Rural City of Wangaratta

File:WangarattaGovernmentCentre.JPG

Council Offices and chambers

The Rural City of Wangaratta 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 Template:Convert and, in August 2021, had a population of 29,808.<ref name=ABSLGA/> It includes the towns of Cheshunt, Eldorado, Everton, Glenrowan, Greta, Greta West, Milawa, Moyhu, Oxley, Tarrawingee, Wangaratta and Whitfield. When formed the municipality was originally called the Shire of Milawa, but a few months later, was renamed to its current name.<ref name=Gazette />

The Rural City is governed and administered by the Wangaratta Rural City Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Wangaratta. The Rural City is named after the main urban settlement located in the north of the LGA, that is Wangaratta, which is also the LGA's most populous urban centre with a population of around 18,500.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

The Rural City of Wangaratta was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the City of Wangaratta, the Shire of Wangaratta, the Shire of Oxley (less the Merriang district and the Buffalo River valley), the Glenrowan district of the Shire of Benalla, the Everton and Murmungee districts of the United Shire of Beechworth, and the township of Peechelba from the Shire of Yarrawonga.

File:Victoria LGAs pre- vs post-amalgamation Wangaratta.png

The Rural City's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994.

Council

Current composition

The council is composed of seven single-councillor wards.<ref name=Council>Template:Cite web</ref> As of the 2024 election, the seven councillors are:<ref name=Councillors>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ward	Councillor		Notes
Appin	Template:Australian party style|	Tania Maxwell
Bullawah	Template:Australian party style|	Dave Fuller
King River	Template:Australian party style|	Harry Bussell
Ovens	Template:Australian party style|	Harvey Benton	Deputy Mayor
Warby	Template:Australian party style|	Irene Grant	Mayor
Wareena	Template:Australian party style|	Ashlee Fitzpatrick
Yarrunga	Template:Australian party style|	Allison Winters

History

The election of Councillors in 2016 followed a three year period where the Council was governed by Administrators. Administrators had been appointed by an Act of Parliament, following the dismissal of the Councillors elected at the 2012 general election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A panel of three administrators, by an Act of Parliament, was appointed to oversee the council until the 2016 municipal elections.<ref name=LGA-RCoW>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2023, the Victoria Electoral Commission commenced an electoral structure review into the existing Ward structures of the Rural City of Wangaratta to satisfy the requirements of the Local Government Act 2020 (Vic). As a result of this review, the council moved to seven single-councillor wards for the 2024 election. Previously, the council was divided into 4 wards, including a four-councillor city ward.<ref name="Council" />

Administration and governance

The councillors meet in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Wangaratta Government Centre, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at its administrative centre in Wangaratta.

Townships and localities

The 2021 census, the rural city had a population of 29,808 up from 28,310 in the 2016 census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	83	100
Template:VICcity	129	135
Template:VICcity	17	13
Template:VICcity	49	53
Template:VICcity	69	79
Template:VICcity^	41	51
Template:VICcity	96	106
Template:VICcity	47	44
Template:VICcity	155	160
Template:VICcity	95	97
Template:VICcity	231	213
Template:VICcity	0	0
Template:VICcity	120	106
Template:VICcity	54	59

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	80	66
Template:VICcity	75	60
Template:VICcity	92	109
Template:VICcity	385	382
Template:VICcity	203	193
Template:VICcity	158	154
Template:VICcity^	963	1,049
Template:VICcity	107	86
Template:VICcity	132	131
Template:VICcity	162	157
Template:VICcity	139	155
Template:VICcity	418	391
Template:VICcity	101	87
Template:VICcity	247	304

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	127	159
Template:VICcity	258	230
Template:VICcity	84	112
Template:VICcity	587	588
Template:VICcity	445	437
Template:VICcity	57	69
Template:VICcity	152	168
Template:VICcity	288	282
Template:VICcity	631	710
Template:VICcity	55	49
Template:VICcity^	184	177
Template:VICcity	45	54
Template:VICcity	26	26

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	348	349
Template:VICcity	370	416
Template:VICcity^	447	547
Template:VICcity	0	0
Template:VICcity	618	677
Template:VICcity	227	217
Template:VICcity	18,102	19,214
Template:VICcity	509	550
Template:VICcity	215	220
Template:VICcity	35	37
Template:VICcity	376	383
Template:VICcity	82	92
Template:VICcity	51	64

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

See also

• List of localities (Victoria)
• List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the Rural City of Wangaratta

External links

• Wangaratta 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