Byron Shire

Byron Shire New South Wales
Location within New South Wales
Coordinates	28°33′S 153°30′E / 28.550°S 153.500°ECoordinates: 28°33′S 153°30′E / 28.550°S 153.500°E
Population	29,209 (2011 census)[1]
• Density	51.542/km^2 (133.494/sq mi)
Established	1906
Area	566.7 km^2 (218.8 sq mi)
Mayor	Simon Richardson
Council seat	Mullumbimby
Region	Northern Rivers
State electorate(s)	Ballina
Federal Division(s)	Richmond
Website	Byron Shire
LGAs around Byron Shire: Tweed Tweed Tasman Sea Lismore Byron Shire Tasman Sea Lismore Ballina Tasman Sea

Byron Shire is a local government area located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. The shire is located adjacent to the Tasman Sea about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of the Queensland border. The shire, administered from the town of Mullumbimby, covers an area of 566.7 square kilometres (218.8 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1906. The shire was named for Cape Byron, itself named by Captain Cook in May 1770 in honour of Admiral John Byron.

The Mayor of Byron Shire Council is Simon Richardson, a member of the Greens.

History

Byron Shire was created on 7 March 1906 under the Shires Act 1906 (NSW) as one of 134 local government areas in regional New South Wales. On 16 May 1906, a temporary council of five members was appointed to administer it, and elections were held in November. On 4 December, the council convened for the first time with William Baker as its inaugural president. William Baker was born in Great Stanmore, England. His cousin, Alfred Joseph Baker was the first person to score a goal in international football against Scotland in 1870.

On 1 July 1908, the Mullumbimby Municipality was created out of part of Byron. On 1 October 1980, the municipality and the shire were re-amalgamated by direction of the Minister for Local Government.

Towns and localities

Byron (SE) Byron Bay Bangalow Broken Head Coopers Shoot Ewingsdale Hayters Hill McLeods Shoot Newrybar (shared with Ballina) Skinners Shoot Suffolk Park Talofa Tyagarah

Mullumbimby/Brunswick (NE) Mullumbimby Brunswick Heads Billinudgel Crabbes Creek Montecollum Mullumbimby Creek Myocum New Brighton Ocean Shores South Golden Beach The Pocket Wilsons Creek Wooyung (shared with Tweed) Yelgun

Other (W) Binna Burra Booyong (shared with Lismore) Coorabell Eureka Federal Goonengerry Huonbrook Koonyum Range Main Arm Middle Pocket Nashua Palmwoods Possum Creek Repentance Creek Upper Coopers Creek Upper Main Arm Upper Wilsons Creek Wanganui

Demographics

At the 2006 census, Byron Shire had a population of 28,766.^[2]

	Byron	Region[3]	State[4]
Median age	41	42	37
Median weekly individual income	$383	$370	$461
% of residents born overseas	25.3	17.8	31.0
% Indigenous population	1.5	3.3	2.1

The most popular religious affiliations in descending order in the 2006 census were no religion (30%), Catholic, Anglican, Uniting and Presbyterian. A small Jewish minority also exists within the shire.

Population

Census populations for the Byron Shire and Mullumbimby Municipality between 1911 and 1966, sourced from the New South Wales Statistical Register, were as follows:

Year	Total	Byron	Mullumbimby
1911	7,504	6,553	951
1921	9,628	8,299	1,329
1933	9,329	7,967	1,362
1947	10,393	8,784	1,609
1954	10,921	8,904	2,017
1961	10,469	8,505	1,964
1966	9,953	7,972	1,981

Later census figures for the entire area are as follows:

Year	Population
1976	10,916
1981	15,426
1986	18,342
1991	22,599
1996	27,007
2001	28,916
2006	29,423
2011	29,209

Council

Current composition and election method

Byron Shire Council is composed of nine Councillors, including the Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is directly elected while the eight other Councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council, including the Mayor, is as follows:^[5][6]

Party		Councillors
	Independents and Unaligned	5
	The Greens	3
	Our Sustainable Future	1
	Total	9

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:^[6]

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Simon Richardson	Greens	Mayor[5]
	Diane Woods	Independent
	Rose Wanchap	Greens	Elected on Simon Richardson's ticket
	Sol Ibrahim	Unaligned
	Chris Cubis	Independent	Elected on Diane Woods' ticket
	Duncan Dey	Greens	Elected on Simon Richardson's ticket
	Basil Cameron	Our Sustainable Future
	Paul Spooner	Labor
	Alan Hunter	Independent	Elected on Diane Woods' ticket

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Byron Shire". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Community Profile Series : Byron (A) (Local Government Area)". 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Richmond-Tweed (Statistical Region)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "New South Wales". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
5. "Byron Shire Council - Mayoral Election". Local Government Election 2012. New South Wales Electoral Commission. 12 September 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
6. "Byron Shire Council: Summary of First Preference and Group Votes for each Candidate". Local Government Election 2012. New South Wales Electoral Commission. 13 September 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.