The Shire of Yarra Ranges, also known as Yarra Ranges Council, 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 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 outer eastern and northeastern suburbs 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 ...

extending into the

Yarra Valley The Yarra Valley is the region surrounding the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The river originates approximately east of the Melbourne central business district and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley ...

and

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just The Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The ranges consist mostly of rolling hills, steeply weathere ...

. It has an area of , of which 3% is classified as urban. In June 2018, it had a population of 158,173. It was formed in 1994 by the merger of parts of the

Shire of Sherbrooke The Shire of Sherbrooke was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1963 until 1994. Its largest population centre was the town of Belgrave. H ...

Shire of Lillydale The Shire of Lillydale (note spelling difference from the suburb of Lilydale) was a local government area about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1856 until 1994. ...

, Shire of Healesville and

Shire of Upper Yarra The Shire of Upper Yarra was a local government area centred on the upper reaches of the Yarra Valley, about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, extending eastwards into Victoria's interior. The shire covered an area of ...

History

Prior to European settlement, the land within and beyond the Yarra Ranges was occupied by the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the Traditional Owners of the Birrarung (Yarra River) Valley, covering much of the present location of Narrm (Melbourne ...

people. European settlement was established from the 1830s with settlers engaging in agriculture and gold mining activities.

Council

Yarra Ranges is divided into nine wards, each of which elects one councillor for a period of four years. The next election will take place during October 2020.

Wards

* Billanook Ward, named after the

name for the region and pioneered by explorer Robert Hoddle * Chandler Ward, named after a pioneering family * Chirnside Ward, named after George Chirnside, a

Mooroolbark Mooroolbark is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 31 km north-east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Mooroolbark recorded a population of 23,059 at the . Moo ...

settler and owner of the

Werribee Park Mansion Werribee Park is the estate of a historical building in Werribee, Victoria, Australia. It includes Werribee Park Mansion, the Victoria State Rose Garden, formal gardens, the Werribee Park National Equestrian Centre, the Werribee Open Range Zoo, ...

* Lyster Ward, named after William Saurin Lyster, an impresario who had a dairy farm in the area * Melba Ward, named after opera singer Dame Nellie Melba * O'Shannassy Ward, named after O'Shannassy River and reservoir, in turn named after

John O'Shanassy Sir John O'Shanassy, KCMG (18 February 1818 – 5 May 1883), was an Irish-Australian politician who served as the 2nd Premier of Victoria. O'Shanassy was born near Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland, the son of a surveyor, and came to the Por ...

''(sic.)'', Premier of Victoria in the mid-1800s * Ryrie Ward, named after William Ryrie who planted the first

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

in the area * Streeton Ward, named after Sir

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, sou ...

, a painter who lived in

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state capi ...

* Walling Ward, named after landscape designer Edna Walling

Current composition

Localities

The towns, suburbs and localities of the Yarra Ranges Shire are:

Major thoroughfares

* Burwood Highway (State Route 26) * Canterbury Road/Swansea Road/Anderson Street (south) (State Route 32 / C401) (briefly merges with C415 before turning to SR32 (and SR22 respectively)) * Maroondah Highway (State Route 34 / B300) * Belgrave-Hallam Road/Monbulk Road/Hereford Road (C404) (briefly merges with C406) * Belgrave Road (State Route 26) * Olinda-Monbulk Road/Emerald Monbulk Road *

Warburton Highway The Warburton Highway is a 34 kilometre west–east semi-rural highway starting on the eastern fringes of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) at the Maroondah Highway just after Lilydale, connecting Melbourne to the Yarra Valley wine region and its ...

(B380) * Healesville- Koo Wee Rup Road (C411) * Mount Dandenong (Tourist) Road (State Route 22 / C415)

Notes

References

External links

Official websiteCommunity profile
at .id.com.au
Public transport map
at PTV {{Coord, 37, 44, S, 145, 41, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-VIC, display=title Local government areas in Melbourne Yarra Valley *