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Shire of Baw Baw
Victoria
Shire of Baw Baw; Victoria
	Location in Victoria
Population	57,626 (2021)
• Density	14.3064/km2 (37.053/sq mi)
Established	1994
Gazetted	2 December 1994
Area	4,028 km2 (1,555.2 sq mi)
Mayor	Cr Annemarie McCabe
Council seat	Warragul
Region	Gippsland
State electorate(s)	Narracan
Federal division(s)	Monash; Gippsland;
Website	Shire of Baw Baw
	LGAs around Shire of Baw Baw:

The Shire of Baw Baw (/ˈbɔː ˈbɔː/) is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, in the eastern part of the state. It covers an area of 4,028 square kilometres (1,555 sq mi) and in 2021 had a population of 57,626.^[1]

It includes the towns of Drouin, Longwarry, Neerim South, Trafalgar, Warragul and Yarragon. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Buln Buln, Shire of Narracan, Rural City of Warragul, and some parts of the Shire of Upper Yarra.^[2]

The shire is governed and administered by the Baw Baw Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Drouin, and it has a service centre located in Warragul. The shire is named after the major geographical feature in the region, the Baw Baw Plateau with Mount Baw Baw being the second highest peak in the region. An unincorporated area, the Mount Baw Baw Alpine Resort, is enclaved within the shire.

Location and geography

The more densely populated southern half of the shire consists of low rolling hills given over primarily to dairy farming and other agriculture. The northern half lies in the Great Dividing Range and its foothills, where forestry remains an important industry. Tourism is also important in the region, aided by its proximity to and easy access from Melbourne. The shire is known for its rural scenery and natural environment, as well as gourmet foods and wines.^{[citation needed]} The historic gold-mining town of Walhalla is located in the northeast of the shire is a major tourist drawcard. The major electricity-producing region of the Latrobe Valley lies immediately to the shire's east and south.

Many of the shire's larger towns are located along the Princes Highway and Gippsland railway line, which cross the southern part of the shire. From west to east these include: Longwarry, Drouin, Warragul, Darnum, Yarragon, and Trafalgar. North of Warragul are Buln Buln, Neerim South, and Noojee, while south of Trafalgar in the Strzelecki Ranges lies the town of Thorpdale. The towns of Rawson, Erica, and Parkers Corner are located near Walhalla amongst the foothills of the Baw Baw Plateau. Aberfeldy is located in the far north east of the shire above the Thomson Dam, which supplies 50% of Melbourne's water.

Council

Composition up to November 2016

The council was composed of four wards and nine councillors, with three councillors elected to represent the Warragul Ward and two councillors per remaining ward elected to represent each of the other wards.^[5]

Ward		Councillor	Notes
Drouin	Independent	Tricia Jones
Drouin	Independent	Terry Williamson
Mount Worth	Independent	Murray Cook	Mayor 2012/2013 and 2013/2014
Mount Worth	Independent	Peter Kostos
North	Independent	David Balfour
North	Independent	Deborah Brown	Mayor 2014/2015
Warragul	Independent	Joe Gauci	Mayor 2015/2016
	Independent	Gerard Murphy
	Independent	Mikaela Power

Composition November 2016 to November 2020

The council was changed to a three-ward structure with three councillors per ward, with the new council sworn in on 2 November 2016. The new wards are West [660sq km] (primarily Drouin with some rural areas north/south), Central [66sq km] (Warragul town) and East [3,302sq km] making up the balance of the shire.

Ward		Councillor	Notes
West	Independent	Tricia Jones
	Independent	Keith Cook
	Independent	Jessica O'Donnell
East	Independent	Michael Leaney
	Independent	Peter Kostos
	Independent	Darren Wallace
Central	Independent	Danny Goss	Mayor 2019/2020
	Independent	Mikaela Power	Mayor 2018/19
	Independent	Joe Gauci	Mayor 2016/2017 and 2017/18

Current composition

The council's three-ward structure continued with three councillors per ward, with the new council sworn in on 18 November 2020. The wards are West [660sq km] (primarily Drouin with some rural areas north/south), Central [66sq km] (based on Warragul) and East [3,302sq km] making up the balance of the shire.

