Shire of Gannawarra

Shire of Gannawarra
Local government area
Location in Victoria
Location in Victoria
Official logo of Shire of Gannawarra
CountryAustralia
StateVictoria
RegionLoddon Mallee
Established1995
Council seatKerang
Government
 • MayorCr Charlie Gillingham
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Area
[3]
 • Total
3,735 km2 (1,442 sq mi)
Population
 • Total10,683 (2021)[1]
 • Density2.8602/km2 (7.4080/sq mi)
Gazetted20 January 1995[2]
WebsiteShire of Gannawarra
LGAs around Shire of Gannawarra
Swan Hill Murray River (NSW) Murray River (NSW)
Buloke Shire of Gannawarra Murray River (NSW)
Buloke Loddon Campaspe

The Shire of Gannawarra is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the northern part of the state. It covers an area of 3,735 square kilometres (1,442 mi2) and, in August 2021 had a population of 10,683.[3] It includes the towns of Cohuna, Kerang, Koondrook, Leitchville and Quambatook.

The Shire is governed and administered by the Gannawarra Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Kerang, it also has a service centre located in Cohuna.

The Shire is named after the locality of Gannawarra, roughly equidistant from the two main towns, which is in turn named for a 19th-century pastoral run.[4] The underlying meaning of the name is variously given as "running water"[5] or "geese".[6]

History

The Shire of Gannawarra was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Borough of Kerang, the vast bulk of the Shire of Kerang and Shire of Cohuna,[2] giving the new LGA a mixed economic base – dairying country to the east of Kerang township and dryland cropping to the west.[7] The Borough and Shire of Kerang advocated for the inclusion of the Shire of Gordon in the combined LGA,[7] but Gordon was staunchly opposed to a northward merger.[8] Gordon was instead amalgamated into the Loddon Shire.

The new LGA required a name that did not show bias towards Kerang or Cohuna.[9] Under the Local Government Board's initial proposal, it was to be called the "Shire of Illoura",[7] a word meaning "still waters" in an unspecified Aboriginal language that, following inquiries with local groups, was found not to be local to the area.[10][9] Representatives from the three municipalities agreed to put forward "Gannawarra" – the name of the pastoral run that once covered much of the eastern part of the Shire – to the Board as an alternative.[9]

Gannawarra Shire's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994. The administrative centres of the former LGAs are marked by green dots.

Geography

The northeastern border of the shire is the Murray River. The Loddon River flows through the shire, feeding into the Murray. The Gunbower State Forest is a significant source of River Red Gum timber, supplying a historic sawmill in Koondrook. Gunbower Island is the largest inland island in the local area.[11] It is between the Murray River and the Gunbower Creek, an anabranch of the Murray.

The western part of the shire is predominantly used for cereal grain production. The north and east have significant dairying and milk processing. Tourists are attracted to the local rivers (for fishing) and lakes (for bird watching and water sports).

Council

Current composition

The council is composed of four wards and seven councillors, with three councillors elected to represent the Patchell Ward, two councillors elected to represent the Yarran Ward and one councillor per remaining ward elected to represent each of the other wards. The current council was elected in October 2020.[12]

Ward Party Councillor Notes
Avoca   Independent Charlie Gillingham
Murray   Independent Ross Stanton
Patchell   Independent Kelvin Burt
  Independent Travis Collier
  Independent Jane E. Ogden
Yarran   Independent Garner Smith
  Independent Keith Link

Administration and governance

The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Kerang Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Kerang, and its service centre in Cohuna.

Townships and localities

In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 10,683, up from 10,549 in the 2016 census.[13]

Population
Locality 2016 2021
Appin 11 12
Appin South^ 29 38
Bael Bael 8 10
Beauchamp^ 44 44
Benjeroop 45 56
Budgerum East 5 0
Burkes Bridge 14 14
Cannie 22 16
Capels Crossing 35 54
Cohuna 2,428 2,415
Cullen 39 36
Daltons Bridge 37 57
Dingwall 81 99
Fairley 15 14
Population
Locality 2016 2021
Gannawarra 94 110
Gonn Crossing 56 50
Gredgwin^ 15 13
Horfield^ 91 93
Keely 60 57
Kerang 3,893 3,960
Kerang East 40 44
Koondrook 991 1,101
Koroop 80 63
Lake Charm 168 147
Lake Meran^ 23 22
Lalbert 151 138
Leitchville^ 558 576
Population
Locality 2016 2021
Macorna^ 87 67
Macorna North 20 31
McMillans 93 87
Mead 89 102
Meatian^ 20 19
Meering West^ 13 12
Milnes Bridge 24 31
Mincha West 32 16
Murrabit 201 230
Murrabit West 45 41
Myall 10 17
Mystic Park 181 212
Ninyeunook 11 13
Population
Locality 2016 2021
Normanville 35 34
Oakvale 21 19
Pine View 0 4
Quambatook 249 229
Reedy Lake 26 26
Sandhill Lake 5 9
Teal Point 60 54
Tittybong^ 3 3
Towaninny^ 11 4
Tragowel 104 83
Wandella 69 67
Wee Wee Rup 35 31
Westby 26 27

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

See also

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "2021 Community Profiles: Gannawarra (Local Government Area)". 2021 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 8 May 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b Victoria Government Gazette – Online Archive (1837–1997). "S4 of 1995: Order estg (Part 6) the Shire of Gannawarra". State Library of Victoria. State Government of Victoria (published 20 January 1995). pp. 3–4. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  4. ^ Ballinger, Robyn (December 2008), Gannawarra Shire Heritage Study Stage One: Volume One - Thematic Environmental History (PDF)
  5. ^ New municipalities of Victoria: a guide to their names. Melbourne: Local Government Board. March 1995.
  6. ^ Reed, Alexander W. (1973). Place names of Australia. Reed.
  7. ^ a b c North West review: interim report. Melbourne: Local Government Board. November 1994.
  8. ^ "The road to reform". Northern Times. Kerang. 2 December 1994. p. 7.
  9. ^ a b c "All differences aside, name unites councils". Northern Times. Kerang. 8 December 1994. p. 8.
  10. ^ "Obscure name concerns MP". Northern Times. Kerang. 2 December 1994. p. 7.
  11. ^ "Gannawarra Shire Council - Murray River Region". Gannawarra Shire Council. 13 March 2003. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
  12. ^ "Gannawarra Shire Council election results 2020". www.vec.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Census | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 11 January 2023.

35°43′00″S 143°55′00″E / 35.71667°S 143.91667°E / -35.71667; 143.91667

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gannawarra_Shire