The Shire of Deakin was 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

Goulburn Valley The Goulburn Valley is a sub-region, part of the Hume region of the Australian state of Victoria. The sub-region consists of those areas in the catchment of the Goulburn River and other nearby streams, and is part of the Murray-Darling Basin. ...

region, about north of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, the state capital of

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1893 until 1994.

History

Deakin was once part of the vast Echuca Road District, which was formed in 1864 and redesignated as Echuca Shire in 1871. (Echuca Shire should not be confused with the separate local government area of Echuca Borough, which was also established in 1864, and proclaimed a city in 1965. This borough covered only the Echuca urban area and the rural area immediately surrounding it.) The Echuca Road District extended along the south bank of the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

, from Mount Hope Creek in the west to the

Ovens River The Ovens River, a perennial river of the north-east Murray catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine and Hume regions of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features Formed by the confluence of the East ...

in the east. Following its redesignation as Echuca Shire, it lost the eastern two-thirds of its area through severances which created the Shires of

Yarrawonga Yarrawonga is a town in the Shire of Moira local government area in the Australian state of Victoria. The town is situated on the south bank of the Murray River, the border between Victoria and New South Wales, and is located approximately n ...

in 1878, and

Shepparton Shepparton () ( Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in northern Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Melbourne. As of the 2021 census, the estimated population of Shepparton, ...

in 1879. However on 10 October 1879, the shire gained a large area which was annexed from the

Shire of Waranga The Shire of Waranga was a local government area about north of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1863 until 1994. History Waranga was incorporated as a road district on 1 ...

. On 30 May 1892, the Moira Ward of Echuca Shire was annexed to Shepparton Shire (which had been renamed

Shire of Numurkah The Shire of Numurkah was a local government area on the Murray River in the Goulburn Valley region, about north of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1957 until 1994. History ...

in 1885), fixing the boundary between Numurkah and Echuca Shires at the

Goulburn River The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victoria. ...

. Following this, the eastern part of what remained of Echuca Shire (roughly the area east of the

Campaspe River The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The he ...

) was severed and incorporated on 20 April 1893 as the Shire of Deakin. Accessed at

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

, La Trobe Reading Room. On 18 November 1994, the Shire of Deakin was abolished, and along with the City of Echuca, the

Town of Kyabram The Town of Kyabram was a local government area in the Goulburn Valley region, west of Shepparton and about north of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The town covered an area of , and existed from 1954 until 1994. History ...

, the Shires of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

and Waranga, and some neighbouring districts, was merged into the newly created

Shire of Campaspe The Shire of Campaspe is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the northern part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 37,592. It includes the towns of Girgarre, Echuca, Kyabram, Roches ...

Wards

The Shire of Deakin was divided into three ridings, each of which elected three councillors: * North West Riding * North East Riding * South Riding

Towns and localities

* Girgarre * Kanyapella * Ky Valley * Mount Scobie *

Strathallan Strathallan is the strath of the Allan Water in Scotland. The strath stretches north and north-east from Stirling through Bridge of Allan, Dunblane and Blackford to Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross. Strathallan is also the name for one of the w ...

* Timmering *

Tongala Tongala is a town in the Goulburn Valley region of northern Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Campaspe local government area, between Kyabram and Echuca, north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Tongala had a population of ...

* * Wyuna * Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

References

External links

Victorian Places - Deakin Shire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shire Of Deakin Deakin