The Shire of Donald 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 ...

about west-northwest of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

, in western

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 1861 until 1995.

History

Donald was originally incorporated as the St Arnaud Road District on 25 June 1861, which became a shire on 22 November 1864. It was originally home to several other districts, which split away prior to 1900: * 20 October 1884 - the East Riding became the

Shire of Kara Kara The Shire of Kara Kara 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 Kara Kara was first incorporated as the St Ar ...

; * 30 January 1891 - the West Riding became the Shire of Borung, which later became the

Shire of Warracknabeal The Shire of Warracknabeal was a local government area about west-northwest of Bendigo and north of Horsham, in western Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1891 until 1995. History The Warracknabeal area was ...

; * 27 April 1894 - the North Riding became the

Shire of Wycheproof The Shire of Wycheproof was a local government area about northwest of Bendigo in northwestern Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1894 until 1995. History Wycheproof was originally part of the St Arnaud R ...

; * 5 April 1895 - parts of the Central Riding became the

Shire of Birchip The Shire of Birchip was a local government area about northwest of Bendigo, in northwestern Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1895 until 1995. History Birchip was first incorporated as a shire on 6 April 18 ...

; * 31 May 1895 - parts of the South Riding joined with parts of other shires, to become the

Shire of Charlton The Shire of Charlton was a local government area about north-northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1895 until 1995. History Charlton was first incorporated as a shir ...

. On 11 February 1897, it was officially renamed to the Shire of Donald, after the largest town which remained. It annexed territory from the

Shire of Dunmunkle The Shire of Dunmunkle was a local government area about west of Bendigo and east of Horsham, in western Victoria, Australia. The shire was bounded by the Yarriambiack Creek on the western boundary and the Richardson River on the east. The s ...

on 26 May 1916, and from the Shire of Kara Kara on 27 April 1920. 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 20 January 1995, the Shire of Donald was abolished, and along with the Shires of Birchip, Charlton and Wycheproof, and parts of the Shire of Kara Kara, was merged into the newly created

Shire of Buloke The Shire of Buloke is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 6,184. It includes the towns of Birchip, Charlton, Donald, Sea Lake a ...

Wards

The Shire of Donald was divided into three wards, each of which elected three councillors: * South Ward * East Ward * West Ward

Towns and localities

* Banyenong * Buloke * Carron * Chirrip * Corack * Corack East *

Donald Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

* * Laen East * Laen North *

Lake Buloke Lake Buloke is a eutrophic lake in the Wimmera region of north-western Victoria, Australia. The lake is fed by the Richardson River and is located adjacent to the township of . Lake Buloke is also one of the most popular duck shooting lakes in ...

* Litchfield * Massey * Mount Jeffcott *

Watchem Watchem is a town in north western Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Buloke local government area and on the Sunraysia Highway, north west of the state capital, Melbourne and from nearby Donald. Watchem is a town with very few at ...

* Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

References

External links

Victorian Places - Donald and Donald Shire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shire Of Donald

1861 establishments in Australia