The Shire of Colac Otway is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 21,503. It includes the towns of Apollo Bay, Beeac, Birregurra, Colac, Cressy, Forrest, Kennett River, Lavers Hill, Warrion and Wye River.
The Shire is governed and administered by the Colac Otway Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Colac, it also has a service centre located in Apollo Bay.
Name The Shire is named after the combination of the names for the former City of Colac, and Shires of Colac and Otway, from which the majority of the LGA was formed. The name Colac is used for both the main urban settlement and the lake, Lake Colac, which are located in the north-centre of the LGA. Colac is also the most populous urban centre in the LGA with a population of almost 12,000. The name Otways is used for the major geographical features located in the south of the LGA, which are The Otways and Cape Otway. Cape Otway was originally named by Lieutenant James Grant who was the commander of the vessel, the Lady Nelson. He named it after Captain William Otway who was one of the commissioners of the Transport Board, on 7 December 1800.
History The Colac district is the traditional land for the Gulidjan people and was known as “Kolak” or “Kolakgnat” which means ‘belonging to sand’. The Gulidjan people are of the Easter Maar Nation.
The earliest European settlers arrived in the district in the 1830s and settled around Lake Colac.
The Shire of Colac Otway came into existence on 23 September 1994 through the amalgamation of the City of Colac, Shire of Colac, the bulk of the Shire of Otway and part of the Shire of Heytesbury. The Birregurra and Barwon Downs districts, historically part of the Shire of Winchelsea, were included in the new Shire as a result of their transfer to the Shire of Colac earlier in 1994. The name originally proposed for the Shire was "Shire of Gellibrand", after the Gellibrand River and the locality of the same name.
Council
Current composition The council is composed of seven councillors elected to represent an unsubdivided municipality. In order of election in 2020, they are: WardPartyCouncillorNotesUnsubdivided Independent Tosh-Jake Finnigan Independent Chris Potter Independent Graham Lesie Costin Independent Kate Hanson Greens Stephen Hart Independent Jamie Bell Independent Margaret White
Former Wards (1996–2008) Colac – had three councillors Murray – had one councillor Otway – had one councillor Warrion – had one councillor
Administration and governance The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Colac Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Colac, and its service centre in Apollo Bay.
Election results 2024
2020
Townships and localities The 2021 census, the shire had a population of 22,423 up from 20,972 in the 2016 census
Population Locality 2016 2021 0 0 132 141 1,598 1,790 67 59 434 458 235 291 7 11 9 10 131 136 370 394 82 125 ^ 828 942 62 65 15 34 ^ 135 168 ^ 134 115 ^ 36 42 9,048 9,243 217 168 81 89 161 171 310 358 115 119 ^ 175 176 11 15 ^ 9 10 55 77 30 28 2,900 3,260 65 43 19 13 230 257 210 230 ^ 13 19 105 112 28 33 4 4 43 44 345 365 125 100 76 84 ^ 188 185 63 85 166 189 41 74 194 200 78 87 239 272 0 0 83 95 76 72 ^ 97 93 94 101 ^ 86 110 0 7 ^ 113 132 19 28 ^ 569 583 164 249 16 19 ^ 51 65 14 20 121 127 19 15 130 146 198 204 11 15 67 62 18 25 ^ 1,954 2,456 ^ 23 26 37 47 38 55 63 67 38 40 148 124 121 107 37 49 ^ - Territory divided with another LGA
See also List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the Shire of Colac Otway
Notes
References
External links
Colac Otway Shire Council official website Colac Otway Web – Regional Web Site Metlink local public transport map Link to Land Victoria interactive maps Colac Otway Shire: Know Your Council