Shire of Mitchell

This article is about the local government area in Victoria. For the former local government area in New South Wales, see Mitchell Shire (New South Wales).

Mitchell Shire is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located North of Melbourne. It covers an area of 2,862 square kilometres (1,105 sq mi) and, in April 2024, had a projected population of 61,362.^[3] Larger towns include Beveridge, Broadford, Kilmore, Seymour, Tallarook, Pyalong and Wallan.

Mitchell Shire Victoria
Location in Victoria
Population	61,362
• Density	21.440/km2 (55.530/sq mi)
Established	1994
Gazetted	18 November 1994[1]
Area	2,862 km2 (1,105.0 sq mi)[2]
Mayor	Cr Louise Bannister
Council seat	Broadford
Region	Hume Goulburn Valley
State electorate(s)	Euroa Kalkallo Yan Yean
Federal division(s)	Bendigo McEwen Nicholls
Website	Mitchell Shire
LGAs around Mitchell Shire: Mount Alexander Greater Bendigo Strathbogie Macedon Ranges Mitchell Shire Murrindindi Hume Whittlesea Nillumbik

The Shire is governed and administered by Mitchell Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the Council headquarters in Broadford, it also has service centres located in Kilmore, Beveridge, Seymour and Wallan. The Shire is named after an early British surveyor and explorer, Major Thomas Mitchell, who explored the south-eastern part of Australia, and whose return route for his third expedition passed through the present-day LGA.

The Shire is Victoria’s fastest growing regional municipality. As an interface growth area, it offers a mix of rural and urban living with affordable housing and a diversity of lifestyle and housing choices. By 2041 it is expected that 170,000 people will live in Mitchell Shire.^[3] It is anticipated that most of this growth will occur in and around the southern townships of Beveridge, Kilmore/Kilmore East and Wallan.

History

The Mitchell Shire was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Pyalong, the Shire of Kilmore, most of the Shire of Broadford and Rural City of Seymour, and parts of the Shire of McIvor.^[1]

Mitchell 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

The Council is composed of three wards and nine councillors, with three councillors per ward elected to represent each ward.^[4]

Ward	Councillor		Notes
Central		Nathan Clark	Independent.[5]
		Timothy Hanson	Independent
		Bob Humm	Independent
North		John Dougall (Mayor)	Independent
		Ned Jeffery	Independent
		Andrea Pace	Independent
South		Bob Cornish (Deputy Mayor)	Independent
		Riley Evans	Independent
		Claudia James	Independent

Administration and governance

Mitchell Shire Council meets in the Council Chambers at Mitchell Civic Centre in Broadford. It also has Customer and Library Service Centres in Broadford, Kilmore, Seymour and Wallan.

Townships and localities

Mitchell Shire has a population of 61,362.^[4] Individual locality populations are based on the most recent available data on ID Forecast^[6]

Area	2024 Projected Population
Mitchell Shire	61,362
Beveridge	9118
Broadford area	5564
Kilmore - Kilmore East	11622
Pyalong - Rural North West	2220
Rural North East	2872
Seymour	7003
Wallan	19725
Wandong - Heathcote Junction area	3238

See also

• List of localities (Victoria)
• List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the Shire of Mitchell