Golden Plains Shire
The Golden Plains Shire is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central-western part of the state. It covers an area of 2,703 square kilometres (1,044 sq mi) and in June 2018, had a population of 23,120. It includes the towns of Bannockburn, Dereel, Gheringhap, Lethbridge, Linton, Berringa, Teesdale, Rokewood and Meredith.
| Golden Plains Shire Victoria | |||||||||||||||
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Typical scenery of the Golden Plains Shire. | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 23,120 (2018) | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 8.553/km2 (22.153/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1994 | ||||||||||||||
| Gazetted | 6 May 1994 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 2,703 km2 (1,043.6 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Cr Gavin Gamble | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Bannockburn | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Grampians | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Website | Golden Plains Shire | ||||||||||||||
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The Shire was formed on 6 May 1994 by the amalgamation of the Shire of Bannockburn (the part remaining after part of it was amalgamated with several other councils to form the new City of Greater Geelong in May 1993), Shire of Leigh, part of the Shire of Grenville and part of the Shire of Buninyong. Upon its creation, it was known as the Southern Rural Shire, intended to exist temporarily until the Local Government Board drew up final council boundaries for the Ballarat region. However, a few months later it was decided to make the municipality permanent, and it was renamed to its current name on 1 October 1994.
The Shire is governed and administered by the Golden Plains Shire Council. Its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the Golden Plains Civic Centre in Bannockburn, and it also has a service centre located in Smythesdale.