Ward		Councillor	Notes
West	Independent	Tricia Jones
	Independent	Ben Lucas	[resigned June 2021] replaced by Keith Cook
	Independent	Annemarie McCabe	Mayor 2022/2023, 2023/2024
East	Independent	Michael Leaney	Mayor 2021/2022
	Independent	Peter Kostos
	Independent	Darren Wallace
Central	Independent	Danny Goss	Mayor 2020/2021
	Independent	Jazmin Tauru
	Independent	Joe Gauci	[resigned May 2023] replaced by Farhat Firdous]

Administration and governance

The council meets monthly in the Fountain Room of the West Gippsland Arts Centre. The council's administrative activities are centred in Drouin in the former offices of the Buln Buln Shire. It also provides customer services at both Warragul and the council offices in Drouin. Service centres in Trafalgar and on Smith Street in Warragul were closed in 2015.^[6]

Townships and localities

In the 2021 census, the shire's population was 57,626, up from 48,479 in the 2016 census.^[7]

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Aberfeldy	0	7
Ada	0	0
Allambee	19	24
Allambee Reserve^	95	96
Allambee South	76	61
Amor	0	4
Athlone	122	147
Baw Baw	0	0
Bona Vista	109	107
Boola	0	0
Brandy Creek	100	94
Bravington	17	14
Buln Buln	548	551
Buln Buln East	164	182
Caringal	19	16
Childers	106	91
Cloverlea	192	178
Coalville	49	55
Coopers Creek	*	#
Crossover	158	161
Darnum	751	759
Delburn^	32	37
Drouin	12,349	15,287
Drouin East	182	177
Drouin South	335	343
Drouin West	330	361
Ellinbank	236	229
Erica	191	184
Ferndale	37	48
Fumina	11	11
Fumina South	67	65
Gainsborough	45	61

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Gentle Annie	0	0
Hallora	126	136
Heath Hill^	161	189
Hill End	166	171
Icy Creek	11	28
Jacob Creek	23	28
Jericho	0	0
Jindivick	491	584
Labertouche	356	386
Lardner	117	110
Lillico	86	94
Loch Valley	0	0
Longwarry^	2,004	2,436
Longwarry North	215	230
Modella^	148	169
Moe^	8,778	9,375
Moe South^	541	529
Moondarra	46	49
Mountain View	90	85
Narracan^	253	262
Nayook	75	70
Neerim	200	218
Neerim East	192	196
Neerim Junction	127	139
Neerim North	42	41
Neerim South	1,305	1,599
Nilma	342	410
Nilma North	319	344
Noojee	157	177
Nyora^	1,527	1,644
Piedmont	46	52
Poowong East^	82	88

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Poowong North^	186	202
Rawson	296	296
Ripplebrook	221	268
Rokeby	180	213
Seaview	125	140
Shady Creek	180	186
Strzelecki^	89	107
Tanjil	0	0
Tanjil Bren	14	7
Tanjil South^	544	540
Tetoora Road	66	93
Thalloo	*	#
Thomson	0	0
Thorpdale	471	475
Thorpdale South^	30	27
Toombon	0	0
Toongabbie^	989	1,085
Toorongo^	0	0
Torwood	50	49
Trafalgar	3,912	4,349
Trafalgar East	426	401
Trafalgar South	276	305
Trida^	62	87
Vesper	42	50
Walhalla^	20	35
Warragul	15,757	19,856
Warragul South	253	280
Warragul West	19	33
Westbury	157	163
Willow Grove	590	654
Yallourn North^	1,545	1,511
Yarragon	1,650	1,893
Yarragon South	164	204

^ - Territory divided with another LGA
* - Not noted in 2016 Census
# - Not noted in 2021 Census

References

^ ^a ^b Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Baw Baw (Local Government Areas". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
^ ^a ^b Victoria Government Gazette – Online Archive (1837–1997). "S94 of 1994: Order estg (Part 3) the Shire of Baw Baw". State Library of Victoria. State Government of Victoria (published 2 December 1994). p. 2. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
^ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
^ "Mayor and Councillors". Baw Baw Shire Council. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
^ Local Government in Victoria. "Baw Baw Shire Council". Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure. State Government of Victoria. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
^ "Customer Service Centre Locations". Baw Baw Shire. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
^ "Census | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 11 January 2023.