Shire of Cohuna
Shire of Cohuna | |||||||||||||
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 Cohuna Shire Memorial Hall | |||||||||||||
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 The extent of the Shire of Cohuna | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Victoria | ||||||||||||
| Region | Mallee | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1922 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Cohuna | ||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 494.69 km2 (191.00 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 4,630 (1992)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 9.359/km2 (24.241/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| County | Gunbower | ||||||||||||
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The Shire of Cohuna was a local government area on the Murray River, about 265 kilometres (165 mi) north-northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 494.69 square kilometres (191.0 sq mi), and existed from 1922 until 1995.
History
[edit]Cohuna was originally part of the Swan Hill Road District, which initially covered most of north-western Victoria. Swan Hill was incorporated on 8 July 1862, and became a shire on 14 August 1871. It was renamed the Shire of Kerang on 31 December 1898.
On 8 March 1922, parts of the North East and South East Ridings were severed and incorporated as the Shire of Cohuna.[2]
In late 1994, as the State Government's local government reform program reached Victoria's north-west, the Shire of Cohuna sought amalgamation with neighbouring dairy farming-focused municipalities, whether eastwards (towards Echuca and Rochester) or southwards (spanning from the Loddon River to Torrumbarry).[3][4] However, the Local Government Board was keen to create new shires with a diverse economic base; it proposed a new "Shire of Illoura", later altered to "Gannawarra", that combined the dryland grain cropping regions west of Kerang with the irrigated areas to the east.[4]
On 20 January 1995, the Shire of Cohuna was abolished, and along with the Borough of Kerang and the Shire of Kerang, was merged into the newly created Shire of Gannawarra.[5]
Wards
[edit]The Shire of Cohuna was divided into three wards, each of which elected three councillors:
- Central Ward
- East Ward
- West Ward
Towns and localities
[edit]- Cohuna*
- Gannawarra
- Gunbower
- Leitchville
- Mead
- McMillans
* Council seat.
Population
[edit]| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1954 | 3,872 |
| 1958 | 4,190* |
| 1961 | 4,435 |
| 1966 | 4,664 |
| 1971 | 4,768 |
| 1976 | 4,607 |
| 1981 | 4,505 |
| 1986 | 4,332 |
| 1991 | 4,312 |
* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.
References
[edit]- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Victoria Office (1994). Victorian Year Book. p. 52. ISSN 0067-1223.
- ^ Victorian Municipal Directory. Brunswick: Arnall & Jackson. 1992. pp. 631–632, 718–720. Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.
- ^ "Cohuna case "compelling"". Northern Times. Kerang. 8 November 1994. p. 3.
- ^ a b North West review: interim report. Local Government Board. November 1994.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (1 August 1995). Victorian local government amalgamations 1994-1995: Changes to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN 0-642-23117-6. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
External links
[edit]- Interactive map of Victorian local government areas (pre-1994 vs present) - Victorian Government - Digital Twin Victoria
- Victorian Places - Cohuna and Cohuna Shire
