Gunnedah Shire

This article is about the local government area. For the regional town, see Gunnedah, New South Wales.

Gunnedah Shire
New South Wales

Location in New South Wales

Population

12,066 (2011 census)^[1]

• Density

2.4161/km² (6.2577/sq mi)

Area

4,994 km² (1,928.2 sq mi)

Mayor

Owen Hasler (Unaligned)

Council seat

Gunnedah^[2]

Website

LGAs around Gunnedah Shire:
Narrabri	Narrabri	Tamworth
Warrumbungle	Gunnedah Shire	Tamworth
Warrumbungle	Liverpool Plains	Liverpool Plains

Gunnedah Shire is a local government area in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Liverpool Plains in the Namoi River valley and is traversed by the Oxley Highway and the Kamilaroi Highway.

The Shire includes the towns of Gunnedah, Curlewis, Breeza, Carroll, Mullaley, Emerald Hill, Tambar Springs and Kelvin.

The Mayor of Gunnedah Shire Council is Cr. Owen Hasler, who is unaligned with any political party.

Geography

The Gunnedah Shire is situated 264 metres (866 ft) above sea level and is very flat; the tallest hills are 400 to 500 metres (1,300 to 1,600 ft) above sea level. The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter and dry, although heavy rain in catchment areas occasionally cause flooding of the Namoi River. Major floods cut transport links to Gunnedah, briefly isolating it from the outside world. The Gunnedah area is noted for its abundance of native wildlife, including kangaroos, echidnas and koalas. Koalas can often be found in trees within the town, as well as in the surrounding countryside with the help of signs placed by the local tourist centre.

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 12,066 people in the Gunnedah local government area, of which there was an equal number of males and females. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 11.3% of the population which is four-and-a-half times higher than both the national and state averages. The median age of people in the Gunnedah Shire was 40 years; slightly higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, half were married and 9.9% were either divorced or separated.^[1]

Population growth in the Gunnedah Shire between the 2001 census and the 2011 census was nominal. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Gunnedah local government area was significantly lower than the national average.^[3] The median weekly income for residents within the Gunnedah Shire was significantly below the national average.^[1]^[4]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Gunnedah local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 87% of all residents (national average was 65.2%). In excess of 72% of all residents in the Gunnedah Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2%. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Gunnedah local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (2.3%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4%); and a significantly higher proportion (92.9%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).^[1]

Selected historical census data for Gunnedah Shire local government area
Census year		2001^[3]	2006^[4]	2011^[1]
Population	Estimated residents on Census night	11,976	11,525	12,066
	LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
	% of New South Wales population			0.17%
	% of Australian population	0.06%	0.06%	0.06%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	Australian			37.6%
	English			30.5%
	Irish			8.8%
	Scottish			7.6%
	German			3.2%
Language, top responses (other than English)	Mandarin	n/c	n/c	0.2%
	German	0.1%	0.2%	0.1%
	Portuguese	n/c	n/c	0.1%
	Cantonese	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%
	Italian	0.2%	n/c	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	Anglican	39.3%	38.0%	34.7%
	Catholic	27.5%	27.2%	26.9%
	No Religion	6.7%	9.3%	12.8%
	Presbyterian and Reformed	6.9%	6.1%	5.4%
	Uniting Church	6.5%	5.6%	5.0%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income		A$366	A$485
Personal income	% of Australian median income		78.5%	84.1%
Family income	Median weekly family income		A$915	A$1,200
Family income	% of Australian median income		78.1%	81.0%
Household income	Median weekly household income		A$714	A$937
Household income	% of Australian median income		69.5%	75.9%

Council

Current composition and election method

Gunnedah Shire Council is composed 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:^[5]

Party		Councillors
	Independents and Unaligned	9
	Total	9

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, is:^[5]

	Party	Notes
Gae Swain	Unaligned	Deputy Mayor^[6]
Colleen Fuller	Independent
Steve Smith	Independent
Hans Allgayer	Independent
Owen Hasler	Unaligned	Mayor^[6]
Rebecca Ryan	Unaligned
Tim Duddy	Independent
David Quince	Unaligned
Gwen Griffen	Unaligned

References

1 2 3 4 5 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Gunnedah (A)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
↑ "Gunnedah Shire Council". Division of Local Government. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Gunnedah (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Gunnedah (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
1 2 "Gunnedah Shire Council: Election of Councillors". Local Government Elections 2012. Gunnedah Shire Council. September 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
1 2 "Gunnedah Shire Council Elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor" (Press release). Gunnedah Shire Council. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.

