Shire of Gannawarra: History
The Shire of Gannawarra was formed in 1995 from the amalgamation of the Borough of Kerang, the vast bulk of the Shire of Kerang and Shire of Cohuna, giving the new LGA a mixed economic base – dairying country to the east of Kerang township and dryland cropping to the west. The Borough and Shire of Kerang advocated for the inclusion of the Shire of Gordon in the combined LGA, but Gordon was staunchly opposed to a northward merger. Gordon was instead amalgamated into the Loddon Shire.
The new LGA required a name that did not show bias towards Kerang or Cohuna. Under the Local Government Board's initial proposal, it was to be called the "Shire of Illoura", a word meaning "still waters" in an unspecified Aboriginal language that, following inquiries with local groups, was found not to be local to the area. Representatives from the three municipalities agreed to put forward "Gannawarra" – the name of the pastoral run that once covered much of the eastern part of the Shire – to the Board as an alternative.