Shire profile
Golden Plains Shire lies between Geelong and Ballarat. It takes in the growing towns of Bannockburn, Teesdale, Inverleigh and Lethbridge in the south-east, Meredith and Rokewood in the centre, and Haddon, Ross Creek, Smythesdale, Scarsdale and Linton in the north-west, with farmland and bush in between, including the Brisbane Ranges and the Enfield State Forest. The council has offices in Bannockburn and Smythesdale. The shire was formed on 6 May 1994.
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.
The area at a glance
- Population (ERP, 30 June 2025)
- 26,620ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary). The council's 2026–27 budget says the population is forecast to reach 42,607 by 2041.
- Area
- 2,703.4 km²ABS. The VEC's council page gives 2,701 km² and the council's own page about 2,705 km².
- Population density
- About 10 people per km²ABS population ÷ ABS area (our calculation).
- Wards
- None — 7 councillors elected shire-wide
- Council group (LGPRF)
- Large Shire
- Rateable properties
- 12,491 assessments (2026–27 budget)
- Local roads
- More than 1,744 km maintained by the councilFrom the council's 2026–27 budget announcement.
- Traditional Owners
- The Wadawurrung and Eastern Maar PeoplesThe council says the shire spans the Traditional lands of the Wadawurrung and Eastern Maar Peoples and acknowledges them as the Traditional Owners and Custodians.
Suburbs & postcodes
- Anakie (part)3213
- Bamganie3333
- Bannockburn3331
- Barunah Park3329
- Batesford (part)3213
- Berringa3351
- Berrybank (part)3323
- Cambrian Hill3352
- Cape Clear3351
- Corindhap3352
- Cressy (part)3322
- Dereel3352
- Durdidwarrah3342
- Durham Lead (part)3352
- Enfield3352
- Garibaldi3352
- Gheringhap3331
- Grenville (part)3352
- Haddon3351
- Happy Valley (Ballarat)3360
- Hesse3321
- Illabarook3351
- Inverleigh (part)3321
- Lethbridge3332
- Linton (part)3360
- Mannibadar3360
- Maude3331
- Meredith3333
- Morrisons (part)3334
- Mount Bute (part)3324
- Mount Mercer3352
- Murgheboluc3218
- Napoleons3352
- Newtown (Ballarat)3351
- Nintingbool3351
- Piggoreet3351
- Pitfield3351
- Pittong (part)3360
- Rokewood3330
- Rokewood Junction3351
- Ross Creek3351
- Russells Bridge3331
- Scarsdale3351
- She Oaks3331
- Shelford3329
- Smythes Creek (part)3351
- Smythesdale (part)3351
- Springdallah3351
- Staffordshire Reef3351
- Steiglitz3331
- Stonehaven3218
- Sutherlands Creek3331
- Teesdale3328
- Wallinduc3351
- Werneth (part)3352
- Willowvale3360
- Wingeel (part)3321
On the map
The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.
We built the suburb list from the official Vicmap locality boundaries, keeping each locality with at least 5% of its area inside the council boundary and marking it '(part)' when part of it lies in a neighbouring council: Linton about 90% inside, Smythesdale about 84%, Werneth about 77%, Smythes Creek about 69%, Inverleigh and Pittong about 56%, Grenville about 48%, Batesford about 42%, Wingeel about 41%, Cressy about 39%, Durham Lead about 15%, Berrybank about 9%, Anakie about 8%, Mount Bute about 6% and Morrisons about 6%. The names in brackets are Vicmap's own, to tell these localities apart from others of the same name. Postcodes come from Vicmap postcode boundaries. The shaded area on the map is the council boundary from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ASGS 2025) — the same boundary the ABS area and population figures are measured on.
Sources — check it yourself
- ABS — Regional population 2024–25, data cube 32180DS0002 Table 2 (Victoria) · ERP 30 Jun 2025
- ABS — Regional population, latest release · Released Mar 2026
- Golden Plains Shire Council — Budget 2026–27 (PDF: population forecast, §4.1.1(d) assessments) · 2026–27
- Golden Plains Shire Council — About Golden Plains Shire (read from an archived copy) · May 2026
- Golden Plains Shire Council — Home page (Acknowledgement of Country, office addresses) (read from an archived copy) · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Golden Plains Shire Council (unsubdivided, council area) · Sep 2026
- DataVic — Vicmap Admin locality polygons · Sep 2026
- Local Government Victoria — LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (council group: Large Shire) · 2024–25
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.