Ballarat was first incorporated as a
road district on 7 October 1856, and became a shire on 24 November 1863. Although much of the detail of the Ballarat Shire Council is obscure, Donald Gunn was a Councillor between August 1865 - June 1867, and again between August 1870 - August 1876. He was President of the Shire from 11 November 1872 until 21 October 1874. In 1964, the shire offices moved from
Learmonth to
Wendouree. On 6 May 1994, the Shire of Ballarat was abolished, and along with the
City of Ballaarat, the
Borough of Sebastopol and parts of the Shires of
Bungaree,
Buninyong,
Grenville and
Ripon, was merged into the newly created
City of Ballarat. ==Wards==