The Shire of Moyne is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and at the 2021 census had a population of 17,374. who are represented by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) and the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC).

History

The Shire of Moyne was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Belfast, Shire of Minhamite, Borough of Port Fairy, the vast bulk of the Shire of Mortlake and Shire of Warrnambool, as well as parts of the Shire of Dundas, Shire of Mount Rouse and Shire of Hampden. The Board first determined to amalgamate the largely agricultural Shires of Minhamite, Belfast, Mortlake and Warrnambool. Merger with the City of Warrnambool was considered next, but rejected, as it was felt that the city's urban economic interests were sufficiently detached from those of its rural hinterland that the city was strong enough to stand alone. Numerous submissions requested the same treatment for Port Fairy; options explored by the Board included maintaining the Borough of Port Fairy (rejected out of hand), a "coastal strip" municipality stretching from Port Fairy to Warrnambool, or amalgamation of the City of Warrnambool and Borough of Port Fairy into a single, non-contiguous municipality. In the end, the Board considered that Port Fairy belonged in Moyne, because Port Fairy had strong links to its rural hinterland in its role as a service town; Port Fairy's tourism sector was heritage-focused, unlike Warrnambool's; and the special challenges of managing the coastal–farmland interface between the two settlements were best dealt with by a rural-focused shire.

In January 1996, after a further Local Government Board review, about 370&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> of farmland in the Lake Bolac and Nerrin Nerrin districts was transferred from Moyne to the Rural City of Ararat. At the same time, Moyne gained about 40&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> near Chatsworth from the Shire of Southern Grampians.

center|thumb|320x320px|Moyne Shire's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994. The administrative centres of the former LGAs are marked by green dots.<br>🞲 Area gained from [[Southern Grampians Shire in 1996<br># Area lost to the Rural City of Ararat in 1996]]

Council

Current composition

The council is composed of seven councillors elected to represent an unsubdivided municipality.

{| class="wikitable"

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|Councillor

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| Jordan Lockett || Mayor

|-

| Myra Murrihy || Deputy Mayor

|-

| Jim Doukas ||

|-

| Lisa Ryan ||

|-

| Susan Taylor ||

|-

|Lloyd Ross ||

|-

| Karen Foster ||

|-

|}

Administration and governance

The council meets in the council chambers at the Mortlake Municipal Office. Administrative activities are conducted at both the Port Fairy and Mortlake offices, which also provide customer services centres.

Townships and localities

The 2021 census recorded the shire population at 17,374, up from 16,495 in the 2016 census.

See also

  • List of places of worship in Moyne Shire
  • List of localities in Victoria

References

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