The Shire of Pyrenees is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and in June 2018 had a population of 7,353. It includes the towns of Avoca, Beaufort, Lexton, Snake Valley and Trawalla.
The Shire is governed and administered by the Pyrenees Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Beaufort, it also has a service centre located in Avoca. The Shire is named after the major geographical feature in the region, the Pyrenees Ranges, located in the north of the Shire, which also lends its name to the Pyrenees wine region.
History The Pyrenees Shire was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Avoca (less the township of Navarre in the extreme north-west corner), Shire of Lexton, and Shire of Ripon (less the Lake Burrumbeet area).
Council
Current composition
The council is composed of five wards and five councillors, with one councillor per ward elected to represent each ward. Council Composition as of August 2025: WardCouncillorNotes Avoca Rebecca Wardlaw Beaufort Damian Ferrari De Cameron Megan Phelan Ercildoune Simon Tol Mount Emu Tanya Kehoe Mayor
Administration and governance The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Beaufort Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Beaufort, and its service centre in Avoca.
Traditional owners The traditional owners of this land are the Wadawurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Eastern Maar, Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jardwadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk.
Townships and localities In the 2021 census, the shire's population was 7,671, up from 7,238 in the 2016 census.
Population Locality 2016 2021 248 223 1,193 1,356 ^ 43 49 1,539 1,712 ^ 21 25 51 47 ^ 103 112 ^ 51 63 59 47 ^ 232 249 146 171 ^ 42 43 61 60 18 13 19 27 ^ 89 72 ^ 183 185 ^ 70 90 ^ 131 147 ^ 10 14 13 7 30 30 17 11 ^ 33 29 31 13 95 99 36 31 29 22 8 3 61 49 180 200 ^ 41 49 400 336 231 284 ^ 29 85 ^ 580 635 46 42 27 32 ^ 19 22 167 185 26 28 42 44 ^ 94 89 ^ 98 99 15 14 17 20 39 22 ^ 15 12 231 223 ^ 21 19 23 31 ^ 94 102 ^ 13 3 ^ 586 609 ^ 1,032 1,189 743 820 49 49 ^ 45 45 ^ 156 158 26 15 141 140 ^ 68 72 17 16 110 122 ^ 0 0 ^ 275 308 ^ - Territory divided with another LGA
See also List of places of worship in Pyrenees Shire
References
External links
Pyrenees Shire Council official website Metlink local public transport map Link to Land Victoria interactive maps Avoca and District Historical Society Inc https://web.archive.org/web/20110203095139/http://www.moonambel-pyrenees.com/