Muswellbrook Shire

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Muswellbrook Shire
New South Wales
Muswellbrook LGA NSW.png
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates 32°16′S150°54′E / 32.267°S 150.900°E / -32.267; 150.900
Population
 • Density5.05/km2 (13.1/sq mi)
Established1 July 1979 (1979-07-01)
Area3,405 km2 (1,314.7 sq mi) [3]
Time zone AEST (UTC+10)
 • Summer (DST) AEDT (UTC+11)
MayorJeffrey Drayton
Council seat Muswellbrook [4]
Region Hunter [5]
State electorate(s) Upper Hunter [6]
Federal division(s) Hunter [7]
Website Muswellbrook Shire
LGAs around Muswellbrook Shire:
Upper Hunter Upper Hunter Upper Hunter
Mid-Western Muswellbrook Shire Singleton
Mid-Western Singleton Singleton

Muswellbrook Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line.

Contents

Muswellbrook Shire was established on 1 July 1979 from the amalgamation of the Municipality of Muswellbrook with the adjacent Denman Shire, [8] which had been called Muswellbrook Shire between 1907 and 1968. [9] [10]

The mayor of the Muswellbrook Shire Council is Cr. Jeffrey Drayton.

Main towns and villages

The Shire includes Muswellbrook, Denman, Baerami, McCullys Gap, Martindale, Muscle Creek, Sandy Hollow, Widden and Wybong. [11]

Coal mining

Muswellbrook started as coal mining town in late 1800s and began open cut mining in 1944. The oldest coal was opened in 1906. [12]

Heritage listings

The Muswellbrook Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 15,791 people in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area, of these 51.7 per cent were male and 48.3 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.4 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Muswellbrook Shire was 34 years, which was lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 22.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 10.6 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.0 per cent were married and 11.8 per cent were either divorced or separated. [3]

Population growth in the Muswellbrook Shire between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 3.25 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 3.64 per cent. 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 Muswellbrook Shire local government area was approximately half the national average. [21] [22] The median weekly income for residents within the Muswellbrook Shire was marginally higher than the national average. [3]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 81 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 68% of all residents in the Muswellbrook Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was considerably higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (4.3 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (89.7 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent). [3]

Selected historical census data for the Muswellbrook Shire local government area
Census year2001 [21] 2006 [22] 2011 [3]
PopulationEstimated residents on Census night14,75615,23615,791
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
% of New South Wales population0.23%
% of Australian population0.08%Steady2.svg 0.08%Decrease2.svg 0.07%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses
Australian 36.2%
English 30.4%
Irish 8.1%
Scottish 6.6%
German 2.9%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)
Shona n/cSteady2.svg n/cIncrease2.svg 0.2%
Cantonese 0.1%Steady2.svg 0.1%Increase2.svg 0.2%
Italian 0.1%Steady2.svg 0.1%Steady2.svg 0.1%
Thai n/cIncrease2.svg 0.1%Steady2.svg 0.1%
Mandarin n/cIncrease2.svg 0.1%Steady2.svg 0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses
Anglican 40.3%Decrease2.svg 37.5%Decrease2.svg 35.6%
Catholic 28.0%Decrease2.svg 27.7%Decrease2.svg 26.1%
No Religion 7.6%Increase2.svg 11.0%Increase2.svg 13.9%
Uniting Church 5.2%Decrease2.svg 4.4%Decrease2.svg 3.9%
Presbyterian and Reformed 3.8%Decrease2.svg 3.2%Decrease2.svg 3.1%
Median weekly incomes
Personal incomeMedian weekly personal incomeA$453A$619
% of Australian median income97.2%Increase2.svg 107.3%
Family incomeMedian weekly family incomeA$1,213A$1,697
% of Australian median income103.6%Increase2.svg 114.6%
Household income Median weekly household incomeA$1,060A$1,399
% of Australian median income103.2%Increase2.svg 113.4%

Council

Current composition and election method

Muswellbrook Shire Council is composed of twelve 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 11 January 2022 and the makeup of the council is as follows: [23]

PartyCouncillors
  Independents and Unaligned12
Total12

The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is: [24]

CouncillorPartyNotes
 Max MORRIS Independent
 Jeffrey DRAYTON Independent Mayor
 De-Anne DOUGLAS Independent Deputy Mayor
Rohit MAHAJAN Independent
 Louise DUNN Independent
 Rod SCHOLES Independent
 Clare BAILEY Independent
 Darryl MARSHALL Independent
Amanda BARRY Independent
Graeme MCNEILL Independent
 Stephen WARD
 David HARTLEY Independent
 

Mayors

The following is a list of mayors since the Shire of Denman amalgamated with the Municipality of Muswellbrook to form Muswellbrook Shire Council on 1 July 1979. [25] [23]

CouncillorPartyTerm of office
 J.H. JoblingUnaligned19791986
 E.I. WolfgangUnaligned19861989
 I.E. SeymourUnaligned19891999
 J.E. ColvinUnaligned19992008
 Martin RushUnaligned20082021
 Rod ScholesUnaligned20212022
Steven Reynolds2022-2024
Jeffrey Drayton2024-present

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References

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  2. "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.
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  4. "Muswellbrook Shire Council". New South Wales Division of Local Government . Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  5. "Suburb Search – Local Council Boundaries – Hunter (HT) – Muswellbrook Shire Council". New South Wales Division of Local Government . Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  6. "Upper Hunter". New South Wales Electoral Commission . Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  7. "Hunter". Australian Electoral Commission. 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
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  9. "Local Government Act 1906. Proclamation (31)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales . 6 March 1907. p. 1644. Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Trove.
  10. "Local Government Act 1919. Proclamation (53)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales . 19 April 1968. p. 1535. Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Trove.
  11. "About Muswellbrook Shire". Muswellbrook Shire Council. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  12. "Coal Industry – Muswellbrook Shire Council". muswellbrook.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  13. "Merton". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H00159. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
  14. "Rous Lench". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H00211. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
  15. "Weidmann Cottage". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H00260. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
  16. "Loxton House". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H00185. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
  17. "Eatons Hotel & St Vincent De Paul Group". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H00331. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
  18. "Edinglassie". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H00170. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
  19. "St. Alban's Anglican Church". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H00458. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
  20. "Muswellbrook Railway Station and yard group". New South Wales State Heritage Register . Department of Planning & Environment. H01208. Retrieved 18 May 2018. CC BY icon.svg Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC-BY 4.0 licence .
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  22. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Muswellbrook (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  23. 1 2 "Muswellbrook Councillor Election Results". Muswellbrook Shire Council. Muswellbrook Shire Council.
  24. "Muswellbrook - Councillor Election results". vtr.elections.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  25. Bill Spicer (18 June 2004). "Mayors, Alderman, Shire Presidents, Councillors and Staff" (PDF). Muswellbrook Shire Council. Retrieved 16 August 2009.