The Shire of Moorabool 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 Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, in June 2018, had a population of 34,158. It includes the towns of Ballan,

Bacchus Marsh Bacchus Marsh (Wathawurrung: ''Pullerbopulloke'') is an urban centre and suburban locality in Victoria, Australia located approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne and west of Melton, Victoria, Melton at a near equidistance to th ...

, Balliang, Mount Wallace,

Myrniong Myrniong ()'' Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition'' (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is near the Western Freeway, north west of the state capital, Melbourne and west of Bacchus M ...

, Blackwood, Greendale,

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

, Korweinguboora and Mount Egerton,

Bungaree Bungaree, or Boongaree ( – 24 November 1830), was an Aboriginal Australian from the Guringai people of the Broken Bay north of Sydney, who was known as an explorer, entertainer, and Aboriginal community leader.Barani (2013)Significant Aborig ...

, Elaine and

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the

Shire of Bacchus Marsh The Shire of Bacchus Marsh was a local government area about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1862 until 1994. History Bacchus Marsh was first incorporated as a ro ...

Shire of Ballan The Shire of Ballan was a local government area about west of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1862 until 1994. History Ballan was first incorporated as a road district on ...

and parts of the

Shire of Bungaree The Shire of Bungaree was a local government area northeast of the regional city of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1863 until 1994. History Bungaree was first incorporated as a road district ...

and

City of Werribee The City of Wyndham is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the outer south-western suburbs of Melbourne, within the Melbourne Metropolitan Area, between Melbourne and the regional city of Geelong. It has an area of . The city had a ...

. The Shire is governed and administered by the Moorabool 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 Ballan, it also has service centres located in Bacchus Marsh and Darley. The Shire is named after the

Moorabool River The Moorabool River is a river in Victoria, Australia, that runs past several small towns and areas such as Meredith, Victoria, Meredith, Anakie, Victoria, Anakie, and Staughton Vale (north-west of Geelong). The river joins with the Barwon River ...

, a major geographical feature that meanders through the area, which is named after the

Wathawurrung Wadawurrung, also rendered as Wathawurrung, Wathaurong or Wada wurrung, and formerly sometimes Barrabool, is the Aboriginal Australian language spoken by the Wathaurong people of the Kulin Nation of Central Victoria. It was spoken by 15 clan ...

word ''moo-roo-bul'' referring to

Bunyip The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. Name The origin of the word ''bunyip'' has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba or Wergaia ...

-like creature that lives in the river.

Council

Current composition

The council is composed of four wards and seven councillors, with four councillors elected to represent the East Moorabool Ward and one councillor per remaining ward elected to represent each of the other wards. Council Composition as of September 2022:

Administration and governance

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

Main towns in shire

In June 2018 the shire had a population of 34,158.

References

External links

*
Metlink local public transport map

Link to Land Victoria interactive maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moorabool, Shire of Local government areas of Victoria (Australia) Grampians (region)