# Alpine Shire

The Shire of Alpine 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 4,788 square kilometres (1,849 sq mi) and in August 2021 had a population of 13,235.
It includes the towns of Bright, Dinner Plain, Mount Beauty and Myrtleford. There are two unincorporated areas within the shire: the areas around Mount Hotham and Falls Creek. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Bright, Shire of Myrtleford, and parts of the United Shire of Beechworth, Shire of Oxley, Shire of Yackandandah and Shire of Omeo.
The Shire is governed and administered by the Alpine Shire Council; its seat of local government and administrative centre is located at the council headquarters in Bright, it also has service centres located in Dinner Plain, Mount Beauty and Myrtleford. The Shire is named after its location in the popular alpine region of Victoria.
Over 90% of the Shire is public land. The Shire has two major national parks, the Alpine National Park and Mount Buffalo National Park. The Shire's economy is based on tourism, agriculture and forestry.

## Council
### Current composition

The council is composed of seven councillors elected to represent an unsubdivided municipality.
| Ward | Councillor |
| Unsubdivided | Ron Janas |
| Unsubdivided | Kelli Prime |
| Unsubdivided | Tony Keeble |
| Unsubdivided | Simon Kelley |
| Unsubdivided | Katarina Chalwell |
| Unsubdivided | Sarah Nicholas |
| Unsubdivided | John Forsyth |

### Administration and governance

The council meets in the council chambers at the council headquarters in the Bright Municipal Offices, which is also the location of the council's administrative activities. It also provides customer services at both its administrative centre in Bright, and its service centres in Dinner Plain, Mt Beauty and Myrtleford.

### 2020 election results

2020 Victorian local elections: Alpine :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Ron Janas (elected 1) | 1,525 | 17.15 | |
| | Independent | Kelli Prime (elected 2) | 1,157 | 13.01 | |
| | Independent | Tony Keeble (elected 3) | 973 | 10.94 | |
| | Animal Justice | Charlie Vincent (elected 4) | 812 | 9.13 | +9.13 |
| | Independent | Katarina Chalwell (elected 5) | 749 | 8.42 | |
| | Independent | Sarah Nicholas (elected 6) | 642 | 7.22 | |
| | Independent | John Forsyth (elected 7) | 604 | 7.29 | |
| | Independent | Daryl Pearce | 521 | 5.86 | |
| | Independent | Simon Kelley | 506 | 5.69 | |
| | Independent | Mario Vaccaro | 483 | 5.43 | |
| | Independent | Mickey Fletcher | 430 | 4.84 | |
| | Independent | Kitty Knappstein | 284 | 3.19 | |
| | Independent | Jean-Pierre Ronco | 205 | 2.31 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 8,891 | 95.04 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 464 | 4.96 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,355 | 83.76 | |

## Townships and localities

In the 2021 census, the shire had a population of 13,235, up from 12,337 in the 2016 national census.
Population :
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Abbeyard | 0 | 4 |
| Barwidgee | 106 | 96 |
| Bogong | 5 | 8 |
| Bright | 2,406 | 2,620 |
| Buckland | 135 | 156 |
| Buffalo River | 255 | 285 |
| Cobungra^ | 53 | 58 |
| Coral Bank | 83 | 88 |
| Dandongadale | 3 | 8 |
| Dargo^ | 99 | 105 |
| Dederang | 167 | 198 |
Population :
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Dinner Plain | 230 | 128 |
| Eurobin | 212 | 239 |
| Falls Creek | 293 | 326 |
| Freeburgh | 110 | 136 |
| Gapsted | 173 | 156 |
| Germantown | 0 | 0 |
| Glen Creek | 54 | 59 |
| Gundowring^ | 214 | 208 |
| Harrietville | 338 | 488 |
| Havilah | 21 | 22 |
| Hotham Heights | 196 | 128 |
Population :
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Kancoona | 84 | 74 |
| Kergunyah South | 58 | 76 |
| Merriang | 178 | 182 |
| Merriang South | 41 | 43 |
| Mongans Bridge | 35 | 49 |
| Mount Beauty | 824 | 910 |
| Mount Buffalo | 0 | 5 |
| Mudgegonga | 172 | 184 |
| Myrtleford | 3,193 | 3,285 |
| Nug Nug | 21 | 36 |
| Ovens | 219 | 197 |
Population :
| Locality | 2016 | 2021 |
| Porepunkah | 941 | 1,024 |
| Rosewhite | 134 | 141 |
| Running Creek | 42 | 36 |
| Selwyn | 0 | 0 |
| Smoko | 46 | 56 |
| Tawonga | 574 | 568 |
| Tawonga South | 862 | 1,012 |
| Upper Gundowring | 99 | 120 |
| Wandiligong | 453 | 522 |
| Wongungarra^ | 0 | 0 |
| Wonnangatta | 0 | 0 |
^ – Territory divided with another LGA