The Shire of Flinders was a local government area encompassing the extremity of the Mornington Peninsula, about 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 324 square kilometres (125.1 sq mi), and existed from 1874 until 1994.
| Shire of Flinders Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location in Melbourne | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 40,000 (1992)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 123/km2 (320/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1858 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 324 km2 (125.1 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Rosebud | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Mornington Peninsula | ||||||||||||||
| County | Mornington | ||||||||||||||
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History
editThe Kangerong Road District (adjoining Port Phillip) was created on 14 October 1862. The Flinders Road District, on the east of the peninsula, was created on 15 December 1868. They united to become the Shire of Flinders and Kangerong on 24 December 1874, which was renamed Flinders on 28 January 1914. On 19 October 1960, part of the Eastern Riding was transferred to the new Shire of Hastings, which had split from the Shire of Frankston.[2]
On 15 December 1994, the Shire of Flinders was abolished, and along with the Shires of Hastings and Mornington, and parts of the City of Frankston, was merged into the newly created Shire of Mornington Peninsula.[3] The Age reported in July 1994 that the result had been supported by Hastings and Mornington councils from the beginning, but opposed by Flinders, which wanted to merge with the southern coastal section of Hastings.[4]
Council formerly met at the Shire Offices, on Boneo Road, Rosebud. The facility is still used today by the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.
Wards
editThe Shire of Flinders was divided into four ridings in May 1961, each of which elected three councillors:
- Matthew Riding
- Murray Riding
- Bowen Riding
- Collins Riding
Suburbs and localities
edit- Arthurs Seat
- Boneo
- Dromana
- Blairgowrie
- Cape Schanck
- Fingal
- Flinders
- Main Ridge
- McCrae
- Point Nepean
- Portsea*
- Red Hill
- Rosebud
- Rosebud South
- Rosebud West
- Rye
- Safety Beach
- Shoreham (shared with the Shire of Hastings)
- Sorrento
- St Andrews Beach
- Tootgarook
* Council seat.
Population
edit| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1954 | 12,072 |
| 1958 | 17,200* |
| 1961 | 10,512+ |
| 1966 | 12,464 |
| 1971 | 15,481 |
| 1976 | 21,323 |
| 1981 | 25,300 |
| 1986 | 33,065 |
| 1991 | 36,516 |
* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.
+ Drop in population due to loss of part of eastern riding to the new Shire of Hastings in 1960.
References
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Victoria Office (1994). Victorian Year Book. p. 49. ISSN 0067-1223.
- ^ Victorian Municipal Directory. Brunswick: Arnall & Jackson. 1992. pp. 673–674. Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (1 August 1995). Victorian local government amalgamations 1994-1995: Changes to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. p. 10. ISBN 0-642-23117-6. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
- ^ Neales, Sue (27 July 1994). "Crunch time for councils in south and south-east". The Age. p. 8.