| Type: | lga |
| Shire of Benalla | |
| State: | vic |
| Region: | Hume |
| Area: | 2322 |
| Est: | 1868 |
| Seat: | Benalla |
| Pop: | 5670 |
| Pop Year: | 1992 |
| Pop Footnotes: | [1] |
| County: | Delatite, Moira |
| Near-Nw: | Shepparton |
| Near-N: | Tungamah |
| Near-Ne: | Wangaratta |
| Near-W: | Violet Town |
| Near-E: | Oxley |
| Near-Sw: | Euroa |
| Near-S: | Mansfield |
| Near-Se: | Oxley |
| Noautocat: | yes |
The Shire of Benalla was a local government area about 188km (117miles) northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 2322km2, and existed from 1868 until 1994. From 1948 onwards, Benalla itself was managed by a different entity, later known as the City of Benalla.
Benalla was first incorporated as a road district on 4 September 1868, and became a shire on 3 September 1869. The declared area included the Shire of Euroa, which was severed and incorporated on 3 November 1879.[2]
Over the following years, the Shire of Benalla lost small amounts of territory at its edges:
On 1 September 1948, after considerable growth of Benalla as a regional centre, the Central Riding was severed, and became the Borough of Benalla, later becoming the City of Benalla, on 26 May 1965. On four occasions (10 April 1956, 1 February 1964, 17 September 1969, 13 February 1980), land was transferred to the City of Benalla.
On 18 November 1994, the Shire of Benalla was abolished, and along with the City of Benalla, the Shire of Mansfield, and the Warrenbayne district of the Shire of Violet Town, was merged into the newly created Shire of Delatite. The Glenrowan district was transferred to the newly created Rural City of Wangaratta.[3]
The Shire of Delatite itself was abolished in 2002, with its former area divided between the Rural City of Benalla and the Shire of Mansfield.[4]
The Shire of Benalla was divided into four ridings, each of which elected three councillors:
| Year | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 8,461 | |
| 1954 | 4,407+ | |
| 1958 | 3,690* | |
| 1961 | 3,718 | |
| 1966 | 3,732 | |
| 1971 | 3,329 | |
| 1976 | 3,576 | |
| 1981 | 4,216 | |
| 1986 | 5,002 | |
| 1991 | 5,519 |
+ The combined population of the Shire and Borough in 1954 was 10,452.