The Rural City of Marong was a local government area about 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-northwest of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia.

In a report on 17 February 1994, the Local Government Board recommended that the five councils in the Bendigo region merge to form a "super city", with a population of about 81,000, much as Geelong had done the previous year.

[5] The three councils filed a writ in the Supreme Court, alleging failure to follow process by the Minister for Local Government, Roger Hallam, but by the time the new "super city" was announced, the writ had not yet been heard, and on 24 March 1994, the Rural City of Marong successfully applied for an injunction blocking the publication of the gazette the following day abolishing the five councils and appointing three commissioners, led by Peter Ross-Edwards, the former leader of the Victorian National Party.

[6] The government responded by introducing legislation, the City of Greater Bendigo Bill 1994, to Parliament, to effectively override the Supreme Court action, with Hallam saying "the bill would make clear that the Government is determined to achieve its objective for a more efficient municipal structure for the Bendigo region."

Marong mayor Robert Hynes described the action as "terribly disappointing", adding, "One way or another, I believe it does mean an end to our fight... it seems the Government are above the law to me.