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Shire of Gannawarra

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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
[1]
 • Total
3,735 km2 (1,442 sq mi)
Population
 • Total10,683 (2021)[2]
 • Density2.8602/km2 (7.4080/sq mi)
Gazetted20 January 1995[3]
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.[1] 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

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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,[3] 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

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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

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Current composition

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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]

WardPartyCouncillor Notes
Avoca  IndependentCharlie Gillingham
Murray  IndependentRoss Stanton
Patchell  IndependentKelvin Burt
 IndependentTravis Collier
 IndependentJane E. Ogden
Yarran  IndependentGarner Smith
 IndependentKeith Link

Administration and governance

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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

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

Population
Locality20162021
Appin1112
Appin South^2938
Bael Bael810
Beauchamp^4444
Benjeroop4556
Budgerum East50
Burkes Bridge1414
Cannie2216
Capels Crossing3554
Cohuna2,4282,415
Cullen3936
Daltons Bridge3757
Dingwall8199
Fairley1514
Gannawarra94110
Gonn Crossing5650
Gredgwin^1513
Horfield^9193
Keely6057
Kerang3,8933,960
Kerang East4044
Koondrook9911,101
Koroop8063
Lake Charm168147
Lake Meran^2322
Lalbert151138
Leitchville^558576
Macorna^8767
Macorna North2031
McMillans9387
Mead89102
Meatian^2019
Meering West^1312
Milnes Bridge2431
Mincha West3216
Murrabit201230
Murrabit West4541
Myall1017
Mystic Park181212
Ninyeunook1113
Normanville3534
Oakvale2119
Pine View04
Quambatook249229
Reedy Lake2626
Sandhill Lake59
Teal Point6054
Tittybong^33
Towaninny^114
Tragowel10483
Wandella6967
Wee Wee Rup3531
Westby2627

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "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.
  2. ↑ 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
  3. 1 2 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.
  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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 3 "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.
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35°43′00″S 143°55′00″E / 35.71667°S 143.91667°E / -35.71667; 143.91667

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