The Surf Coast Shire 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

Barwon South West The Barwon South West is an economic rural region located in the southwestern part of Victoria, Australia. The Barwon South West region stretches from the tip of the Queenscliff Heads to the border of South Australia. It is home to Victoria� ...

region 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 ...

, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 32,251. It includes the towns of

Aireys Inlet Aireys Inlet is a small coastal inlet and town located on the Great Ocean Road, southwest of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Aireys Inlet is located between Anglesea and Lorne, and joined with Fairhaven, Moggs Creek, and Eastern View to the ...

, Anglesea, Lorne,

Moriac Moriac is a town in Victoria, Australia, located approximately west of Geelong. It forms part of the Surf Coast Shire. At the 2016 census, Moriac had a population of 782. A Post Office opened on 1 August 1854 as Duneed, was renamed Mount Mor ...

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...

and

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. Th ...

. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Winchelsea,

Shire of Barrabool The Shire of Barrabool was a local government area about southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1853 until 1994. History Barrabool was incorporated as the second ro ...

and part of the former

City of South Barwon The City of South Barwon was a Local government in Australia, local government area in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, which contained a number of Geelong, Victoria, Geelong suburbs south of the Barwon River (Victoria), Barwon River, ...

, which was, at that point, part of the

City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. ...

. The Shire is governed and administered by the Surf Coast 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 Torquay. The Shire is named after its location on the popular surf coast of Victoria. Post-2008, following an electoral representation review, the decision was made to re-subdivide the municipality into four wards, the current wards are Torquay, Anglesea, Winchelsea and Lorne. Between 2004 and 2008, the Shire was an unsubdivided municipality and as a result, the entire municipality voted to elect nine councillors. Between 1996 and 2004, the municipality was subdivided into six wards, where three councillors per ward were elected from the Torquay and Anglesea wards, and one councillor per ward was elected from the Lorne, Winchelsea, Moriac and Aireys Inlet wards. A position of Deputy Mayor was created in 2004, but it was abolished for the 2005 mayoral election.

Council

Current composition

The council is composed of four wards and nine councillors, with four councillors elected to represent the Torquay Ward, two councillors per ward elected to represent each of the Anglesea and Winchelsea wards, and one councillor elected to represent the Lorne Ward.

List of former and current mayors

* Cr Noel Bates (1995–1997) * Cr Henry Love (1997–1998) * Cr Julie Hansen (1998–2000) * Cr Mike Barrow (2000–2001) * Cr Beth Davidson (2001–2004) * Cr Keith Grossman (2004–2005) * Cr Libby Mears (2005–2006) * Cr Rose Hodge (2006–2007) * Cr Dean Webster (2007–2008) * Cr Libby Mears (2008–2009) * Cr Libby Coker (2009–2010) * Cr Dean Webster (2010–2011) * Cr Brian McKiterick (2011–2012) * Cr Libby Coker (2012–2013) * Cr Rose Hodge (2013–2014) * Cr Margot Smith (2014–2015) * Cr Rose Hodge (2015–2016) * Cr Brian McKiterick (2016-2017) * Cr David Bell (2017-2018) *Cr Rose Hodge (2018–2020) * Cr Libby Stapleton (2020–2022) * Cr Liz Pattison (2022 -Present)

Administration and Governance

The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Torquay Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at its Municipal Office in Torquay.

Elections

Surf Coast Shire holds elections every 4 years to determine the composition of the council.

2016 election

Anglesea Ward

Lorne Ward

Lorne Ward was uncontested in the 2016 election, with Councillor Clive Goldsworthy being re-elected unopposed.

Torquay Ward

Main towns in shire

In 2021 census the shire had a population of 37,694.

References

External links

Surf Coast Shire Council official websiteGreat Ocean Road Journey, Victoria, Australia
(replaces th
Surf Coast Tourist website

Metlink local public transport mapLink to Land Victoria interactive mapsThe Anglesea & District Historical Society Inc.
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