Bega Valley New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 36°40′S149°50′E / 36.667°S 149.833°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 35,942 (LGA 2021) [1] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1981 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 6,279 km2 (2,424.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Mayor | Russell Fitpatrick (Mayor) Anthony McMahon (CEO) | ||||||||||||||
Council seat | Bega [2] | ||||||||||||||
Region | South Coast | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Bega | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Eden-Monaro | ||||||||||||||
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Website | Bega Valley | ||||||||||||||
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The Bega Valley Shire is a local government area located adjacent to the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the Municipality of Bega, Imlay Shire and Mumbulla Shire, [3] with its name deriving from the town of Bega. The shire is also known as the Sapphire Coast for tourism and marketing purposes. During the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, the area was devastated by fire, with 448 houses being destroyed by fire [4] and approximately 365,000 hectares burned, which is 58% of the Shire's total land mass. [5]
The estimated population as at the 2021 census was 35,942. [6]
The current Mayor is Russell Fitzpatrick, an independent who joined the Liberal Party in 2023. [7]
The shire covers 6,040 square kilometres (2,330 sq mi), and includes a coastline of 225 km (140 mi), with 101 beaches and 26 estuaries. Around 78% of the area belongs to various national parks and state forests. The biggest industry is the production of timber, followed by dairy farming and other agriculture. Smaller industries include fishing, oyster harvesting, and tourism. [8] The Biamanga National Park includes important Aboriginal sites. [9]
The area extends from Bermagui in the north to the Victorian border in the south and includes the towns of Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Tura Beach, Wolumla, Cobargo, Bemboka, Pambula, Pambula Beach and the former whaling port, tourism hotspot, and major port of Eden.
Smaller localities include:
Bega Valley Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as one entire 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: [10]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Independent | 6 | |
Labor | 1 | |
Liberal | 1 | |
Greens | 1 | |
Total | 9 |
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is: [10]
Councillor | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Helen O’Neil | Labor | ||
Karen Wright | Independent | ||
Russel Fitzpatrick | Liberal [11] | Mayor [12] | |
Tony Allen | Independent | ||
Cathy Griff | Greens | Deputy Mayor [12] | |
Mitch Nadin | Independent | ||
David Porter | Independent | ||
Liz Seckold | Independent | ||
Joy Robin | Independent |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | 1. Mitchell Nadin 2. David Porter 3. Peggy Noble 4. Jason Hetherington 5. Morgan Eneberg | ||||
Labor | 1. Helen O'Neil 2. Simon Daly 3. David Neyle 4. Nicola Collins | ||||
Greens | 1. Peter Haggar 2. Liane Munro 3. Emma Goward 4. Vivian Harris 5. Jamie Shaw | ||||
Independent | Clair Mudaliar | ||||
Independent | Tony Allen | ||||
Independent | Russell Fitzpatrick | ||||
Independent | Phillip Drummett | ||||
Total formal votes | |||||
Informal votes | |||||
Turnout |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labor | 1. Helen O'Neil (elected) 2. Simon Daly | 4,943 | 17.3 | ||
Independent | Russell Fitzpatrick (elected) | 2,818 | 13.1 | ||
Greens | 1. Cathy Griff (elected) 2. Vivian Harris 3. Paula Park 4. Angus Ashcroft 5. Peter Haggar | 2,665 | 12.4 | ||
Independent | Tony Allen (elected) | 2,594 | 12.1 | ||
Independent | Karen Wright (elected) | 2,539 | 11.8 | ||
Independent | Mitch Nadin (elected) | 1,201 | 5.6 | ||
Independent | Joy Robin (elected) | 1,080 | 5.0 | ||
Independent | David Porter (elected) | 1,003 | 4.7 | ||
Independent | Mike Britten | 884 | 4.1 | ||
Independent | Liz Seckhold (elected) | 875 | 4.1 | ||
Independent | Nathan O'Donnell | 852 | 4.0 | ||
Independent | Joshua Shoobridge | 650 | 3.0 | ||
Independent | Neil Bourke | 568 | 2.6 | ||
Total formal votes | 21,435 | 91.4 | |||
Informal votes | 2,026 | 8.6 | |||
Turnout | 23,461 | 87.9 | |||
Party total votes | |||||
Independent | 15,064 | 70.3 | |||
Labor | 4,943 | 17.3 | |||
Greens | 2,665 | 12.4 |
Selected historical census data for Bega Valley Shire local government area | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Census year | 2011 [14] | 2016 [15] [6] | 2021 | |||
Population | Estimated residents on census night | 31,950 | ![]() | ![]() | ||
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 56th | ![]() | ||||
% of New South Wales population | 0.46% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
