United Shire of Beechworth

Infobox Australian Place | type = lga
name = United Shire of Beechworth
state = vic
region =
area = 771.57
est = 1856
seat = Beechworth
pop = 5210 (1992) [cite book|title=Victorian Year Book|author=Australian Bureau of Statistics, Victoria Office|year=1994|page=49-52|id=ISSN 0067-1223]

logosize =


caption = Location in Victoria
county = Bogong
near-nw = Wangaratta
near-n = Chiltern
near-ne = Wodonga
near-w = Wangaratta
near-e = Yackandandah
near-sw = Oxley
near-s = Myrtleford
near-se = Yackandandah
_noautocat = yes

The United Shire of Beechworth was a Local Government Area located about convert|270|km|mi|0 northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of convert|771.57|km2|sqmi|1, and existed from 1856 until 1994.

History

Beechworth 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) districts. The two entities merged on 29 December 1871 to form the United Shire of Beechworth. At dissolution, it was the only United Shire of its kind remaining in Victoria.cite book|title=Victorian Municipal Directory|year=1992|publisher=Arnall & Jackson|location=Brunswick|pages=595-596 Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.]

On 18 November 1994, the Shire was abolished, and merged with most of the Shires of Chiltern, Yackandandah and Rutherglen into the Shire of Indigo. The area around Mudgegonga in the southeast went to the Alpine Shire, whilst the Murmungee [cite book|url=http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/76E601D6DB55E88ACA25722500049195/$File/12570_1994-95.pdf|title=Victorian local government amalgamations 1994-1995: Changes to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification|author=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=1 August 1995|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|page=4,8,9|isbn=0-642-23117-6|accessdate=2008-01-05]

Wards

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

* Beechworth
* Baarmutha
* Bowman
* Brookfield
* Everton
* Gapsted
* Murmungee
* Reids Creek
* Silver Creek
* Stanley
* Woolshed
* Wooragee

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

References