Gwydir Shire

Gwydir Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	29°52′S 150°34′E / 29.867°S 150.567°E / -29.867; 150.567Coordinates: 29°52′S 150°34′E / 29.867°S 150.567°E / -29.867; 150.567
Population	5,425 (2010)[1]
• Density	0.57390/km2 (1.48640/sq mi)
Established	2004
Area	9,452.8 km2 (3,649.7 sq mi)
Mayor	John Coulton (Unaligned)
Council seat	Bingara[2]
Region	New England
State electorate(s)	Northern Tablelands
Federal Division(s)	Parkes
Website	www.gwydirshire.com
LGAs around Gwydir Shire: Moree Plains Goondiwindi (Qld) Inverell Moree Plains Gwydir Shire Guyra Narrabri Tamworth Uralla

Gwydir Shire is a local government area located in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The northern boundary of the Shire is located adjacent to the border between New South Wales and Queensland.

The Shire was established on 17 March 2004, when the Yallaroi, Bingara, and a northern portion of the Barraba shires were merged. The seat of the Council is located in the major centre of the area in the town of Bingara. Other major towns include Warialda.

The Mayor of the Gwydir Shire Council is Cr. John Coulton, who is unaligned with any political party.

Towns and localities

The towns of Gwydir Shire include Warialda and Bingara, and the villages/localities include Bangheet, Caroda, Cobbadah, Coolatai, Copeton, Crooble, Croppa Creek, Dinoga, Elcombe, Gineroi, Gravesend, Gulf Creek, Gundamulda, Myall Creek, North Star, Pallal, Riverview, Upper Bingara, Upper Horton, Warialda Rail, Yagobe, and Yallaroi.

History

The first local government in the Gwydir region was the Bingara Municipality, incorporated to serve the town of Bingara in early 1889. The town of Warialda followed on 30 March 1900.^[3]

With the passage of the Local Government Act 1906 (NSW), which established shires all over New South Wales, the Yallaroi, Gwydir (later Bingara) and Barraba Shires were gazetted on 6 March 1906. The Warialda and Bingara municipalities amalgamated into their respective shires on 29 December 1924 and 17 December 1943 respectively.^[3]

On 17 March 2004, the Yallaroi, Bingara and Barraba Shires were abolished. Yallaroi and Bingara were fully amalgamated into the newly formed Gwydir Shire, while Barraba was split between Gwydir, which received 1,259.1 square kilometres (486.1 sq mi) (41%) of its area and 340 people in the former shire's north, and the newly formed Tamworth Regional Council.

Council

Current composition and election method

Gwydir Shire Council is made up of nine Councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:^[4]

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:^[4]

Population

Populations for the Yallaroi and Bingara Shires (including municipalities) over time are listed below. Totals are not provided as it is difficult to quantify the component from Bingara Shire. Using the Australian Bureau of Statistics' time series data and census collection district figures for 2006, this component had a population of 591 in 1996, 447 in 2001 and 340 in 2006.

The census populations of the Gwydir area, from the 2006 time series spreadsheet, were:

References