Alpine Shire
Alpine Shire | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location in Victoria | |||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Victoria | ||||||||||||
| Region | Hume | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1994 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Bright | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Cr Sarah Nicholas | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division(s) | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 4,788 km2 (1,849 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total(s) | 13,235 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 2.7642/km2 (7.1593/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Gazetted | 18 November 1994[2] | ||||||||||||
| Website | Alpine Shire | ||||||||||||
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The Alpine Shire is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of 4,788 square kilometres (1,849 sq mi) and in August 2021 had a population of 13,235.[4]
It includes the towns of Bright, Dinner Plain, Harrietville, Mount Beauty, Myrtleford and Porepunkah. There are two unincorporated areas surrounded by the shire: the Mount Hotham and Falls Creek Alpine Resorts.
The Shire is governed and administered by the Alpine Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Bright. It also has service centres located in Dinner Plain, Mount Beauty and Myrtleford.
Over 90% of the Shire is public land.[5] The Shire is home to two major national parks, the Alpine National Park and Mount Buffalo National Park.[6] The Shire's economy is based on tourism, agriculture and forestry.[6]
History
[edit]The Alpine Shire was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Bright, the Shire of Myrtleford, the Gapsted and northern Mudgegonga districts of the United Shire of Beechworth, the Merriang district and the Buffalo Valley west of the Buffalo River from the Shire of Oxley, the Dederang district of the Shire of Yackandandah, and the Dinner Plain district of the Shire of Omeo.[2][7]
🞲 The Falls Creek and Mount Hotham Alpine Resorts were excised in 1997[8]
Council
[edit]Current composition
[edit]The council is composed of seven councillors elected to represent an unsubdivided municipality.[9][10]
| Ward | Councillor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsubdivided | Sarah Nicholas | ||
| Peter Smith | |||
| John Andersen | |||
| Dave Byrne | |||
| Gareth Graham | |||
| Jean-Pierre Ronco | |||
| Noah Tanzen | |||
Administration and governance
[edit]The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Bright Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities.[11] It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Bright, and its service centres in Dinner Plain, Mount Beauty and Myrtleford.
2020 election results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Ron Janas (elected 1) | 1,525 | 17.15 | ||
| Independent | Kelli Prime (elected 2) | 1,157 | 13.01 | ||
| Independent | Tony Keeble (elected 3) | 973 | 10.94 | ||
| Animal Justice | Charlie Vincent (elected 4) | 812 | 9.13 | +9.13 | |
| Independent | Katarina Chalwell (elected 5) | 749 | 8.42 | ||
| Independent | Sarah Nicholas (elected 6) | 642 | 7.22 | ||
| Independent | John Forsyth (elected 7) | 604 | 7.29 | ||
| Independent | Daryl Pearce | 521 | 5.86 | ||
| Independent | Simon Kelley | 506 | 5.69 | ||
| Independent | Mario Vaccaro | 483 | 5.43 | ||
| Independent | Mickey Fletcher | 430 | 4.84 | ||
| Independent | Kitty Knappstein | 284 | 3.19 | ||
| Independent | Jean-Pierre Ronco | 205 | 2.31 | ||
| Total formal votes | 8,891 | 95.04 | |||
| Informal votes | 464 | 4.96 | |||
| Turnout | 9,355 | 83.76 | |||
Townships and localities
[edit]In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 13,235, up from 12,337 in the 2016 national census.[14]
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Abbeyard | 0 | 4 |
| Barwidgee | 106 | 96 |
| Bogong | 5 | 8 |
| Bright | 2,406 | 2,620 |
| Buckland | 135 | 156 |
| Buffalo River | 255 | 285 |
| Cobungra^ | 53 | 58 |
| Coral Bank | 83 | 88 |
| Dandongadale | 3 | 8 |
| Dargo^ | 99 | 105 |
| Dederang | 167 | 198 |
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Dinner Plain | 230 | 128 |
| Eurobin | 212 | 239 |
| Falls Creek | 293 | 326 |
| Freeburgh | 110 | 136 |
| Gapsted | 173 | 156 |
| Germantown | 0 | 0 |
| Glen Creek | 54 | 59 |
| Gundowring^ | 214 | 208 |
| Harrietville | 338 | 488 |
| Havilah | 21 | 22 |
| Hotham Heights | 196 | 128 |
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Kancoona | 84 | 74 |
| Kergunyah South | 58 | 76 |
| Merriang | 178 | 182 |
| Merriang South | 41 | 43 |
| Mongans Bridge | 35 | 49 |
| Mount Beauty | 824 | 910 |
| Mount Buffalo | 0 | 5 |
| Mudgegonga | 172 | 184 |
| Myrtleford | 3,193 | 3,285 |
| Nug Nug | 21 | 36 |
| Ovens | 219 | 197 |
| Population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Porepunkah | 941 | 1,024 |
| Rosewhite | 134 | 141 |
| Running Creek | 42 | 36 |
| Selwyn | 0 | 0 |
| Smoko | 46 | 56 |
| Tawonga | 574 | 568 |
| Tawonga South | 862 | 1,012 |
| Upper Gundowring | 99 | 120 |
| Wandiligong | 453 | 522 |
| Wongungarra^ | 0 | 0 |
| Wonnangatta | 0 | 0 |
^ – Territory divided with another LGA
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Alpine (Local Government Area)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Local Government Act 1989 – Order Constituting the Shires of Towong, Indigo, Milawa, Delatite, Strathbogie, Murrindindi, Mitchell, Moira and (etc.) – Part 6: Alpine Shire". Victoria Government Gazette (Online Archive) (S87). State Library Victoria: 3–4. 18 November 1994. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
- ^ "2021 Alpine, Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "About Alpine Shire". Alpine Shire Council. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Know Your Council". Alpine Shire. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (1 August 1995). Victorian local government amalgamations 1994-1995: Changes to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. p. 9. ISBN 0-642-23117-6.
- ^ Segon, Michael (20 January 2022), "Mt Buller's snow business", Regional Businesses in a Changing Global Economy (1 ed.), London: Routledge, pp. 79–91, doi:10.4324/9781003256717-7, ISBN 978-1-003-25671-7, retrieved 28 August 2025
- ^ Local Government in Victoria. "Alpine Shire Council". Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure. State Government of Victoria. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "Meet Your Council". Alpine Shire Council. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Council Meertngs". Alpine Shire Council. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Alpine Shire Council election results 2020". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ Bunn, Anthony (26 December 2021). "Animal Justice Party councillor Charlie Vincent leaving Alpine Shire after scoring tourism job". The Border Mail. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ "Census | Australian Bureau of Statistics". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 11 January 2023.
External links
[edit]- Alpine Shire Council official website
- Metlink local public transport map
- Link to Land Victoria interactive maps Archived 24 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine
- Interactive map of Victorian local government areas (pre-1994 vs present) - Victorian Government - Digital Twin Victoria
Localities in the Alpine Shire | ||
|---|---|---|
| Town |  | |
| Locality |
| |
^ - Territory divided with another LGA | ||