The Shire of Yarra Ranges, also known as Yarra Ranges Council, is 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 ...

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 ...

, located in the outer eastern and northeastern suburbs 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 ...

extending into the

Yarra Valley The Yarra Valley is a region in Victoria, Australia, centred around the Yarra River. Known for its natural beauty, agricultural significance, and as one of Australia's prominent wine-producing areas, the valley stretches from the upper reache ...

and

Dandenong Ranges The Dandenong Ranges (commonly just the Dandenongs) are a set of low mountain ranges in Victoria, Australia, approximately east of the state capital Melbourne. A minor branch of the Great Dividing Range, the Dandenongs consist mostly of rol ...

. It has an area of , of which 3% is classified as urban. In June 2018, it had a population of 158,173. It was formed on 15 December 1994 by the merger of parts of the

Shire of Sherbrooke The Shire of Sherbrooke was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1963 until 1994. Its largest population centre was the town of Belgrave. H ...

, Shire of Lillydale,

Shire of Healesville The Shire of Healesville was a local government area about northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1887 until 1994. History Healesville was first incorporated as a shi ...

and Shire of Upper Yarra.

History

Prior to European settlement, the land within and beyond the Yarra Ranges was occupied by the

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language, Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the traditional owners of the Yarra River Valley, covering much of the present location of ...

people. European settlement was established from the 1830s with settlers engaging in agriculture and gold mining. Lilydale Shire of Yarra Ranges

Council

Yarra Ranges is divided into nine wards, each of which elects one councillor for a period of four years.

Wards

* Billanook Ward, named after the

name for the region and pioneered by explorer

Robert Hoddle Robert Hoddle (21 April 1794 – 24 October 1881) was a surveyor and artist. He was the first Surveyor-General of Victoria from 1851 to 1853. He was previously the Surveyor-in-Charge of the Port Phillip District from 1837 to 1851. He became ...

* Chandler Ward, named after a pioneering family * Chirnside Ward, named after George Chirnside, a Mooroolbark settler and owner of the

Werribee Park Mansion Werribee is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the local government area of the City of Wyndham. Werribee recorded a population of 50,027 at the 2021 census. Werribe ...

* Lyster Ward, named after

William Saurin Lyster William Saurin Lyster (21 March 1828 – 27 November 1880), often referred to as W. Saurin Lyster, was an impresario, active in Australia. Early life Lyster was born in Dublin, Ireland, the third son of Chaworth Lyster, a captain in the army, ...

, an impresario who had a dairy farm in the area * Melba Ward, named after opera singer Dame

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic lyric coloratura soprano. She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early twentieth century, and was the f ...

* O'Shannassy Ward, named after O'Shannassy River and reservoir, in turn named after John O'Shanassy ''(sic.)'',

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

in the mid-1800s * Ryrie Ward, named after

William Ryrie William Ryrie (1805—1856) was a Scottish-born Australian pastoralist and pioneer settler colonist of the Braidwood district of New South Wales and the Port Phillip District (now Victoria). Early life William Ryrie was the eldest son of Ste ...

who planted the first

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

in the area * Streeton Ward, named after Sir

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mount Moriac, Victoria ...

, a painter who lived in

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

* Walling Ward, named after landscape designer Edna Walling

Current composition

Election results

2024

Townships and localities

The shire had a population of 156,068 at the 2021 census, an increase from 149,537 recorded at the 2016 census. ^ - ''Territory divided with another

LGA LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the northwestern shore of Long Island, bordering Flushing Bay. Covering , the facility wa ...

Major thoroughfares

Burwood Highway Burwood Highway (and its western section as Toorak Road) is a major transportation link with Melbourne's eastern fringe at the foot of the Dandenong Ranges, linking the suburbs of Hawthorn and Belgrave. The highway is considered a major lin ...

(State Route 26) * Canterbury Road/Swansea Road/Anderson Street (south) (State Route 32 / C401) (briefly merges with C415 before turning to SR32 (and SR22 respectively)) *

Maroondah Highway Maroondah Highway (also known as Whitehorse Road from Deepdene to Surrey Hills) is a major east–west thoroughfare in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, and a highway connecting the north-eastern fringes of Melbourne to Mansfield, at the lowe ...

(State Route 34 / B300) * Belgrave-Hallam Road/Monbulk Road/Hereford Road (C404) (briefly merges with C406) * Belgrave Road (State Route 26) * Olinda-Monbulk Road/Emerald Monbulk Road * Warburton Highway (B380) * Healesville- Koo Wee Rup Road (C411) * Mount Dandenong (Tourist) Road (State Route 22 / C415)

Notes

References

External links

*
Official website

Community profile
at .id.com.au
Public transport map
at PTV * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yarra Ranges Local government areas in Melbourne Yarra Valley