The Warrumbungle Shire is a local government area in the central western region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is traversed by the Newell Highway. The Warrumbungle mountain range and Warrumbungles National Park are major tourist attractions for the Shire. Its seat is located in Coonabarabran, a town in the southwest.
The mayor of Warrumbungle Shire Council is Kathryn Rindfleish, who is unaligned with any political party.
The Warrumbungle Shire local government area sits on Gamilaraay land to the north-east, Wiradjuri land to the south, and Weilwan land to the west.
Main towns and villages The Shire incorporates the towns of Binnaway, Coolah, Coonabarabran, Dunedoo, Baradine and Mendooran.
Heritage listings The Warrumbungle Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Coolah, 74 Binnia Street: Old Police Station and Courthouse Coonabarabran, Oxley Highway: Burra Bee Dee Mission Dunedoo, Wallerawang-Gwabegar railway: Dunedoo railway station Kenebri, Old Wooleybah Road: Wooleybah Sawmill and Settlement
Demographics
Selected historical census data for Warrumbungle Shire local government areaCensus year 2011 2016 2021Population Estimated residents on census night 9,225LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales % of New South Wales population 0.14% 0.13% 0.11%% of Australian population 0.04% 0.04% 0.04%Cultural and language diversity Ancestry,top responses English 30.8% 40.6%Australian 36.3% 41.6%Scottish7.7% 9.1%Irish 7.6% 9.9%Australian Aboriginal 9.8%Language,top responses(other than English) German 0.3% 0.3% 0.2%Filipinon/c n/c 0.2%Tagalogn/c n/c 0.2%Italiann/c 0.1% 0.1%Malayalamn/c 0.1% 0.1%Religious affiliation Religious affiliation,top responses No religion14.4% 20.6% 26.2%Anglican36.3% 30.7% 25.6%Catholic23.7% 21.8% 20.5%Presbyterian and Reformed6.0% 5.5% 4.5%Median weekly incomes Personal income Median weekly personal income$380$479$559% of Australian median income65.9% 72.4% 69.4%Family income Median weekly family income$869$1,103$1,387% of Australian median income58.7% 63.6% 65.4%Household income Median weekly household income$689$878$1,068% of Australian median income55.8% 61.1% 61.2%
Council The Shire was created in 2004 by the amalgamation of Coolah and Coonabarabran Shire councils. Following amalgamation, the Shire was run by an administrator, until elections were held in March 2005.
Current composition and election method Warrumbungle 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 most recent election was held in 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
The current Council, elected in 2021, is:
CouncillorPartyNotes Kathryn Rindfleish Unaligned Jason Newton Unaligned Zoe Holcombe Unaligned Ray Lewis Unaligned Debra Bell Unaligned Dale Hogden Unaligned Kodi Brady Unaligned Denis Todd Unaligned Naomi Taylor Unaligned The mayor is elected by the councillors every two years. At the last mayoral election held 21 September 2023, Cr Rindfleish was elected as mayor and Cr Newton elected as deputy mayor.
Election results 2024
See also
List of local government areas in New South Wales
References