The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a region in Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its native forests, geographical attraction Hanging Rock, and artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of . It is located in between the cities of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In August 2021 the shire had a population of 51,458. It includes the towns of Gisborne, Gisborne South,

Kyneton Kyneton ( ) is a town in the Macedon Ranges region of central Victoria, Australia. The Calder Freeway bypasses Kyneton to the north and east. The town has three main streets: Mollison Street, Piper Street and High Street. Piper Street has ...

Lancefield Lancefield is a town in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area in Victoria, Australia north of the state capital, Melbourne, 33.6km south of Puckapunyal and had a population of at least 2,743 at the 2021 census. History The are ...

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

, Malmsbury,

Mount Macedon Mount Macedon ( ; or ) is a dormant volcano that is part of the Macedon Ranges of the Great Dividing Range, located in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The mountain has a ...

, New Gisborne,

Riddells Creek Riddells Creek is a town in Victoria, Australia, located in Wurundjeri Country and the Shire of Macedon Ranges. It is located in between the cities of Bendigo and Melbourne. Riddells Creek is also the name of the main watercourse which flows thr ...

Romsey Romsey ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is situated northwest of Southampton, southwest of Winchester and southeast of Salisbury. It sits on the outskirts of the New Forest, just over northeast of ...

and Woodend. The Shire is named after the region's major geographical feature, the

Macedon Ranges The Macedon Ranges is a region in Central Victoria, known for its expansive native forests, vibrant arts scene, thriving food and wine industries (including weekly farmers' markets) and natural attractions such as Hanging Rock and Mount Macedon. ...

. It has become one of Victoria's most popular tourist attractions and contains some of its most sought-after real estate. It is governed and administered by the Macedon Ranges Shire Council; 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 is located at the council headquarters in Kyneton, it also has service centres located in Gisborne, Romsey and Woodend. Macedon Ranges was one of the highest-rated areas in Australia in the Quality of Life Index 2008. It was the highest rated in Victoria (outside Melbourne), and was 13th of 590 Australian local government areas.

Council

Current composition

The Shire of Macedon Ranges was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the

Shire of Romsey The Shire of Romsey was a local government area about north-north-west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1862 until 1995. History Romsey was incorporated as a road distri ...

Shire of Gisborne Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

Shire of Newham and Woodend The Shire of Newham and Woodend was a local government area about northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1861 until 1995. History The Woodend, Newham and Rochford Roa ...

, and most of the Shire of Kyneton. The council is composed of three wards (East, South and West) and nine councillors, with three councillors per ward elected to represent each ward. Since October 2024, Macedon Ranges has consisted of the following councillors:

Administration and governance

The Council meets in the Council chambers at Gisborne, which is also the location of one of the Council's administrative centres. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Kyneton, and its service centres in Gisborne, Romsey and Woodend.

Education

Gisborne Secondary College Gisborne Secondary College is a co-educational secondary school located in Gisborne, Victoria, established in 1981. The current enrolment is 1071 students. Students attend from years seven to twelve. The college serves a large proportion of the s ...

, the largest

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the shire, is located in Gisborne, and provides both academic and vocational programs for over 1000 students from across the Macedon Ranges.

Kyneton Secondary College Kyneton High School is a secondary school in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia, approximately 90 km north of Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of c ...

is Kyneton's state secondary school, along with Sacred Heart College (Catholic), and

Braemar College Braemar College is an ecumenical co-curricular private school located on Mount Macedon in Woodend, Victoria, Australia. Initially the school's board consisted of representatives from the three local municipalities (Shire of Gisborne, Shire of R ...

east of Woodend (Ecumenical, co-educational) as the largest non-government secondary schools in the shire. Candlebark School (R-12, near

) and

Alice Miller School John Marsden (27 September 1950 – 18 December 2024) was an Australian writer and teacher. He wrote more than 40 books in his career, including his young adult novel '' Tomorrow, When the War Began'', which began a series of seven books. Mars ...

(7-12, near Macedon), both founded by Australian author and educator John Marsden, provide alternative education options. There are several primary schools across the shire.

Townships and localities

In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 51,458 compared to 46,100 in the 2016 census. ^ - ''Territory divided with another

LGA LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering , the facility wa ...

''
* - ''Not noted in 2016 Census''
# - ''Not noted in 2021 Census''

References

External links

Macedon Ranges Shire Council official websiteResidents associationMetlink local public transport mapLink to Land Victoria interactive maps

Gisborne & Mount Macedon Districts Historical Society
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macedon Ranges, Shire of Local government areas of Victoria (state) Loddon Mallee (region) North Central Victoria