| Type: | lga |
| Buloke Shire Council | |
| State: | vic |
| Pop: | 6201 |
| Pop Year: | 2021 |
| Area: | 8000 |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Est: | 1995 |
| Gazetted: | 20 January 1995[2] |
| Mayor: | Cr Alan Getley |
| Seat: | Wycheproof |
| Region: | Loddon Mallee |
| Url: | http://www.buloke.vic.gov.au/ |
| Stategov: | Mildura |
| Fedgov: | Mallee |
| Near-Nw: | Mildura |
| Near-N: | Swan Hill |
| Near-Ne: | Gannawarra |
| Near-W: | Yarriambiack |
| Near-E: | Loddon |
| Near-Sw: | Yarriambiack |
| Near-S: | Northern Grampians |
| Near-Se: | Loddon |
The Shire of Buloke is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of 8000km2 and, in August 2021, had a population of 6,201.[1] It includes the towns of Birchip, Charlton, Donald, Sea Lake and Wycheproof. It was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Wycheproof, Shire of Birchip, Shire of Charlton, Shire of Donald, and parts of the Shire of Kara Kara.
The Shire is governed and administered by the Buloke Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the Council headquarters in Wycheproof, it also has service centres located in Birchip, Charlton, Donald and Sea Lake. The Shire is named after a major geographical feature in the region, Lake Buloke, which is located in the south of the LGA; the name also comes from the "buloke" or "bulloak" tree Allocasuarina luehmannii, which is common in the region.[3]
Within the Shire, agriculture, particularly grain production, is the predominant source of income and employment.[3]
The Council is composed of three wards and six Councillors, with two Councillors elected to represent each of the wards.[4]
| Ward | Councillor | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Avoca | Bruce Stafford | |||
| Stephen Barratt | ||||
| Mallee | Bernadette Hogan | |||
| Alan Getley | Mayor 2024-25 | |||
| Mount Jeffcott | Graeme Milne | Deputy Mayor 2024-25 | ||
| Charmaine Delaney | ||||
The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Wycheproof Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at its administrative centre in Wycheproof.
In the 2021 census, the shire's population was 6,178, down from 6,201 in the 2016 census.[5]
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| 10 | 19 | ||
| 25 | 22 | ||
| 18 | 22 | ||
| 184 | 180 | ||
| 9 | 11 | ||
| 702 | 694 | ||
| 3 | 9 | ||
| 8 | 19 | ||
| ^ | 51 | 52 | |
| 21 | 18 | ||
| 18 | 18 | ||
| 1,050 | 1,095 | ||
| 8 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 0 | ||
| ^ | 31 | 30 | |
| ^ | 58 | 42 | |
| 23 | 33 | ||
| 22 | 10 | ||
| 101 | 86 | ||
| 26 | 20 | ||
| 1,498 | 1,472 | ||
| 9 | 13 | ||
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| 24 | 18 | ||
| 12 | 23 | ||
| 6 | 7 | ||
| ^ | 13 | 14 | |
| 34 | 34 | ||
| 9 | 18 | ||
| 14 | 6 | ||
| 18 | 17 | ||
| 28 | 28 | ||
| 20 | 15 | ||
| 32 | 26 | ||
| ^ | 4 | ||
| 11 | 6 | ||
| 15 | 14 | ||
| ^ | 21 | 21 | |
| 0 | 0 | ||
| ^ | 19 | 16 | |
| 51 | 36 | ||
| 0 | 6 | ||
| 10 | 23 | ||
| 9 | 10 | ||
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| 10 | 17 | ||
| 39 | 30 | ||
| 23 | 24 | ||
| 46 | 50 | ||
| 14 | 9 | ||
| ^ | 22 | 19 | |
| 93 | 92 | ||
| 24 | 17 | ||
| 8 | 6 | ||
| 24 | 28 | ||
| 3 | 3 | ||
| ^ | 3 | 9 | |
| 640 | 619 | ||
| 3 | 9 | ||
| 4 | 11 | ||
| 3 | 3 | ||
| 17 | 23 | ||
| 15 | 12 | ||
| ^ | 22 | 20 | |
| 10 | 4 | ||
| ^ | 3 | 3 | |
| ^ | 11 | 4 | |
| Population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 | |
| 0 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 4 | ||
| ^ | 13 | 16 | |
| 11 | 9 | ||
| 5 | 11 | ||
| 16 | 31 | ||
| 4 | 13 | ||
| 114 | 124 | ||
| ^ | 18 | 29 | |
| 41 | 43 | ||
| 30 | 25 | ||
| ^ | 49 | 28 | |
| 35 | 35 | ||
| 20 | 26 | ||
| ^ | 11 | 12 | |
| 635 | 610 | ||
| 12 | 6 | ||
| 0 | 5 | ||
| 31 | 34 | ||
| ^ | 16 | 11 | |
The traditional owners of this area are the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagalk and Dja Dja Wurrung.