092%.%%3À0,!..).'À3#(%-% LOCAL PROVISION 21.02 MUNICIPAL PROFILE 21.02-1 Profile of Pyrenees Shire Pyrenees Shire was created in September 1994 by the amalgamation of the Shires of Avoca, Lexton and Ripon. It takes its name from the Pyrenees Range - a “fold range” which is almost entirely located within its municipal borders. 21.02-2 Regional Context Pyrenees Shire is located in central Victoria between the regional centres of Ballarat and Ararat. It shares common boundaries with the City of Ballarat and Shire of Hepburn to the east, Golden Plains Shire to the south-east, Corangamite and Moyne Shires to the south, Rural City of Ararat to the west, Northern Grampians Shire to the north-west and Central Goldfields Shire to the north-east. The Shire covers an area of 3457 square kilometres, extending approximately 90 kilometres in a north- south direction and 40 kilometres in an east-west direction. Despite its size, the Shire has only a small population, the majority of which reside in the towns of Beaufort and Avoca. There are a number of smaller townships and settlements located throughout the Shire however, which provide local services and facilities to surrounding rural areas and provide important foci for community activities and social interaction. The Western, Sunraysia and Pyrenees Highways pass through the Shire and provide it with good connections to the surrounding region and to Melbourne. However the good external road connections combined with the small population has resulted in residents relying to some extent on the nearby regional centres and large towns for employment and to meet their needs for retail services, community services and entertainment. The spatial configuration of the Shire and its key features and items of physical infrastructure are shown on the Physical Framework Plan (refer Figure 1). 21.02-3 Physiography The physiography of the Shire changes markedly over its length. In the northern portion of the Shire, the Pyrenees Range is the dominating feature. This comprises steeply rising hills and ridges of predominantly uplifted sediments, the high point of which is Mount Avoca (760m) to the south-east of Landsborough. To the east of the Pyrenees Range the land takes the form of a highland plateau and includes the extensive alluvial flood-plain of the Avoca River. The Great Dividing Range passes east-west through the central portion of the Shire. This comprises steep ridges and hills at its western end (which contains the high points of Mt Cole, Mt Lonarch and Ben Major). The Great Divide forms the watershed between two drainage systems. In this regard, the land to the north drains to the Goulburn-Murray River system via the Avoca and Wimmera Rivers and associated tributaries. The land to the south of the Divide drains to the Hopkins River system, via Mt Emu Creek (the major tributary of the Hopkins River) and its tributaries including Baillies Creek, the un-named creeks in the Snake Valley area, and the Trawalla/Fiery/Middle Creek systems north of Beaufort. The rivers and streams in the Shire are relied upon extensively for urban water supply and/or agriculture. The southern portion of the Shire is characterised by basaltic plains, formed when a succession of volcanic eruptions covered the pre-existing plains with basalt sheets. These plains contain a number of natural lakes and swamps where volcanic flows and pyroclastic material have closed off catchment outlets or created small catchments with internal drainage such as Lake Goldsmith. The remnants of volcanoes and other eruption points, being visible over the plains for many kilometres, provide landscape interest and orientation points for people. The physiographic variations in the Shire result in climate variations from north to south, with significant implications in terms of agricultural activities. In this regard, the areas in the northern portion of the Shire -5.)#)0!,À342!4%')#À34!4%-%.4À #,!53%À 0!'%ÀÀÀ/&À ./6%-"%2À 092%.%%3À0,!..).'À3#(%-% LOCAL PROVISION experience hot, dry summers and cool winters. Rainfall in the northern part of the Shire varies around 650mm per year, the majority in the April-October period. The climate in the southern part of the Shire by contrast is characterised by more temperate summers and higher rainfalls (usually in excess of 750mm) which also predominantly occur in the April-October period. 