% of Australian population | 0.15% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Cultural and language diversity | ||||||
Ancestry, top responses | English | 32.5% | ![]() | ![]() | ||
Australian | 31.3% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Irish | 9.3% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Scottish | 8.4% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
German | 3.8% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.6% | ![]() | ![]() | ||
Dutch | 0.3% | ![]() | – | |||
Italian | 0.2% | ![]() | – | |||
French | 0.2% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Thai | n/r | 0.2% | ![]() | |||
Religious affiliation | ||||||
Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion, so described | 26.7% | ![]() | ![]() | ||
Anglican | 27.3% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Catholic | 20.0% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Not stated | n/r | 10.4% | ![]() | |||
Uniting Church | 4.6% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Median weekly incomes | ||||||
Personal income | Median weekly personal income | $454 | ![]() | ![]() | ||
% of Australian median income | 78.7% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Family income | Median weekly family income | $1,014 | ![]() | ![]() | ||
% of Australian median income | 68.5% | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Household income | Median weekly household income | $848 | ![]() | ![]() | ||
% of Australian median income | 68.7% | ![]() | ![]() |
Biamanga National Park is a protected area in New South Wales, Australia, 408 km (254 mi) south of Sydney and 40 km (25 mi) north of Bega. The park forms part of the Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area because of its importance for swift parrots.
Gulaga National Park is a national park on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Narooma. The park is dominated by Gulaga, also known as Mount Gulaga. The former Wallaga Lake National Park, Goura Nature Reserve, and Mount Dromedary Flora Reserve were combined to form this park in 2001. The park features the southernmost subtropical rainforest in New South Wales.
The Hills Shire is a local government area in the Greater Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The area is north-west of the Sydney central business district, and encompasses 401 square kilometres (155 sq mi) stretching from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to Wisemans Ferry on the Hawkesbury River in the north. The Hills Shire had a population of 191,876 as of the 2021 census.
Bega is a town in the south-east of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bega Valley Shire. It is the economic centre for the Bega Valley.
Pambula is a town in Bega Valley Shire on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia 454 kilometres (282 mi) south of Sydney via the Princes Highway. At the 2016 census, Pambula had a population of 970 people.
The City of Parramatta, also known as Parramatta Council, is a local government area located to the west and north-west of Sydney CBD in the Greater Western Sydney region. Parramatta Council is situated between the City of Ryde and Cumberland, where the Cumberland Plain meets the Hornsby Plateau, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in New South Wales, Australia. The city occupies an area of 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi) spanning across suburbs in Greater Western Sydney including the Hills District, and a small section of Northern Sydney to the far north east of its area. According to the 2016 census, City of Parramatta had an estimated population of 226,149. The city houses the Parramatta central business district which is one of the key suburban employment destinations for the region of Greater Western Sydney.
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Wyndham is a village located 519 km (322 mi) south of Sydney, on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. At the 2016 census, Wyndham had a population of 386.
Yellow Pinch Dam is a major off-stream ungated rockfill embankment dam across the Yellow Pinch Creek upstream of Merimbula in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is water supply. The impounded reservoir is also called Yellow Pinch Dam.
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The Bega Standard and Candelo, Merimbula, Pambula, Eden, Wolumla, and General Advertiser, also previously published as Southern Standard, was a weekly, later semiweekly English language newspaper published in Bega, New South Wales, Australia.
The 2021 New South Wales local elections were held on 4 December 2021 to elect the councils of 121 of the 128 local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales. Several councils also held mayoral elections and/or referendums.
The following candidates were declared elected on 21 December 2021: Helen O'NEIL (ALP) Karen WRIGHT (IND) Russell FITZPATRICK (IND) Tony ALLEN (IND) Cathy GRIFF (GRN) Mitch NADIN (IND) David PORTER (IND) Liz SECKOLD (IND) Joy ROBIN (IND)