The United Shire of Beechworth was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

about northeast of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, the state capital of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1856 until 1994.

History

Beechworth United Shire originated as two separate entities: the Borough of Beechworth, first created as a municipal district on 23 August 1856, becoming a borough on 11 September 1863, and the Shire of Beechworth, created on 27 December 1865 as a union of the Stanley (10 December 1862) and Wooragee (30 March 1863) Road Districts. The two entities merged on 29 December 1871, to form the United Shire of Beechworth. At its dissolution, it was the only local government entity remaining in Victoria which was styled as a 'United Shire', Accessed at

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

, La Trobe Reading Room. although many others were also the results of amalgamations. On 18 November 1994, the United Shire of Beechworth was abolished, and along with parts of the Shires of Chiltern,

Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...

and

Yackandandah Yackandandah is a town in northeast Victoria, Australia. It is near the regional cities of Wodonga and Albury, and is close to the tourist town of Beechworth. At the , Yackandandah had a population of 2,008. History The indigenous people of ...

, was merged into the newly created

Shire of Indigo The Shire of Indigo, a Local Government Areas of Victoria, local government area (LGA) in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria, Australia, lies in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and in August 2021 had a population o ...

. The area around

Mudgegonga Mudgegonga is a locality in northeast Victoria, Australia. It is northeast of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Mudgegonga had a population of 172. Mudgegonga is 15 minutes from the nearest town Myrtleford; there are mainly farms situate ...

, in the southeast of the former United Shire, was transferred to the newly created

Alpine Shire The Shire of Alpine is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and in August 2021 had a population of 13,235. It includes the towns of Bright, Dinne ...

Wards

The United Shire of Beechworth was divided into four ridings, each of which elected three councillors: * East Central Riding * West Central Riding * North Riding * South Riding

Towns and localities

* Baarmutha *

Beechworth Beechworth is a town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,290. Beechworth's many historical buildings are well pr ...

* * Bowman * Brookfield * Everton *

Gapsted Gapsted is a locality in north east Victoria, Australia. The locality is in the Alpine Shire local government area, north east of the state capital, Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australi ...

* Murmungee * Reids Creek * Silver Creek *

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

* Woolshed *

Wooragee Wooragee is a locality in north east Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The locality is in the Shire of Indigo local government area, north east of the state capital, Melbourne. At the , Wooragee had a population of 345. A small town ...

* Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

References

External links

*
Victorian Places - Beechworth Shire
{{coord missing, Victoria (state)

1856 establishments in Australia