Gilgandra Shire
Local government area in New South Wales, Australia
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Gilgandra Shire is a local government area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the junction of the Newell, Oxley and Castlereagh highways and can be reached in about six hours by car from Sydney CBD. The Shire lies on the Castlereagh River and includes part of the Warrumbungles National Park. The shire was constituted in 1906.
Gilgandra Shire | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||
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| Coordinates: 31°42′S 148°41′E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| Region | Orana | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1906 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Gilgandra | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Doug Batten (Independent) | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 4,836 km2 (1,867 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Totals | 4,236 (2016 census)[1] 4,226 (2018 est.)[2] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.87593/km2 (2.2686/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Gilgandra Shire | ||||||||||||
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The mayor of Gilgandra Shire Council is Cr. Doug Batten, an independent politician.
Settlements and geography
Gilgandra Shire includes Gilgandra, Balladoran and Curban.
The geography of the Gilgandra Shire is very flat. The soil is composed mostly of sand, making it very porous and difficult to grow certain plants. The weather is hot and dry, reaching 40 °C (104 °F) for consecutive days during summer.[citation needed]
Demographics
| Selected historical census data for Gilgandra Shire local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2011[3] | 2016[1] | ||||
| Population | Estimated residents on census night | 4,386 |  4,236 | |||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 115th |  115th | ||||
| % of New South Wales population | ||||||
| % of Australian population | ||||||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | English | |||||
| Australian | ||||||
| Italian | ||||||
| Chinese | ||||||
| Irish | ||||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | |||||
| Mandarin | ||||||
| Cantonese | ||||||
| Korean | ||||||
| Greek | ||||||
| Religious affiliation | ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | |||||
| No religion | ||||||
| Anglican | ||||||
| Eastern Orthodox | ||||||
| Buddhism | ||||||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$ | ||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | |||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | |||||
| % of Australian median income | ||||||
Heritage listings
Gilgandra Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- East Coonamble Road, Curban: Corduroy Road Ruin Historic Site[4]
- Myrtle Street, Gilgandra: St Ambrose Church[5]
Council
Current composition and election method
Gilgandra 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 4 December 2021.
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents | 9 | |
| Total | 9 | |
Election results
2024
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent National | Ashley Walker (elected 1) | 376 | 15.4 | +2.2 | |
| Independent | Madeline Foran (elected 2) | 315 | 12.9 | +12.9 | |
| Independent | Ian Freeth (elected 3) | 298 | 12.2 | +1.7 | |
| Independent | Paul Mann (elected 4) | 288 | 11.8 | −1.7 | |
| Independent | Doug Batten (elected 5) | 249 | 10.2 | −0.3 | |
| Independent | Nicholas White (elected 6) | 222 | 9.1 | +2.8 | |
| Independent National | Greg Peart (elected 7) | 176 | 7.2 | +0.8 | |
| Independent | Gail Babbage | 174 | 7.1 | −2.4 | |
| Independent | Brian Mockler (elected 9) | 173 | 7.1 | −0.4 | |
| Independent | Amber Bunter (elected 8) | 163 | 6.7 | −1.0 | |
| Total formal votes | 2,434 | 95.5 | −2.0 | ||
| Informal votes | 114 | 4.5 | +2.0 | ||
| Turnout | 2,548 | 79.5 | −1.1 | ||
2021
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Paul Mann (elected) | 337 | 13.5 | ||
| Independent National | Ashley Walker (elected) | 328 | 13.2 | ||
| Independent | Ian Freeth (elected) | 263 | 10.6 | ||
| Independent | Doug Batten (elected) | 262 | 10.5 | ||
| Independent | Gail Babbage (elected) | 238 | 9.6 | ||
| Independent | Noel Mudford (elected) | 206 | 8.3 | ||
| Independent | Amber Bunter (elected) | 193 | 7.7 | ||
| Independent | Brian Mockler (elected) | 188 | 7.5 | ||
| Independent National | Greg Peart (elected) | 160 | 6.4 | ||
| Independent | Helen Naef | 160 | 6.4 | ||
| Independent | Nicholas White | 157 | 6.3 | ||
| Total formal votes | 2,492 | 97.6 | |||
| Informal votes | 60 | 2.4 | |||
| Turnout | 2,552 | 80.6 | |||
