Shire of Moira: History
The Shire of Moira was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Cobram, Shire of Nathalia, Shire of Numurkah, Shire of Tungamah (less the Katandra district) and Shire of Yarrawonga (less the Peechelba township area).
By the time of the Local Government Board's review of north-eastern Victoria earlier that year, Nathalia and Numurkah had expressed readiness to merge with each other, as had Tungamah and Yarrawonga (who were also open to a three-way merger with the Shire of Rutherglen). These four shires did not support further amalgamation, owing to concerns that travel times would be excessive, and that the irrigated farmers in the west and dryland farmers in the east did not belong in the same shire. However, the Board was ultimately persuaded by a submission from the Shire of Cobram, which proposed a merger of all five councils into a new Shire that would benefit from a diversified agricultural base and a stronger capability in dealing with the area's drainage and flooding issues.
In the Local Government Board's initial proposal, the Shire was to be called "Muckatah". This name, suggested by the Shire of Cobram, was taken from the locality of Muckatah situated near the geographic centre of the LGA, and the Muckatah Depression, a drainage basin extending across much of the Shire from Boomahnoomoonah (south-east of Yarrawonga) to Numurkah.