2,379 || 3,585

|-

| || 43 || 46

|-

| || 1,095 || 1,163

|-

| || 1,141 || 1,907

|-

| || 3,201 || 3,862

|-

| ^ || 92 || 89

|-

| || 10,394 || 11,328

|-

| || 5,649 || 5,880

|-

| || 73 || 96

|-

| || 160 || 168

|-

| Ladys Pass || 111 || 118

|-

| ^ || 125 || 167

|-

| || 754 || 806

|-

| ^ || 961 || 1,052

|-

| || 3,383 || 3,420

|-

| || 506 || 570

|-

| || 4,992 || 5,407

|-

| Mandurang || 641 || 753

|-

| || 247 || 280

|-

| ^ || 1,416 || 2,005

|-

| ^ || 178 || 213

|-

| || 106 || 136

|-

| || 459 || 545

|-

| ^ || 67 || 68

|-

| || 290 || 379

|-

| || 4,059 || 4,277

|-

| || 2,339 || 2,365

|-

| ^ || 436 || 443

|-

| ^ || 318 || 329

|-

| ^ || 68 || 67

|-

| ^ || 240 || 299

|-

| || 711 || 743

|-

| ^ || 217 || 251

|-

| || 546 || 614

|-

| ^ || 452 || 423

|-

| || 3,000 || 3,092

|-

| || 5,663 || 5,756

|-

| || 5,428 || 6,850

|-

| ^ || 182 || 221

|-

| || 126 || 144

|-

| || 375 || 378

|-

| Whipstick || 10 || 18

|-

| || 3,219 || 3,620

|-

| Wilsons Hill || 77 || 88

|-

| || 449 || 556

|}

^ – Territory divided with another LGA

See also

  • List of places of worship in the City of Greater Bendigo
  • List of localities in Victoria

References

  • Greater Bendigo City Council official website
  • Bendigo information and community site
  • Metlink local public transport profile
  • Link to Land Victoria interactive maps