Blayney Shire
Blayney Shire is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railway line, and is centred on the town of Blayney.
| Blayney Shire New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
 Council Chambers, Blayney | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°32′S 149°15′E | ||||||||||||||
| Population |
| ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 4.7587/km2 (12.325/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 1,525 km2 (588.8 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Scott Ferguson (Unaligned) | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Blayney[3] | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Central West | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Bathurst | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Calare | ||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Website | Blayney Shire | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Blayney Shire consists of approximately 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi) of well watered, gently undulating to hilly country and the climate is partially suitable for cool climate crops and trees. There is also significant mining industry in the shire.
Towns and localities
Towns and localities within the Blayney Shire are:
- Blayney
- Athol
- Barry
- Carcoar
- Forest Reefs
- Garland
- Hobbys Yards
- Junction Reefs
- Kings Plains
- Lyndhurst
- Mandurama
- Millthorpe
- Neville
- Newbridge
- Wombiana
Demographics
| Selected historical census data for Blayney Shire local government area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2011[4] | 2016[1] | ||||
| Population | Estimated residents on census night | 6,985 |  7,257 | |||
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 100th | |||||
| % of New South Wales population | ||||||
| % of Australian population | ||||||
| Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 35.0% | 35.4% | |||
| English | 32.0% | 31.1% | ||||
| Irish | 11.1% | 10.9% | ||||
| Chinese | 7.4% | 7.4% | ||||
| German | 2.3% | 2.4% | ||||
| Language, top responses (other than English) | German | n/a | 0.2% | |||
| Arabic | 0.2% | 0.2% | ||||
| Cantonese | n/a | 0.2% | ||||
| Tamil | n/a | 0.1% | ||||
| French | n/a | 0.1% | ||||
| Religious affiliation | ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 31.0% | 28.6% | |||
| Anglican | 27.9% | 24.2% | ||||
| No religion | 14.4% | 20.8% | ||||
| Not stated | not reported | 8.5% | ||||
| Uniting Church | 7.6% | 6.8% | ||||
| Median weekly incomes | ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$553 | A$620 | |||
| % of Australian median income | % | % | ||||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$1376 | A$1581 | |||
| % of Australian median income | % | % | ||||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$1092 | A$1227 | |||
| % of Australian median income | % | % | ||||
Council
Current composition and election method
Blayney Shire Council is composed of seven 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, and the makeup of the council is as follows:[5]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents and Unaligned | 7 | |
| Total | 7 | |
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:[5]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Reynolds | Independent | ||
| Michelle Pryse Jones | Independent | ||
| Scott Ferguson | Unaligned | Mayor[6] | |
| Craig Gosewisch | Independent | ||
| Allan Ewin | Independent | ||
| David Somervaille | Independent | Deputy Mayor[6] | |
| John Newstead | Independent | ||
Proposed amalgamation
A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Blayney Shire merge with the Cabonne Shire and the City of Orange to form a new council with an area of 7,833 square kilometres (3,024 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 63,000.[7] Despite originally planning for the amalgamation to go ahead, the merger scheduled for May 2016 was delayed due to legal action, and in February 2017 the NSW Government decided not to proceed with the amalgamation.[8][9][10]
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Blayney (A)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
- "Blayney Shire Council". Division of Local Government. Retrieved 28 November 2006.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Blayney (A)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
- "Blayney - Councillor Election results". NSW Electoral Commission. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Logan, Mark (23 December 2021). "Ferguson and Somervaille elected to top roles". Blayney Chronicle. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "Merger proposal: Blayney Shire Council, Cabonne Shire, Orange City Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- Davies, Anne; McKenny, Leesha; Neil, Dave (18 December 2015). "BREAKING NEWSOrange City Council to merge with Blayney and Cabonne". Central Western Daily. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- "Orange City Council misses first round of council mergers" (Media Release). Orange City Council. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- Nicholls, Sean; Visentin, Lisa (13 February 2017). "Orange-Cabonne-Blayney merger officially scrapped by premier". Central Western Daily. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
