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 and, in August 2021, had a population of 20,253.

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.

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).

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!Ward!!colspan="2"|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.

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

|-

! colspan="3" | Population

|-

! Locality !! 2016 !! 2021

|-

| || 88 || 82

|-

| Baringhup || 205 || 185

|-

| Baringhup West || 16 || 11

|-

| || 457 || 487

|-

| || 9 || 12

|-

| || 1,786 || 2,071

|-

| ^ || 55 || 51

|-

| ^ || 1,115 || 1,192

|-

| || 6,757 || 7,506

|-

| || 1,313 || 763

|-

| Chewton Bushlands || 45 || 50

|-

| ^ || 187 || 203

|-

| ^ || 24 || 13

|-

| ^ || 96 || 113

|-

| || 555 || 633

|-

| || 158 || 194

|-

| Franklinford^ || 66 || 71

|-

| || 228 || 232

|-

| || 20 || 17

|-

| Golden Point || 105 || 102

|-

| || 45 || 45

|-

| || 62 || 71

|-

| ^ || 54 || 60

|-

| ^ || 333 || 330

|-

| || 943 || 1,038

|-

| Harcourt North^ || 265 || 291

|-

| || 15 || 16

|-

| Joyces Creek^ || 12 || 20

|-

| || 40 || 52

|-

| ^ || 961 || 1,052

|-

| || 1,513 || 1,665

|-

| ^ || 831 || 905

|-

| || 502 || 775

|-

| || 185 || 190

|-

| || 29 || 25

|-

| ^ || 32 || 44

|-

| Moonlight Flat || 77 || 85

|-

| || 405 || 426

|-

| Muckleford South || 45 || 33

|-

| ^ || 67 || 68

|-

| Neereman || 24 || 23

|-

| || 754 || 820

|-

| Nuggetty || 85 || 64

|-

| ^ || 436 || 443

|-

| Ravenswood South || 78 || 76

|-

| ^ || 240 || 299

|-

| || 81 || 89

|-

| ^ || 452 || 423

|-

| ^ || 87 || 101

|-

| Strathlea^ || 24 || 33

|-

| || 132 || 160

|-

| ^ || 448 || 524

|-

| Tarilta^ || 21 || 26

|-

| Tarrengower || 64 || 56

|-

| || 64 || 55

|-

| || 223 || 262

|-

| Welshmans Reef || 233 || 210

|-

| Werona^ || 46 || 43

|-

| Yandoit Hills || 28 || 44

|-

| || 213 || 272

|}

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

See also

List of localities (Victoria)

References

  • Mount Alexander Shire Council official website
  • Metlink local public transport map
  • Link to Land Victoria interactive maps