| Type: | lga |
| Shire of Belfast | |
| State: | vic |
| Region: | Barwon South West |
| Area: | 5190 |
| Est: | 1853 |
| Seat: | Port Fairy |
| Pop: | 1,470 |
| Pop Year: | 1992 |
| Pop Footnotes: | [1] |
| County: | Villiers, Normanby |
| Near-Nw: | Heywood |
| Near-N: | Minhamite |
| Near-Ne: | Warrnambool |
| Near-W: | Southern Ocean |
| Near-E: | Warrnambool |
| Near-Sw: | Southern Ocean |
| Near-S: | Southern Ocean |
| Near-Se: | Southern Ocean |
| Noautocat: | yes |
The Shire of Belfast was a local government area about 290km (180miles) west-southwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 5190km2, and existed from 1853 until 1994.
Belfast was first incorporated as a road district on 29 June 1853, and became a shire on 8 December 1863.[2]
On 23 September 1994, the Shire of Belfast was abolished, and along with the Borough of Port Fairy, the Shires of Minhamite and Mortlake, and parts of the Shires of Dundas, Mount Rouse, Warrnambool and the Tower Hill State Game Reserve, was merged into the newly created Shire of Moyne.[3]
The Shire of Belfast was divided into three ridings, each of which elected three councillors:
| Year | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | 1,949 | |
| 1958 | 1,970* | |
| 1961 | 1,917 | |
| 1966 | 1,855 | |
| 1971 | 1,643 | |
| 1976 | 1,638 | |
| 1981 | 1,503 | |
| 1986 | 1,435 | |
| 1991 | 1,412 |