City of Dubbo

The City of Dubbo was a local government area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The former area is located adjacent to the Mitchell, Newell, and the Golden highways, the Main Western railway line, and the Macquarie River.

This article is about the former local government area. For the regional city, see Dubbo. For the seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, see Electoral district of Dubbo.

City of Dubbo
New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates32°15′S 148°36′E
Population41,211 (2011 census)[1]
 • Density12.0324/km2 (31.164/sq mi)
Established1872
Abolished12 May 2016 (2016-05-12)
Area3,425 km2 (1,322.4 sq mi)
Council seatDubbo
RegionOrana
State electorate(s)Dubbo
Federal division(s)Parkes
WebsiteCity of Dubbo
LGAs around City of Dubbo:
Narromine Gilgandra Warrumbungle
Narromine City of Dubbo Wellington
Parkes Parkes Wellington

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the City of Dubbo merge with the Wellington Council to form a new council with an area of 7,536 square kilometres (2,910 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 51,000.[2] Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced the dissolution of the Dubbo City Council and the Wellington Council, together with the establishment of the Western Plains Regional Council with immediate effect.[3]

The last mayor of the City of Dubbo was Clr. Mathew Dickerson, an independent politician.

The last deputy mayor of the City of Dubbo was Clr. Ben Shields, an unaligned politician. Clr. Ben Shields was elected in 1st position at the 2012 and 2008 Dubbo City Council elections.

The largest population centre in the former area is the regional city of Dubbo. The local government area also included the villages of Eumungerie, Mogriguy, Brocklehurst, Wongarbon, Toongi, and Rawsonville.[4]

History

The Dubbo local government area came into being on 19 February 1872, when the Municipal District of Dubbo was approved by the Colonial Secretary. The first six aldermen were elected into office on 22 April 1872 with 82 votes being cast for a wide field of candidates.[5] James Samuels was elected mayor at the first council meeting and remained mayor for 3 years.[6]

Talbragar Shire was amalgamated with the Dubbo City Council on 1 April 1980. At that time the area of the city was 3,321 square kilometres (1,282 sq mi); and with a population estimated at 29,000.[5]

Council

Current composition and election method

Prior to its dissolution, the Dubbo City Council was composed of eleven councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All Councillors were elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor was 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 former council was as follows:[7]

PartyCouncillors
  Independents and Unaligned 11
Total 11

The last Council, elected in 2012 and dissolved in 2016, in order of election, was:[7]

CouncillorPartyNotes
  Ben Shields Unaligned Deputy Mayor[8]
  Mathew Dickerson Independent Mayor[8]
  John Walkom Unaligned
  Bill Kelly Independent
  Greg Mohr Unaligned Elected on Ben Shields ticket
  Allan Smith Independent
  Kevin Parker Unaligned
  Tina Reynolds Independent
  Greg Mathews Unaligned
  Lyn Griffiths Independent
  Rod Towney Independent

The former Dubbo City Council staffed around 350 permanent employees, and was responsible for the city and surrounding areas. The Civic Administration Building of the former council is located on the corner of Darling and Church Streets and now has a "One Stop Shop" for all customers of the former council.

Industry

As a regional centre, the City of Dubbo provided services far beyond its own population base. It served 130,000 people, and one third of the geographic area of New South Wales.[4] The main industry sectors represented in the City of Dubbo were retail, health, manufacturing, transport, tourism, education, construction, business services, agriculture, and government services.[4]

Sister cities

The City of Dubbo had four sister cities:[9]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Dubbo (C)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  2. "Merger proposal: Dubbo City Council, Wellington Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. "Western Plains Regional Council". Stronger Councils. Government of New South Wales. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  4. "Annual report: 2004–2005" (PDF). Dubbo City Council. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2006.
  5. "History of Dubbo City Council". Dubbo City Council. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2006.
  6. "The Old Brigade". Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent. 1920.
  7. "Dubbo City Council: Summary of First Preference Votes for each Candidate". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  8. van de Wetering, Jodie (25 September 2012). "Check your new council details". ABC Western Plains. Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  9. Dubbo Sister Cities Archived 11 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine

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