The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a region in
Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its expansive native forests, iconic geographical attraction
Hanging Rock Hanging Rock may refer to:
Australia
* Hanging Rock, New South Wales, a mining village on the Northern Tablelands
* Hanging Rock, Victoria, a rock formation
**'' Picnic at Hanging Rock (novel)'', a 1967 novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay
...
, and thriving artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of .
[ It is located in between the cities 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, mak ...
and 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 me ...
. In June 2018 the shire had a population of 49,388.[ It includes the towns of Gisborne, ]Gisborne South
Gisborne South is a locality in the southern part of the Macedon Ranges, a 40-minute drive from Melbourne, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland ...
, Kyneton, Lancefield
Lancefield is a town in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area in Victoria, Australia north of the state capital, Melbourne and had a population of 2,743 at the 2021 census.
History
The area was used by the indigenous aborigin ...
, Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled b ...
, Malmsbury, Mount Macedon, New Gisborne, Riddells Creek
Riddells Creek is a town in Victoria, Australia, located in Wurundjeri Country and the Shire of Macedon Ranges. It is located in between the cities of Bendigo and Melbourne. Riddells Creek is also the name of the main watercourse which flows thr ...
, Romsey
Romsey ( ) is a historic market town in the county of Hampshire, England. Romsey was home to the 17th-century philosopher and economist William Petty and the 19th-century British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, whose statue has stood in the t ...
and Woodend.
The Shire is named after the region's major geographical feature, the Macedon Ranges. It has become one of Victoria's most popular tourist attractions and contains some of its most sought-after real estate.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 tha ...
and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Kyneton, it also has service centres located in Gisborne, Romsey and Woodend. .
Macedon Ranges was one of the highest-rated areas in Australia in the Quality of Life Index 2008. It was the highest rated in Victoria (outside Melbourne), and was 13th of 590 Australian local government areas.
Council
Current composition
The Shire of Macedon Ranges was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Romsey, Shire of Gisborne
The Shire of Gisborne was a now-defunct local government area northwest of Melbourne until its abolition in 1995, when the Shire of Macedon Ranges was created from the merging of the Shires of Gisborne, Newham and Woodend, Romsey, and parts ...
, Shire of Newham and Woodend, and most of the Shire of Kyneton.
Administration and governance
The Council meets in the Council chambers at Gisborne, which is also the location of one of the Council's administrative centres. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Kyneton, and its service centres in Gisborne, Romsey and Woodend.
Education
Gisborne Secondary College, the largest Secondary School in the shire, is located in Gisborne and provides both academic and vocational programs for over 1000 students from across the Macedon Ranges. Kyneton Secondary College
Kyneton High School is a secondary school in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia, approximately 90 km north of Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian s ...
is Kyneton's state secondary school, along with Sacred Heart College (Catholic), and Braemar College east of Woodend (Ecumenical, co-educational) as the largest non-government secondary schools in the shire. In addition to a range of primary schools across the shire
Candlebark Primary School
an
Alice Miller High School
(whose principal is John Marsden, renowned Australian author and educator) provide alternative education options.
Main towns in shire
In June 2018 the shire had a population of 49,388.
References
External links
Macedon Ranges Shire Council official websiteResidents associationMetlink local public transport mapLink to Land Victoria interactive maps
Gisborne & Mount Macedon Districts Historical Society
{{Coord, 37, 21, 00, S, 144, 37, 00, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-VIC, display=title