The Rural City of Swan Hill is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the north-western part of the state. It covers an area of and, in August 2021, had a population of 21,403. It includes the towns of Swan Hill, Lake Boga, Manangatang, Nyah, Nyah West, Piangil, Robinvale, Ultima and Woorinen South.
The Rural City is governed and administered by the Swan Hill Rural City Council. Its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Swan Hill; it also has a service centre located in Robinvale. The Rural City is named after the city of Swan Hill, the Shire's major urban settlement, which had a population of 10,869 in 2021.
History The Rural City of Swan Hill was formed in 1995 in what was described as a "natural amalgamation" of the City of Swan Hill, Shire of Swan Hill, and a small portion of the Shire of Kerang comprising the southern Tresco district.
Proposing the new LGA in a 1994 report, the Local Government Board described the area as Victoria's "salad bowl". The Rural City was to take in the regional service hub of Swan Hill, a mix of dryland and irrigated agriculture, and a tourism sector oriented around the Murray River and Lake Boga. A public consultation carried out by the Shire of Swan Hill in 1994 found that more than 60% of respondents were in favour of the merger.
Council
Current composition The council is composed of four wards and seven councillors, with four councillors elected to represent the Central Ward and one councillor per remaining ward elected to represent each of the other wards. WardPartyCouncillorNotesCentral Independent Chris Jeffery United Australia Party Stuart King Independent Bill Moar Mayor (2019–2022) Independent Ann Young Mayor (2016–2019) Lakes Independent Les McPhee Mayor (2022-present) Murray-Mallee Independent Nicole McKay Robinvale Independent Jacqui Kelly Elected in 2023 on a countback to replace Jade Benham
Administration and governance The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Swan Hill Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Swan Hill, and its service centre in Robinvale.
Townships and localities The 2021 census, the rural city had a population of 21,403 up from 20,584 in the 2016 census
Population Locality 2016 2021 25 40 40 78 ^ 44 44 336 337 12 15 132 154 3 0 131 139 5 3 6 3 32 17 4 4 15 11 21 11 27 35 3 8 85 87 48 64 39 19 36 45 985 982 19 86 38 33 309 274 ^ 20 19 0 0 12 14 143 126 125 105 18 24 38 40 21 24 530 536 663 673 18 18 135 159 259 230 10 16 5 5 3,088 3,497 * # 10,905 11,186 4 11 142 175 11 13 209 162 152 153 0 8 151 157 268 250 ^ 13 16 174 173 3 0 159 163 48 43 0 0 111 128 7 0 22 8 85 91 260 262 87 94 356 404 ^ - Territory divided with another LGA * - Not noted in 2016 Census # - Not noted in 2021 Census
Sister cities Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan
See also List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the Rural City of Swan Hill
References
External links
Swan Hill Rural City Council official website Metlink local public transport map Link to Land Victoria interactive maps