Bellingen Shire

This article is about the local government area. For the town, see Bellingen, New South Wales.

Bellingen Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	30°27′S152°54′E / 30.450°S 152.900°E / -30.450; 152.900
Population	13,253 (2021 census) [1]
• Density	8.2728/km2 (21.426/sq mi)
Area	1,602 km2 (618.5 sq mi)
Mayor	Steve Allan (Independent)
Council seat	Bellingen
Region	Mid North Coast
State electorate(s)	Oxley Coffs Harbour
Federal division(s)	Cowper
Website	Bellingen Shire
LGAs around Bellingen Shire: Clarence Valley Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour Armidale Bellingen Shire Tasman Sea Kempsey Nambucca Tasman Sea

Bellingen Shire is a local government area in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The shire is located adjacent to the Pacific Highway, Waterfall Way and the North Coast railway line.

The mayor of the Bellingen Shire is Cr. Steve Allan, an independent. ^[2]

Towns and localities

Towns and localities in the Bellingen Shire are:

• Bellingen
• Bostobrick
• Brierfield
• Cascade
• Darkwood
• Deer Vale
• Dorrigo
• Fernmount
• Gleniffer
• Hydes Creek
• Leigh
• Megan
• Mylestom
• Orama
• Raleigh
• Repton
• Tarkeeth
• Thora
• Urunga
• Valery

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 12,518 people in the Bellingen local government area, of these 48.5 per cent were male and 51.5 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.0 per cent of the population which is higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Bellingen Shire was 46 years; some 10 years higher than the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.5 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.9 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 46.1 per cent were married and 17.4 per cent were either divorced or separated. ^[3]

Population growth in the Bellingen Shire between the 2001 census, 2006 census, and the 2011 census was marginal. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Bellingen local government area was significantly lower than the national average. ^[4] The median weekly income for residents within the Bellingen Shire was significantly below the national average, ^{[3] [5]} being one of the factors that place the Bellingen Shire in an area of social disadvantage.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Bellingen local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 82 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 69 per cent of all residents in the Bellingen Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was significantly above the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, compared to the national average, households in the Bellingen local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (4.7 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (94.1 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent). ^[3]

Selected historical census data for Bellingen local government area
Census year			2001 [4]	2006 [5]	2011 [3]	2016 [6]	2021 [1]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	12,171	12,416	12,518	12,668	13,253
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			85th	84th	81st
		% of New South Wales population			0.18%
		% of Australian population	0.06%	0.06%	0.06%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			32.3%
		Australian			31.5%
		Irish			10.3%
		Scottish			8.7%
		German			3.4%
Language, top responses (other than English)		German	0.8%	0.6%	0.7%
		Dutch	0.2%	0.2%	0.4%
		Spanish	n/c	0.1%	0.3%
		French	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%
		Cantonese	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		No Religion	20.5%	26.0%	31.5%
		Anglican	26.8%	24.9%	23.4%
		Catholic	18.0%	17.4%	16.1%
		Uniting Church	9.1%	7.7%	6.8%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	3.4%	2.9%	3.1%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$336	A$416
		% of Australian median income		72.1%	72.1%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$622	A$938
		% of Australian median income		60.6%	63.3%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$777	A$787
		% of Australian median income		66.4%	63.8%

Council

Bellingen Shire Council is composed of seven councillors, including the mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the six other councillors are elected proportionally as one entire ward. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows: ^{[2] [7]}

Party		Councillors
	Waterfall Way Independents	3
	The Greens	2
	Independents	1
	Stephen Glyde Group	1
	Total	7

The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is: ^{[2] [7]}

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Steve Allan	Waterfall Way Independents [8]	Mayor [2]
	Dominic King	Greens
	Jo Brotherton	Waterfall Way Independents [8]
	Ellie Tree	Waterfall Way Independents [8]
	Joanne Cook	Independent	Deputy mayor [9]
	Stephen Glyde	Stephen Glyde Group [8]
	Jennie Fenton	Greens

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Mid North Coast § Bellingen results.[ edit ]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Bellingen ^{[10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Waterfall Way Inds	1. Steve Allan 2. Eleanor Tree (elected 1) 3. Jo Brotherton (elected 3) 4. Andrew O'Keefe (elected 6) 5. Linda Coomber 6. Steve Ryan	4,342	53.6	+19.8
	Greens	1. Dominic King (elected 2) 2. Jennie Fenton (elected 4) 3. Gary Fry 4. Wendy Firefly	2,481	30.6	+4.7
	Community First	1. Graeme Shephard (elected 5) 2. Joanne Cook 3. Cathryn McGuire 4. Stephen Glyde	1,273	15.7	+1.7 [a]
Total formal votes			8,096	95.3
Informal votes			404	4.7
Turnout			8,500	81.5

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Mid North Coast § Bellingen results.[ edit ]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Bellingen ^{[12] [13] [14] [15]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Waterfall Way Inds	1. Steve Allan 2. Jo Brotherton 3. Eleanor Tree 4. Lee Grundy 5. Janette Fairleigh 6. Steve Ryan	2,800	33.9	+33.9
	Greens	1. Dominic King 2. Jennie Fenton 3. Alison Heeley 4. Toni Wright-Turner	2,145	25.9	−2.5
	Team Joanne Cook	1. Joanne Cook 2. Graeme Shephard 3. Tabitha Vanzanten 4. Christopher Shirley 5. Philip Kennedy	1,163	14.1
	Stephen Glyde Group	1. Stephen Glyde 2. Vanessa Machon 3. James Anderson	990	12.0
	Labor	1. Andrew Woodward 2. Paul Hemphill 3. Paul Mulally 4. Danielle Matignier-Babb	838	10.1
	Independent	1. Steve Klipin 2. Boaz Keeda 3. Robin Ashley	334	4.0
Total formal votes			8,270	95.9
Informal votes			352	4.1
Turnout			8,622	83.8

See also

• New South Wales portal

• Local government areas of New South Wales

Notes

1. Compared with Team Joanne Cook at the 2021 election.

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Bellingen". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
2. "Bellingen – Mayoral Election results". NSW Electoral Commission. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Bellingen (A)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Bellingen (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
5. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Bellingen (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
6. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Bellingen (A)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
7. "Bellingen – Councillor Election results". NSW Electoral Commission. 23 December 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
8. "20211129-LG-Groups-of-Candidates.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
9. "New Deputy Mayor for Bellingen Shire". www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
10. "Bellingen - First Preference Group and Candidate Votes by Aggregated Vote Type". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 1 October 2024. Archived from the original on 3 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
11. "Dominic King". Greens on Council. 29 May 2024. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
12. "Bellingen". ABC News. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
13. "Together our team has developed policies due to the strong vision we have for our Shire". Facebook. Councillor Joanne Cook. 22 October 2021. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024. Today I wanted to talk about Team Joanne Cook's vision for Community within our Shire.
14. "Team Joanne Cook". Facebook. Councillor Joanne Cook. 11 January 2022. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
15. "Vote 1 Stephen Glyde Group". Facebook. Stephen Glyde Group. 4 November 2021. Archived from the original on 20 September 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.