← Glenelg Shire Council
Area profile

Area profile

A quick snapshot of Glenelg Shire, in the far south-west corner of Victoria on the South Australian border. Its main towns are Portland — the council's seat and home of the Port of Portland — Heywood and Casterton, with smaller towns including Dartmoor, Nelson, Merino, Narrawong and Cape Bridgewater. The Shire was formed on 23 September 1994 by amalgamating the City of Portland and the Shires of Glenelg and Heywood.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English
Local Government Area (LGA)
The official area a council governs.
Estimated Resident Population (ERP)
The official population count for an area.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
The national statistics agency behind population figures.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

The area at a glance

Population (ERP, 30 Jun 2025)
19,908ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary).
Area
6,218.8 km²ABS figure. The Victorian Electoral Commission's council page gives 6,212 km²; the two sources measure the area differently.
Population density
~3.2 people per km²ERP ÷ ABS area.
Region
Great South Coast (south-west Victoria)
Council group
Large Shire (LGPRF comparison group)
Rateable properties
14,109 assessments (2026–27 Budget)
Localities
About 60 localities, several shared with neighbouring councilsLocalities marked '(part)' are split with a neighbouring council — check your rates notice to see which council you pay. Part-localities are listed where at least 5% of the locality's area is inside Glenelg. The Vicmap outlines of Portland and Dutton Way extend into Portland Bay; the land parts are inside Glenelg.

Suburbs & postcodes

On the map

The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.

The shaded area on the map is the Local Government Area boundary; area and density figures come from the ABS, not from the map. The locality list is our own overlay of Vicmap locality and postcode boundaries (September 2026) on the ABS council boundary, cross-checked against the suburb-and-postcode rows CSA reports for Glenelg.

Sources — check it yourself

Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.