The City of Latrobe is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in the

Gippsland Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...

region in eastern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia, located in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 75,211. It is primarily urban with the vast majority of its population living within the four major urban areas of Moe,

Morwell Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the seat of local governme ...

Traralgon Traralgon ( ) is a town located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia and the most populous city of the City of Latrobe. The urban population of Traralgon at the was 26,907. It is the largest and fastes ...

, and

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

, and other significant settlements in the LGA include Boolarra, Callignee,

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

, Jeeralang, Newborough,

Toongabbie Toongabbie is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. One of the oldest suburbs in Sydney, Toongabbie is located approximately 30 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater W ...

, Tyers,

Yallourn North Yallourn North is a town in the City of Latrobe, Victoria, Australia. It is approximately eight kilometres north-east of Moe, and 146 kilometres south-east of Melbourne. Prior to 1947 Yallourn North was known as "Brown Coal Mine". The Post Off ...

and Yinnar. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the City of Moe, City of Morwell, City of Traralgon,

Shire of Traralgon The Shire of Traralgon was a local government area about east-southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1879 until 1994. From 1961 onwards, it did not actually administer ...

, and parts of the

Shire of Narracan The Shire of Narracan was a local government area about east-southeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1878 until 1994. History Narracan was first incorporated as a shi ...

and

Shire of Rosedale The Shire of Rosedale was a local government area stretching between the towns of Traralgon and Sale, in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1869 until 1994. History Rosedale was inco ...

. The

Yallourn Yallourn, Victoria was a company town in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia built between the 1920s and 1950s to house employees of the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, who operated the nearby Yallourn Power Station, Victoria, Yal ...

Works Area was added in 1996. When formed, the municipality was called the Shire of La Trobe, but on 6 April 2000, it adopted its current name. The city is governed by the Latrobe City Council, with its

seat of local government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation’s capital is also seat of its government, thus that ...

and administrative centre located at the council headquarters, 141 Commercial Road,

. It also has service centres located in Moe, Churchill and

. The city is named after the

Latrobe River The Latrobe River (or sometimes La Trobe or LaTrobe) is a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The Latrobe River and its associated sub-catchment is an import ...

and

Latrobe Valley The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nestle ...

, major geographical features that meander through the north of the LGA.

Industry and economy

The City has traditionally been recognised as the centre of Victoria's electricity industry, which is derived from one of the largest

brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

reserves in the world. It also the centre of a large forestry industry which services Australian Paper's pulp and paper mill (the largest in Australia) and other sawmills. Other industries in the area include food processing (Lion Foods – Morwell), engineering, post secondary education (

Federation University Australia Federation University Australia (Fed Uni) is a public, multi-sector university based in Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. The university also has campuses in Ararat, Horsham, Stawell, Churchill, Berwick, and Brisbane, as well as online techni ...

), and the service sector. Being the largest population centre in the Gippsland region, Latrobe acts as the regional headquarters for Government agencies and private operators including banks and insurance companies. Latrobe is also close to popular tourist attractions including the Baw Baw and

Tarra-Bulga National Park The Tarra-Bulga National Park is a small national park located in the South Gippsland region of eastern Victoria, Australia approximately south east of Melbourne. The park is located south of Traralgon on the Traralgon-Balook Road and north o ...

s and is the natural service centre to the historic gold mining town of Walhalla. The power generators include: * Loy Yang A & B Power Stations, Loy Yang * Yallourn Power Station, Yallourn * Jeeralang Power Station, Hazelwood North Two power stations have closed in recent years, including International Power Hazelwood (2017), and EnergyBrix (Morwell) power station and briquette manufacturing facility (2014).

Towns and localities

In 2021 census the shire had a population 77,318 up from 73,257 in the 2016 census.

Council

Current composition

The council is composed of four wards and nine councillors, with four councillors elected to represent the East Ward, two councillors per ward elected to represent each of the Central and West wards, and one councillor elected to represent the South Ward.

Administration and governance

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

References

External links

*
Metlink local public transport mapLink to Land Victoria interactive maps
Victorian Electoral Commission

Victorian Electoral Commission {{DEFAULTSORT:Latrobe, City of Local government areas of Victoria (Australia) Gippsland