Rural City of Ararat

Ararat Rural City Council offices – 21 Vincent Street, Ararat

The Rural City of Ararat is an Australian local government area located in the western part of the state of Victoria. It covers an area of Template:Convert and in the 2021 had a population of 11,880.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The area includes the towns of Ararat, Lake Bolac, Moyston, Pomonal, Streatham, Tatyoon, Wickliffe and Willaura.

The rural city is governed and administered by the Ararat Rural City Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Ararat. The rural city is named after the main urban settlement located in the north of the LGA, that is Ararat, which is also the LGA's most populous urban centre with a population of 8,076.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The traditional owners of the area are the Djab Wurrung.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The Rural City of Ararat was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the City of Ararat, Shire of Ararat, and the Armstrong district of the Shire of Stawell.<ref name="Gazette" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In January 1996, after a further Local Government Board review, the Rural City of Ararat gained about 500 km² of farmland in the Wickliffe, Lake Bolac and Nerrin Nerrin districts from the Shire of Moyne and Shire of Southern Grampians.<ref>Template:Cite Gazette VIC</ref>

The Rural City's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994. The administrative centres of the former LGAs are marked by green dots.
🞲 Area annexed to the Rural City in 1996

Council

Current composition

The council is composed of seven councillors elected to represent an unsubdivided municipality.<ref name=Council>Template:Cite web</ref> Composition as of September 2022:

Ward	Councillor		Notes
Unsubdivided	Template:Australian party style|	Cr Gwenda Allgood
	Template:Australian party style|	Cr Jo Armstrong	Mayor
	Template:Australian party style|	Cr Peter Beales
	Template:Australian party style|	Cr William Waterston
	Template:Australian party style|	Cr Bob Sanders	Deputy Mayor
	Template:Australian party style|	Cr Henry Burridge
	Template:Australian party style|	Cr Rob Armstrong

Administration and governance

The Ararat Rural City Council meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 6pm in the Council Chamber at the Ararat Shire Hall, 239 Barkly Street, Ararat. The Ararat Municipal Offices, 59 Vincent Street, Ararat, is the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at this location and is open from 8.15am to 5.15pm on week days.

Townships and localities

The 2021 census, the rural city had a population of 11,880 up from 11,600 in the 2016 census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	8,297	8,500
Template:VICcity	88	90
Template:VICcity	67	77
Template:VICcity	21	22
Template:VICcity^	189	274
Template:VICcity	30	33
Template:VICcity^	103	112
Template:VICcity^	42	43
Template:VICcity	91	110
Template:VICcity^	44	49
Template:VICcity^	89	72
Template:VICcity	27	19
Template:VICcity	42	33

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity^	678	688
Template:VICcity^	19	15
Template:VICcity^	183	185
Template:VICcity^	10	14
Template:VICcity^	33	29
Template:VICcity^	232	256
Template:VICcity^	400	425
Template:VICcity^	430	495
Template:VICcity	330	368
Template:VICcity	25	23
Template:VICcity	19	20
Template:VICcity	110	80

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity^	19	22
Template:VICcity	62	51
Template:VICcity	21	21
Template:VICcity	5	10
Template:VICcity	348	403
Template:VICcity	30	31
Template:VICcity^	38	48
Template:VICcity	38	40
Template:VICcity^	322	356
Template:VICcity^	37	47
Template:VICcity	60	56
Template:VICcity	0	4

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	32	27
Template:VICcity	37	47
Template:VICcity^	45	45
Template:VICcity^	156	158
Template:VICcity	130	130
Template:VICcity	66	68
Template:VICcity	40	62
Template:VICcity	113	123
Template:VICcity	530	439
Template:VICcity	30	33
Template:VICcity^	169	160
Template:VICcity	16	13

Template:Columns-end ^ - Territory divided with another LGA

See also

• List of localities (Victoria)
• Australian gold rushes

External links

• Ararat Rural City Council official website
• Metlink local public transport map
• Link to Land Victoria interactive maps
• Template:Victorian local government areas pre-1994 vs present map link