21.02-4 Population The Shire has an estimated resident population (1996) of 6578. Settlement in the Shire is based around historic rural service centres and former gold mining areas. In this regard, the majority of the Shire’s population resides in the towns of Beaufort and Avoca and in smaller townships including Amphitheatre, Landsborough, Lexton, Moonambel, Snake Valley and Waubra. In addition, there are significant rural-residential communities around the township of Snake Valley in the south-east part of the Shire, and in areas of small lot subdivision in rural areas (eg the areas to the north of Beaufort and extending to Raglan and Trawalla). Table 1 shows the demographic composition of the Shire in 1986, 1991 and 1996. The table reveals that the Shire’s population decreased by less than 3% over the period 1986 to 1996 and available demographic indicators suggest that population growth has been relatively static since 1991. Table 1 Demographic Composition 1986, 1991 and 1996 Age 1986 1991 1996 Group No % RegVic% No % RegVic% No % RegVic% 0-4 560 8.3 8.1 483 6.9 8.1 442 6.7 7.4 5-17 1590 23.7 22.8 1597 22.9 21.2 1329 20.2 20.7 18-24 488 7.3 10.2 487 7.0 9.8 380 5.8 8.7 25-34 936 13.9 15.4 871 12.5 15.0 714 10.9 13.5 35-49 1227 18.2 18.3 1522 21.8 20.4 1517 23.1 22.3 50-59 748 11.1 9.3 748 10.7 9.0 854 13.0 10.0 60-69 664 9.9 8.3 706 10.1 8.5 710 10.8 8.2 70-84 460 6.8 6.7 520 7.4 7.0 555 8.4 8.0 85 and 49 0.7 0.9 51 0.7 1.0 77 1.2 1.3 over Total 6722 100.0 100.0 6985 100.0 100.0 6578 100.0 100.0 Source: Department of Infrastructure, 1997 Victoria in Fact, Interim report An Economic Profile and Prospects1 report prepared for the Shire in 1997 made the following observations about the Shire’s population for the 1981-1991 period: • The 30-39 and 40-49 age groups increased over the periods 1981-86 and 1986-91 and were consistent with both Non-Metropolitan Melbourne and State of Victoria levels. This is important in terms of population growth given that people in these age groups are in the prime of their working lives. • The 20-29 age group declined over the same periods. In addition the proportion of people in this age group (1991) was well below both Non-Metropolitan Victoria and State of Victoria. Speculation as to the reasons for this include lack of employment opportunity, lack of tertiary educational opportunity (although it is noted that tertiary education opportunities are available in the nearby regional centres) and the attraction of metropolitan life. • The population was more mobile than the average for rural municipalities. • In terms of household income, 51% of households were in the lower annual household income bracket compared to Non-Metropolitan Victoria (41.9%) and Victoria (34%). This would appear to be due to the state of the agricultural sector and the limited number of executive jobs in the municipality. 1 Noelker, Neil (1997) Economic Profile and Prospects for the Pyrenees Shire Council. -5.)#)0!,À342!4%')#À34!4%-%.4À #,!53%À 0!'%ÀÀÀ/&À ./6%-"%2À 092%.%%3À0,!..).'À3#(%-% LOCAL PROVISION • The population was almost exclusively comprised of people from English speaking backgrounds. • Home ownership in the Shire (at 79%) was much higher than non-metropolitan Melbourne (71.4%) or Victoria as-a-whole (70.5%). This indicates a relatively stable population. 21.02-5 Economy The economy of the Pyrenees Shire is heavily dependent upon primary industry, as indicated by the following Table (Table 2 Employment by Industry 1996). This shows that those employed in agriculture and forestry accounted for approximately one third of the 1996 labour force of 2330 persons. This partly accounts for the fact that the proportion of households in the Shire with income in the lower annual income bracket was substantially higher than for Victoria as-a-whole (ie due to the depressed state of agriculture). Table 2 Employment by Industry 1996 INDUSTRY NUMBER OF NUMBERS EMPLOYED AS A PERSONS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL LABOUR FORCE Agriculture Forestry 722 31.0 Mining 27 1.3 Manufacturing 333 14.3 Electricity, Gas, Water 12 0.5 Construction 96 4.1 Wholesale Trade 85 3.6 Retail Trade 214 9.2 Accommodation, Cafes, Restaurants 80 3.4 Transport, Storage 71 3.0 Communication 28 1.2 Finance, Insurance 27 1.2 Property, Business 54 2.3 Govt Administration, Defence 91 3.9 Education 120 5.2 Health, Community Services 173 7.4 Culture, Recreation 26 1.1 Personal, Other Services 77 3.3 Non Classifiable, Non Stated 94 4.0 TOTAL 2330 100.0 Source: ABS 1996 Census In the Pyrenees Ranges area, viticulture is becoming a growth industry and has been identified in the Economic Profile and Prospects report as the foundation for a new and major industry for the region with significant tourism spin-offs. Forestry is also a major industry within the southern portion of the Shire, being centred around Beaufort.