The Shire of Buloke 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 ...

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 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 Birchip is a town in the Mallee region of Victoria, Australia on the Sunraysia Highway north of Donald. The town is located in the Shire of Buloke local government area. At the , Birchip had a population of 694, down from the 2016 figure o ...

, Charlton,

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 ...

, Sea Lake and

Wycheproof Wycheproof is a small town in the centre of the Shire of Buloke, in north western Victoria, Australia. As of the , it had a population of 610. History The name "Wycheproof" originates from an Aboriginal word meaning 'grass on a hill', referri ...

. It was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Shire of Donald The Shire of Donald was a local government area about west-northwest of Bendigo, in western Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1861 until 1995. History Donald was originally incorporated as the St Arnaud Roa ...

, and parts of 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 ...

. The Shire is governed and administered by the Buloke 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 Wycheproof, it also has service centres located in Birchip, Charlton, Donald and Sea Lake. The Shire is named after a major geographical feature in the region,

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 ...

, which is located in the south of the LGA; the name also comes from the "buloke" or "bulloak" tree ''

Allocasuarina luehmannii ''Allocasuarina luehmannii'' (buloke or bull-oak) is a species of ironwood tree native to Australia and its wood is the hardest commercially available as measured by the Janka Hardness Scale. Description The evergreen tree typically grows ...

'', which is common in the region. Within the Shire, agriculture, particularly grain production, is the predominant source of income and employment.

Council

Current composition

The Council is composed of three wards and seven Councillors, with three Councillors elected to represent the Mount Jeffcott Ward and two Councillors per remaining ward elected to represent each of the other wards.

Administration and governance

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

Main towns in shire

In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 6,201.

Traditional owners

The traditional owners of this area are the

Wotjobaluk The Wotjobaluk are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Victoria. They are closely related to the Wergaia people. Language R. H. Mathews supplied a brief analysis of the Wotjobaluk language (now known as Wergaia), describing what he ...

, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali,

Wergaia The Wergaia or Werrigia people are an Aboriginal Australian group in the Mallee and Wimmera regions of north-Western Victoria, made up of a number of clans. The people were also known as the Maligundidj (in the Wotjobaluk language) which mea ...

and

Jupagalk The Jupagalk or Jupagulk are an Aboriginal people of northern Victoria, Australia. They may have been a Wergaia clan. Language The language of the Jupagalk was related to Jaara, according to remarks by Alfred William Howitt, as interpreted by No ...

and Dja Dja Wurrung.

References

External links

Buloke Shire Council official website

Metlink local public transport map

Link to Land Victoria interactive maps
Local government areas of Victoria (Australia) Loddon Mallee (region) Mallee (Victoria) North Central Victoria {{Mallee-geo-stub