The Shire of Macedon Ranges is a local government area in Central Victoria, Australia, best known for its native forests, geographical attraction Hanging Rock, and artisan food and wine industries. The region covers an area of 1,748 square kilometres (675 mi2). It is located in between the cities of Bendigo and Melbourne. In August 2021 the shire had a population of 51,458. It includes the towns of Gisborne, Gisborne South, Kyneton, Lancefield, Macedon, Malmsbury, Mount Macedon, New Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Romsey and Woodend.
The Shire is named after the region's major geographical feature, the Macedon Ranges. It has become one of Victoria's most popular tourist attractions and contains some of its most sought-after real estate.
It is governed and administered by the Macedon Ranges Shire Council. It has offices located in Kyneton, Gisborne and Romsey.
Macedon Ranges was one of the highest-rated areas in Australia in the Quality of Life Index 2008. It was the highest rated in Victoria (outside Melbourne), and was 13th of 590 Australian local government areas.
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History
The Shire of Macedon Ranges was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Romsey, Shire of Gisborne, Shire of Newham and Woodend, and most of the Shire of Kyneton (excluding the Trentham district, which was absorbed into the Hepburn Shire).
Council
Current composition
The council is composed of three wards (East, South and West) and nine councillors, with three councillors per ward elected to represent each ward.
Since October 2024, Macedon Ranges has consisted of the following councillors:
Administration and governance
The Council meets in the Council chambers at Gisborne, which is also the location of one of the Council's administrative centres. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Kyneton, and its service centres in Gisborne and Romsey.
The Woodend customer service centre, based at the community centre, closed on 1 January 2026.
Education
Gisborne Secondary College, the largest secondary school in the shire, is located in Gisborne, and provides both academic and vocational programs for over 1000 students from across the Macedon Ranges.
Kyneton Secondary College is Kyneton's state secondary school, along with Sacred Heart College (Catholic), and Braemar College east of Woodend (Ecumenical, co-educational) as the largest non-government secondary schools in the shire.
Candlebark School (R-12, near Romsey) and Alice Miller School (7-12, near Macedon), both founded by Australian author and educator John Marsden, provide alternative education options.
There are several primary schools across the shire.
Townships and localities
In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 51,458 compared to 46,100 in the 2016 census.
^ - Territory divided with another LGA
* - Not noted in 2016 Census
# - Not noted in 2021 Census