Shire of Pyrenees

File:BeaufortPyreneesShireOffices.JPG

The Pyrenees Shire Council offices in Beaufort

The Shire of Pyrenees is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of Template:Convert and in June 2018 had a population of 7,353.<ref name=ABSLGA/> It includes the towns of Avoca, Beaufort, Lexton, Snake Valley and Trawalla.

The Shire is governed and administered by the Pyrenees Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Beaufort, it also has a service centre located in Avoca. The Shire is named after the major geographical feature in the region, the Pyrenees Ranges, located in the north of the Shire, which also lends its name to the Pyrenees wine region.

History

The Pyrenees Shire was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Avoca (less the township of Navarre in the extreme north-west corner), Shire of Lexton, and Shire of Ripon (less the Lake Burrumbeet area).<ref name="Gazette" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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

Pyrenees Shire's predecessor LGAs (green) as they were in 1994. The administrative centres of the former LGAs are marked by green dots.

Council

Current composition

Template:Victoria LGA ward map The council is composed of five wards and five councillors, with one councillor per ward elected to represent each ward.<ref name=Council>Template:Cite web</ref> Council Composition as of August 2025:

Ward	Councillor		Notes
Avoca	Template:Australian party style|	Rebecca Wardlaw
Beaufort	Template:Australian party style|	Damian Ferrari
De Cameron	Template:Australian party style|	Megan Phelan
Ercildoune	Template:Australian party style|	Simon Tol
Mount Emu	Template:Australian party style|	Tanya Kehoe	Mayor

Administration and governance

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

Traditional owners

The traditional owners of this land are the Wadawurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eastern Maar, Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jardwadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Townships and localities

In the 2021 census, the shire's population was 7,671, up from 7,238 in the 2016 census.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	248	223
Template:VICcity	1,193	1,356
Template:VICcity^	43	49
Template:VICcity	1,539	1,712
Template:VICcity^	21	25
Template:VICcity	51	47
Template:VICcity^	103	112
Template:VICcity^	51	63
Template:VICcity	59	47
Template:VICcity^	232	249
Template:VICcity	146	171
Template:VICcity^	42	43
Template:VICcity	61	60
Template:VICcity	18	13
Template:VICcity	19	27
Template:VICcity^	89	72
Template:VICcity^	183	185

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity^	70	90
Template:VICcity^	131	147
Template:VICcity^	10	14
Template:VICcity	13	7
Template:VICcity	30	30
Template:VICcity	17	11
Template:VICcity^	33	29
Template:VICcity	31	13
Template:VICcity	95	99
Template:VICcity	36	31
Template:VICcity	29	22
Template:VICcity	8	3
Template:VICcity	61	49
Template:VICcity	180	200
Template:VICcity^	41	49
Template:VICcity	400	336
Template:VICcity	231	284

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity^	29	85
Template:VICcity^	580	635
Template:VICcity	46	42
Template:VICcity	27	32
Template:VICcity^	19	22
Template:VICcity	167	185
Template:VICcity	26	28
Template:VICcity	42	44
Template:VICcity^	94	89
Template:VICcity^	98	99
Template:VICcity	15	14
Template:VICcity	17	20
Template:VICcity	39	22
Template:VICcity^	15	12
Template:VICcity	231	223
Template:VICcity^	21	19

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Template:VICcity	23	31
Template:VICcity^	94	102
Template:VICcity^	13	3
Template:VICcity^	586	609
Template:VICcity^	1,032	1,189
Template:VICcity	743	820
Template:VICcity	49	49
Template:VICcity^	45	45
Template:VICcity^	156	158
Template:VICcity	26	15
Template:VICcity	141	140
Template:VICcity^	68	72
Template:VICcity	17	16
Template:VICcity	110	122
Template:VICcity^	0	0
Template:VICcity^	275	308

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

External links

• Pyrenees Shire Council official website
• Metlink local public transport map
• Link to Land Victoria interactive maps
• Avoca and District Historical Society Inc
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110203095139/http://www.moonambel-pyrenees.com/
• Template:Victorian local government areas pre-1994 vs present map link