The Loddon Shire covers an area of approximately 6,700 square kilometres making it the seventh largest municipality (in area) in Victoria. The Shire’s population is approximately 8,600. The municipality is characterised by a number of small towns dispersed throughout the area.
Wineries, historic and natural attractions compliment the area, including the towns of Bridgewater, Inglewood, Wedderburn, Dingee, Serpentine, Newbridge, Tarnagulla, Boort, Pyramid Hill and other surrounding district centres. These townships provide the basis of for a diverse range of communities.
The Shire is within the area that forms part of the Central Victorian Goldfields and contains the area largely recognised as Victoria’s ‘Golden Triangle’. The towns within the southern portion of the Shire are steeped in 150 years of gold rush history and have strong cultural and heritage links, with the goldfields influencing wealth and prosperity along with hardship and pioneering traditions.
The rural character of the Shire continues to diversify from the traditional grains and sheep to more intensive forms of agriculture and horticulture - including dairy farming, wine grapes, tomato growing, oil seeds, pulses, olives and fodder crops. These developments are largely influenced by the economic need for higher value products - particularly in the irrigated areas in the north of the Shire and along the Loddon River.
http://www.loddon.vic.gov.au/
