Located at the geographical centre of Victoria, Central Goldfields Shire Council is within one hour’s drive of the regional centres of Ballarat and Bendigo and just two hours from Melbourne.
The municipality covers an area of 1,532 square kilometres and has an estimated population of almost 13,000 people. Central Goldfields Shire is bounded by Northern Grampians Shire in the north-west, Pyrenees Shire in the west, Hepburn Shire in the south, Mount Alexander Shire in the east and Loddon Shire in the north-east.
Maryborough is the major business centre with a population of around 8,000. Other townships include Bealiba, Carisbrook, Dunolly, Majorca, Talbot, Bowenvale-Timor, Daisy Hill – all of which feature iconic heritage architecture. Agricultural industries are spread across the municipality and include grain, sheep grazing and broiler farming. The municipality is also home to a number of major manufacturing, infrastructure, agricultural, freight, printing and food production companies. Residents have access to affordable housing and a wide variety of health services, schools and recreational facilities.