City profile
Mount Alexander is a shire in central Victoria, between Bendigo and the Macedon Ranges and just over an hour's drive from Melbourne. Castlemaine is its largest town and business centre, and the council says more than half of residents live in greater Castlemaine. Other towns include Maldon, Harcourt, Newstead, Campbells Creek, Chewton, Taradale and Guildford. The council's offices are at the Castlemaine Civic Centre.
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)
- 20,939ABS Estimated Resident Population (preliminary). The council's Council Plan 2025–2029 gives 20,799, from an earlier estimate.
- Area
- 1,530 km²ABS: 1,529.6 km². The council gives 1,529 km².
- Population density
- About 14 people per km²ABS ERP ÷ ABS area.
- Wards
- 8, with one councillor each
- Council group (LGPRF)
- Large shire
- Traditional Owners
- The Dja Dja Wurrung (Djaara) and Taungurung peoplesAs acknowledged in the council's Council Plan 2025–2029. The council's Traditional Owners page names the Dja Dja Wurrung people.
Suburbs & postcodes
- Barfold3444
- Baringhup3463
- Baringhup West3463
- Barkers Creek3451
- Bradford3463
- Campbells Creek3451
- Campbelltown (part)3364
- Carisbrook (part)3464
- Castlemaine3450
- Chewton3451
- Chewton Bushlands3451
- Drummond North (part)3446
- Eastville (part)3463
- Eddington (part)3472
- Elphinstone3448
- Faraday3451
- Franklinford (part)3461
- Fryerstown3451
- Glenluce3451
- Golden Point3451
- Gower3463
- Green Gully3462
- Greenhill (part)3444
- Guildford (part)3451
- Harcourt3453
- Harcourt North (part)3453
- Irishtown3451
- Joyces Creek (part)3364
- Langley3444
- Lockwood South (part)3551
- Maldon3463
- Malmsbury (part)3446
- McKenzie Hill3451
- Metcalfe3448
- Metcalfe East3444
- Moolort (part)3465
- Moonlight Flat3450
- Muckleford3451
- Muckleford South3462
- Myrtle Creek (part)3551
- Neereman3463
- Newstead3462
- Nuggetty3463
- Ravenswood (part)3453
- Ravenswood South3453
- Redesdale (part)3444
- Sandon3462
- Strangways (part)3461
- Strathlea (part)3364
- Sutton Grange3448
- Taradale (part)3447
- Tarilta (part)3451
- Tarrengower3463
- Vaughan3451
- Walmer3463
- Welshmans Reef3462
- Werona (part)3364
- Yandoit Hills3461
- Yapeen3451
On the map
The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.
The council doesn't publish a single list of its localities, so this list comes from the official Vicmap locality boundaries, checked against the council boundary. A locality is listed when at least 5% of its area is inside the council, and marked '(part)' when less than 95% is. Shares inside Mount Alexander: Drummond North about 6%, Franklinford 8%, Lockwood South 10%, Moolort 12%, Carisbrook 15%, Ravenswood 19%, Eastville 24%, Malmsbury 25%, Guildford 30%, Eddington 31%, Greenhill 32%, Campbelltown 32%, Myrtle Creek 39%, Harcourt North 47%, Joyces Creek 53%, Werona 65%, Redesdale 68%, Tarilta 69%, Strathlea 74%, Strangways 80%, Taradale 94%. The township of Guildford is inside the shire even though most of the Guildford locality isn't. Postcodes come from the CSA's suburb and postcode table for Mount Alexander and, for the part-localities it doesn't list, from Vicmap postcode boundaries (Eddington's part inside the shire is in postcode 3472). 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
- Mount Alexander Shire Council — Townships · Sep 2026
- Mount Alexander Shire Council — Council Plan 2025–2029, 'Our shire' and Acknowledgement of Country (PDF) · 2025–2029
- Mount Alexander Shire Council — Traditional Owners · Sep 2026
- Victorian Electoral Commission — Mount Alexander Shire Council (8 wards, one councillor each) · Sep 2026
- Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) — LGA Recorded Offences, Table 03 (suburb and postcode by LGA) · Jul 2025 to Jun 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.