New England region of New South Wales, Australia

Federal divisions	New England Parkes

State electorates	Barwon Northern Tablelands Tamworth

Local government areas	Armidale Dumaresq Glen Innes Severn Gunnedah Guyra Gwydir Inverell Liverpool Plains Moree Plains Tamworth Tenterfield Uralla Walcha

Cities	Armidale Tamworth

Townships and villages	Ardglen Ashford Attunga Barraba Bendemeer Ben Lomond Bingara Black Mountain Bolivia Bonshaw Brackendale Breeza Bukkulla Bundarra Carroll Coolatai Croppa Creek Curlewis Dangarsleigh Deepwater Delungra Dorrigo Drake Dundee Dungowan Duri Ebor Elsmore Emerald Hill Emmaville Gilgai Glencoe Glen Innes Graman Gravesend Gunnedah Guyra Hanging Rock Hillgrove Inverell Invergowrie Jennings Kellys Plains Kelvin Kentucky Kootingal Kingstown Legume Limbri Liston Llangothlin Manilla Mingoola Mole River Moonbi Mount Russell Mullaley Niangala North Star Nowendoc Nundle Red Range Rocky River Sandy Flat Somerton Stannifer Stannum Stonehenge Tambar Springs Tenterfield Tia Tingha Torrington Upper Horton Uralla Urbenville Walcha Walcha Road Wallabadah Wallangra Wandsworth Warialda Warialda Rail Weabonga Wellingrove Werris Creek Willow Tree Wollomombi Wollun Woolbrook Yarrowitch Yarrowyck Yetman

National parks and other conservation areas	Bald Rock Basket Swamp Boonoo Boonoo Bundarra-Barraba Important Bird Area Carrai Cathedral Rock Chaelundi Cottan-Bimbang Cunnawarra Ebor Falls Gibraltar Range Guy Fawkes River Kings Plains Kwiambal Little Llangothlin Nature Reserve Mummel Gulf New England Nowendoc Nymboida Oxley Wild Rivers Warrabah Washpool Werrikimbe

Rivers	Aberfoyle Apsley Back Barnard Beardy Blicks Blue Mountain Bobo Boonoo Boonoo Boyd Cells Chandler Chandlers Clouds Commissioners Cooplacurripa Curricabark Dyke Gara Georges Guy Fawkes Gwydir Hastings Kunderang Little Murray Little Nymboida Macleay Manning Maryland Moredun Mummel Nowendoc Nowlands Oaky Oban Rocky Rowleys Sara Severn Styx Tia Timbarra Tobins Towallum Urumbilum Walcrow Warnes Wollomombi Yarrow Yarrowitch

Ranges and mountains	Barren Ben Lomond Dorrigo Plateau Duval Grundy Hyland Moonbi Range Point Lookout Round Thunderbolts Range Tia Range Yarrowyck

Tourist attractions	Apsley Falls Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre Dangar Falls Ebor Falls Newell Falls Sherrard Falls Tamworth Country Music Festival Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre Wollomombi Falls

Local government areas of New South Wales

Metropolitan Sydney

Inner Sydney	Ashfield Botany Bay Hunter's Hill Lane Cove Leichhardt Manly Marrickville Mosman North Sydney Randwick Rockdale Sydney Waverley Willoughby Woollahra

Outer Sydney	Auburn Bankstown Blacktown Burwood Camden Campbelltown Canada Bay Canterbury Fairfield The Hills Holroyd Hornsby Hurstville Kogarah Ku-ring-gai Liverpool Parramatta Penrith Pittwater Ryde Strathfield Sutherland Warringah

Sydney Surrounds	Blue Mountains Gosford Hawkesbury Wollondilly Wyong

Mid North Coast

Murray

Murrumbidgee

Hunter

Illawarra

Richmond Tweed

Southeastern

Northern

Central West

North Western

Far West

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