The Shire of Southern Grampians is a local government area (LGA) in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 16,135.
The Shire of Southern Grampians was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the City of Hamilton, Shire of Wannon, the vast bulk of the Shire of Mount Rouse and Shire of Dundas, and small parts of the Shire of Kowree and Shire of Heywood.
The creation of the Shire was strongly supported by the councils of the City of Hamilton and the Shires of Wannon, Dundas and Mount Rouse. The four municipalities were eager to amalgamate, as they were already collaborating in a range of areas including library services, health, water, waste disposal and weights and measures.
The Shire of Wannon suggested the name "Southern Grampians Council" for the combined entity. The Local Government Board initially planned to call the amalgamated municipality the "Shire of Napier" (after Mount Napier), but the four councils expressed their preference for "Southern Grampians", a suggestion the Board ultimately adopted.
center|thumb|320x320px|Southern Grampians Shire's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994. The administrative centres of the former LGAs are marked by green dots.<br>🞲 Area transferred out of Southern Grampians Shire in 1996
Council
Current composition
The council is composed of seven councillors elected to represent an unsubdivided municipality. Council composition as of May 2026:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Party!!Councillor!!Term!!Notes
|-
| |
|Independent
| Dennis Heslin
| 2024–present
| Mayor
|-
| |
| Independent
| Adam Campbell
| 2024–present
|
|-
| |
| Independent
| Helen Henry
| 2020–present
|
|-
| |
| Independent
| Jayne Manning
| 2024–present
|
|-
| |
| Independent
| Afton Barber
| 2024–present
|
|-
| |
| Independent
| Katrina Rainsford
| 2004–present
|
|-
| |
| Animal Justice
| Tamasyn Ramsay-Grounds
| 2026–present
|
|-
|}
Administration and governance
The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Hamilton Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre on Brown Street in Hamilton, and its service centre in Roberts St in Hamilton.
Townships and localities
The 2021 census recorded the shire population at 16,588, compared to 15,944 in the 2016 census.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan="3" | Population
|-
! Locality !! 2016 !! 2021
|-
| || 294 || 281
|-
| || 1,793 || 1,996
|-
| || 81 || 84
|-
| ^ || 351 || 304
|-
| || 39 || 42
|-
| || 25 || 21
|-
| || 93 || 104
|-
| ^ || 123 || 129
|-
| || 119 || 134
|-
| ^ || 246 || 256
|-
| ^ || 70 || 67
|-
| || 334 || 366
|-
| ^ || 3 || 3
|-
| ^ || 17 || 15
|-
| || 1,029 || 1,062
|-
| || 38 || 38
|-
| || 70 || 70
|-
| || 35 || 31
|-
| ^ || 678 || 688
|-
| || 23 || 23
|-
| || 29 || 35
|-
| ^ || 43 || 42
|-
| ^ || 16 || 23
|-
| ^ || 232 || 256
|-
| || 0 || 0
|-
| || 21 || 44
|-
| || 55 || 61
|-
| || 9,974 || 10,346
|-
| ^ || 200 || 184
|-
| || 59 || 75
|-
| || 19 || 29
|-
| || 30 || 29
|-
| || 50 || 60
|-
| || 42 || 63
|-
| || 26 || 31
|-
| || 83 || 79
|-
| || 31 || 29
|-
| || 17 || 16
|-
| || 83 || 108
|-
| ^ || 31 || 29
|-
| ^ || 36 || 48
|-
| ^ || 93 || 79
|-
| ^ || 622 || 677
|-
| || 29 || 29
|-
| ^ || 14 || 21
|-
| || 14 || 25
|-
| || 93 || 84
|-
| || 39 || 38
|-
| ^ || 36 || 30
|-
| ^ || 21 || 25
|-
| || 37 || 25
|-
| || 301 || 328
|-
| || 49 || 45
|-
| || 17 || 16
|-
| || 79 || 65
|-
| ^ || 104 || 96
|-
| || 108 || 124
|-
| || 24 || 50
|-
| || 39 || 34
|-
| || 46 || 32
|-
| || 26 || 35
|-
| || 127 || 128
|}
^ - Territory divided with another LGA
See also
- List of places of worship in Southern Grampians Shire
- List of localities (Victoria)
References
External links
- Southern Grampians Shire Council official website
- Metlink local public transport map
- Link to Land Victoria interactive maps