The Shire of Metcalfe 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 north-northwest 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 ...

, and south of the regional city of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1995.

History

Metcalfe was incorporated as a road district on 14 August 1860, and became a shire on 18 July 1865. Metcalfe absorbed two boroughs which had previously been separately governed; On 7 October 1870, the Taradale Borough was united, while the Chewton Borough, created on 14 December 1860 with an area of , was united on 2 May 1916. 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. On 20 January 1995, the Shire of Metcalfe was abolished, and along with the City of Castlemaine and the Shires of

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is prod ...

and Newstead, was merged into the newly created

Shire of Mount Alexander The Mount Alexander Shire (officially Shire of Mount Alexander) is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in ...

. The town of

Redesdale Redesdale is a valley in western Northumberland, England. It is formed by the River Rede, which rises in the Cheviots and flows down to join the North Tyne at Redesmouth. Redesdale is traversed by the A68 trunk road, which enters Scotland ...

and the area surrounding

Lake Eppalock Lake Eppalock is an Australian reservoir in Eppalock, North Central Victoria about northwest of Melbourne. It was formed by the construction of a major earth and rockfill embankment dam, known as Eppalock Dam, with a controlled chute spillway ...

were transferred into the

City of Greater Bendigo The City of Greater Bendigo is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central part of the state. It covers an area of and, in August 2021, had a population of 121,470. It includes the city of Bendigo and the towns of A ...

Wards

The Shire of Metcalfe was divided into four ridings, each of which elected three councillors: * Chewton Riding * Harcourt Riding * Taradale Riding * East Riding

Towns and localities

Barfold Barfold is a locality on the Heathcote- Kyneton Road (C326) in Victoria, Australia. It has a community hall, Barfold Hall, and an Anglican church, Barfold Union Church. A significant geological feature in the area is the Barfold Gorge, a four ...

Barkers Creek Barkers Creek is a tributary of the Guyandotte River, long, in southern West Virginia in the United States. Via the Guyandotte and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in a rural area on the u ...

* Chewton * Elphinstone *

Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

Golden Point The golden point, a sudden death overtime system, is used to resolve drawn matches in a number of sports. The term is borrowed from soccer's now-defunct golden goal. Rugby league Australia The golden point is used to determine a winner (where a ...

* Harcourt * Harcourt North * Langley * Metcalfe* * Myrtle Creek *

* Sutton Grange * Taradale * Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

Gallery

Chewton Town Hall.jpg, Chewton Town Hall, which was built by the Borough of Chewton in 1861.

References

External links

*
Victorian Places - Metcalfe Shire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shire Of Metcalfe Metcalfe 1860 establishments in Australia