City of Melton

City of Melton
Victoria
City of Melton; Victoria
	Location of Melton within Melbourne's metropolitan area.
Population	178,960 (2021 census)
• Density	338.9/km2 (877.8/sq mi)
Established	16 September 1862
Area	528 km2 (203.9 sq mi)
Mayor	Cr Kathy Majdlik
Council seat	Melton
Region	Greater Melbourne
County	Bourke
State electorate(s)	Kororoit; Melton; Sunbury; Sydenham;
Federal division(s)	Gorton; Hawke;
Website	City of Melton
	LGAs around City of Melton:

The City of Melton is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, on Melbourne's western rural–urban fringe.

It covers 528 square kilometres (203.9 sq mi), and as of the 2021 census, Melton had a population of 178,960.^[1]

It is governed by the Melton City Council. The seat of local government and administrative offices are located at Council headquarters in Melton, the settlement after which the city takes its name which lies at the western end of the LGA and is currently its largest urban area with a population of over 54,000.^[3]

City of Melton has a rapid population growth rate, ranked 3rd fastest among LGAs in Victoria in 2010.^[4] It was granted city status in 2012.

History

Melton was first incorporated as a district on 16 September 1862, and became a shire on 24 May 1871. Parts of the north and south ridings of the Shire of Braybrook (later City of Sunshine) were annexed to Melton as the Rockbank Riding on 24 May 1916, and this was added to in 1951. Other minor boundary adjustments with Bulla and Keilor occurred in May 1959. The Shire had a total area of 450.4 square kilometres (173.9 sq mi).^[5]

In 1994, following large-scale statewide local government reform, Melton acquired the Exford district from the City of Werribee, growing to its present size.^[6]

Since the early 1970s the Shire had undergone tremendous population growth and as of 2006^[update], Melton was one of Victoria's fastest-growing local government areas along with neighbouring Wyndham.

After several years of community consultation to defer applying for city status until it had reached 150,000,^[7]^[8] the council nevertheless reversed the decision and city status was granted in September, 2012.^[9] The first elected Mayor under the 'City" status was Kathy Majdlik.

In the 2020 Local Government elections, Melton had its first Aboriginal Councillor elected, Cr Ashleigh Vandenberg. A proud Wiradjuri woman making history and becoming the first Aboriginal Councillor in Melbourne's Western Suburbs.[1]

Art and culture

Bush ballad "Click Go the Shears" was first published in 1891 in a local newspaper by "C.C. of Eynesbury".^[10] Eynesbury was a homestead and grazing property owned by Samuel Staughton.^[11]

CS Gallery is a contemporary exhibition space located at Caroline Springs Library and Learning Hub. It provides opportunities for artists and groups to exhibit and does not charge fees or commission. Melton Library and Learning Hub provides a number of hanging walls for the presentation of visual art and community exhibitions.^[12]

Administration

Council

The City's area is divided into three wards, two of which elects three Councillors, the other one electing two Councillors. The Councillors elect a mayor from among the council's members.

The current council, as of January 2023 is:^[13]

Ward		Councillor	Notes
Coburn	Independent	Bob Turner
	Labor	Ashleigh Vandenberg
	Independent	Sophie Ramsey
	Liberal	Julie Shannon	Deputy Mayor
Cambridge	Labor	Steve Abboushi
	Liberal	Goran Kesic
	Independent	Kathy Majdlik
Watts	Liberal	Justine Farrugia
Watts	Labor	Lara Carli	Mayor

Townships and localities

The city had a population of 178,960 at the 2021 census, up from 135,443 recorded at the 2016 census.^[14]

Population
Locality	2016	2021
Aintree	*	7,982
Bonnie Brook	*	333
Brookfield	9,216	10,782
Burnside	4,751	5,800
Burnside Heights	6,072	6,377
Caroline Springs	24,205	24,488
Cobblebank	*	3,601
Deanside	*	654
Diggers Rest^	2,763	5,669
Exford	107	133
Eynesbury^	2,577	2,838
Fieldstone	*	#
Fraser Rise	*	9,097
Grangefields	*	132
Harkness	*	12,463
Hillside^	193	290
Kurunjang	10,070	10,711
Melton	8,069	7,953
Melton South	11,517	11,362
Melton West	17,589	8,784
Mount Cottrell^	569	496
Parwan^	170	188
Plumpton	4,324	79
Ravenhall	1,157	2,295
Rockbank	1,536	2,583
Strathtulloh	*	3,997
Taylors Hill	14,921	15,419
Thornhill Park	*	3,066
Toolern Vale^	724	818
Truganina^	20,687	36,305
Weir Views	*	4,398

^ - Territory divided with another LGA
* - Not noted in 2016 Census
# - Not noted in 2021 Census

Population

Year	Population	Annual Growth (%)
1954	1,424	N/A
1958	1,580^[15]	2.63
1961	1,804^[15]	4.52
1966	2,542^[15]	7.10
1971	5,974^[15]	18.64
1976	13,856^[15]	18.32
1981	21,300^[15]	8.98
1986	29,500	6.73
1991	35,695	3.89
1996	39,109	1.84
2001	51,685	5.73
2006	78,448^[16]	8.70
2011	109,259^[16]	7.86
2016	135,443
2021	178,960

Residential estates

Recent large housing projects include:

Atherstone, within the new suburbs of Cobblebank and Strathtulloh. ($1.2 billion).^{[citation needed]}
Eynesbury Township.
Waterford Estate, in the suburb of Weir Views.
Woodlea, within the new suburb of Aintree.
Seventh Bend, within the new suburb of Weir Views.