The Rural City of Benalla is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of 2,353 square kilometres (908 sq mi) and, in August 2021, had a population of 14,528.[1]
It includes the towns of Baddaginnie, Benalla, Devenish, Goorambat, Major Plains, Swanpool, Tatong, Thoona, Warrenbayne and Winton. It was formed in 2002 from the de-amalgamation of the Shire of Delatite into the current rural city and the Shire of Mansfield,[2] the former being a merger between the latter, the Shire of Benalla and the City of Benalla.
The Rural City is governed and administered by the Benalla Rural City Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Benalla. The Rural City is named after the main urban settlement located in the centre-north of the LGA, that is Benalla, which is also the LGA's most populous urban centre with a population of 10,331.[3]
The council is composed of seven councillors elected to represent an unsubdivided municipality.[4]
The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Benalla Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at its administrative centre in Benalla.
The 2021 census, the rural city had a population of 14,528 up from 13,861 in the 2016 census[5]
^ - Territory divided with another LGA
36°33′00″S 145°58′00″E / 36.55000°S 145.96667°E / -36.55000; 145.96667