Wollondilly Shire

Towns, villages and localities in the Wollondilly Shire are:

{{Columns-list|colwidth=15em|

• Appin
• Bargo
• Belimbla Park
• Blue Mountains National Park
• Brownlow Hill
• Buxton
• Camden Park
• Cataract
• Cawdor
• Couridjah
• Darkes Forest
• Douglas Park
• Glenmore
• Lakesland
• Maldon
• Menangle
• Mount Hunter
• Mowbray Park
• Nattai
• Oakdale
• Orangeville
• Pheasants Nest
• Picton
• Razorback
• Silverdale
• Tahmoor
• Theresa Park
• The Oaks
• Thirlmere
• Wallacia
• Warragamba
• Werombi
• Wilton, including the estate of Bingara Gorge
• Yanderra
• Yerranderie

}}

Wollondilly Shire was constituted by proclamation in the NSW Government Gazette on 7 March 1906, following the passing of the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905 (Shire No. 122 of 134), and included a wide area bounded by the local government areas of Camden, Campbelltown and Picton and Nepean Shire.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226474400 |title=Proclamation |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=7 March 1906 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1593 |via=Trove}} A temporary council of five members was appointed on 16 May 1906, which comprised: Richard Henry Antill of Jarvisfield, Picton, Thomas Donohue of Burragorang, George Frederick Litchfield of Yerranderie, George Macarthur-Onslow of Camden Park, Menangle, and John Simpson of Macquarie Dale, Appin.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229308305 |title=Proclamation |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=16 May 1906 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=2984 |via=Trove}} The council first met on 15 June 1906, electing Macarthur-Onslow as Chairman of the Temporary Council and C. A. Thompson as secretary and shire clerk.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14779750 |title=Temporary Shire Councils. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=16 June 1906 |access-date=31 May 2020 |page=12 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140480730 |title=Wollondilly Temporary Shire Council. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=6 December 1906 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140481508 |title=Wollondilly |newspaper=Camden News|location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 July 1906 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=8 |via=Trove}} A. P. Minton, was later appointed Shire Clerk in June 1907.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14850647 |title=Shire Councils. |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 June 1907 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=10 |via=Trove}}

The first elections for the council were held on 24 November 1906 for six councillors in three ridings of two councillors each: A Riding, B Riding and C Riding:{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140477227 |title=Shire Elections. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=29 November 1906 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=10 |via=Trove}}

The final meeting of the Temporary Council and the first meeting of the elected Council was held on 3 December 1906 at The Oaks, at which the chairman of the Temporary Council, George Macarthur-Onslow was elected at the first Shire President of Wollondilly.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140480730 |title=Wollondilly Temporary Shire Council. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=6 December 1906 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove}} However, on 11 January 1907, Macarthur-Onslow resigned as president, citing the distance between the shire offices and his home at Camden Park, and John E. Moore was elected Shire President in his place.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140479383 |title=The Wollondilly Shire Council. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=17 January 1907 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140479981 |title=Wollondilly Shire Council. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=14 February 1907 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=3 |via=Trove}} On 13 February 1908, James O. Moore was elected as Shire President, and re-elected to a second term in February 1909.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140480177 |title=Wollondilly Shire. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=20 February 1908 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=6 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136641710 |title=Wollondilly Shire Council |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=11 February 1909 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=4 |via=Trove}} Following the resignation of James O. Moore in June 1909, Alfred Leonard Bennett was elected Shire President of the on 8 June 1909.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136639453 |title=Wollondilly Shire. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=3 June 1909 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article221598293 |title=Wollondilly Shire |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=16 June 1909 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=3279 |via=Trove}}

On 31 May 1911 part of the Blue Mountains Shire was transferred to the Wollondilly Shire and part of Wollondilly Shire was transferred to the Nepean Shire from 21 March 1940.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226773118 |title=Proclamation |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=31 May 1911 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=3027 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225590976 |title=Local Government Act, 1919. |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales|location=New South Wales, Australia |date=21 March 1940 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1443 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225590977 |title=Local Government Act, 1919. |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=21 March 1940 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1445 |via=Trove}}

When created in 1906, Wollondilly did not include the township of Picton, which had already been incorporated as the Borough of Picton on 15 March 1895.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article224321598 |title=Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation |newspaper=New South Wales Government Gazette |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=15 March 1895 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1815 |via=Trove}} The Borough of Picton became the Municipality of Picton on 31 December 1906 with the passing of the Local Government Extension Act, 1906.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article226478602 |title=Proclamation |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=31 December 1906 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=7019 |via=Trove}}

The Picton Municipal Council held a voluntary poll on 1 April 1939, at the request of residents, on the question of the union of the Picton Municipality and the Wollondilly Shire.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112767314 |title=POLL TO BE TAKEN |newspaper=The Picton Post |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=8 February 1939 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove}} The poll was resolved in the affirmative, with 197 for and 178 against.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112771282 |title=MUNICIPAL POLL. |newspaper=The Picton Post |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=5 April 1939 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove}} The proposal for a "Picton Shire" was subsequently gazetted on 25 August 1939 and on 20 November 1939 the Department of Works and Local Government held an inquiry in Picton on the various issues relating to amalgamation.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225731476 |title=Local Government Act, 1919. |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=25 August 1939 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=4198 |via=Trove}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141149880 |title=Wollondilly and Picton Councils. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=23 November 1939 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=4 |via=Trove}}

From 1 May 1940 the Municipality of Picton was amalgamated into Wollondilly Shire and the Shire Council was then expanded to consist of eight councillors representing four ridings. The first Provisional Council comprised: George John Adams and Edgar Henry Kirk Downes for A Riding; Eric Moore and Septimus Ernest Prosser for B Riding; James Thomas Carroll and Edward Wonson for C Riding' and John Bradburn Cartwright and Roy Carrington Pearce for D Riding.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225591631 |title=Local Government Act, 1919. |newspaper=Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=12 April 1940 |access-date=30 May 2020 |page=1688 |via=Trove}} The council seat was subsequently moved from The Oaks to Picton.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141151664 |title=The New Shire of Wollondilly. |newspaper=Camden News |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=2 May 1940 |access-date=31 May 2020 |page=1 |via=Trove}}

At the {{CensusAU|2016}}, there were 48,519 people in the Wollondilly local government area, with an equal proportion of males and females. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.4% of the population which is on par with the national average. The median age of people in the Wollondilly Shire was 36 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 23.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 10.8% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 54.9% were married and 10.4% were either divorced or separated.{{Census 2011 AUS|id=LGA18400 |name=Wollondilly (A) |access-date=29 November 2012 |quick=on}}

Population growth in the Wollondilly Shire between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 9.18%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 7.23%. This was higher than the population growth for Australia from 2001 to 2006 (5.78%) but less than the national figure for 2006 to 2011 (8.32%). The median weekly income for residents within the Wollondilly Shire was marginally higher than the national average.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Wollondilly local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon was more than 63% (national average was 65.2%). More than 69% of Wollondilly Shire residents nominated a religious affiliation of Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was well above the national average of 50.2%. Compared to the national average, there was a lower than average proportion of households in the Wollondilly local government area (8.3%) where two or more languages were spoken (national average was 20.4%), and a significantly higher proportion (91.2%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).

Wollondilly Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as two wards, each electing 4 councillors as well as a popularly elected mayor who is elected at large. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office.

The current council was elected in December 2021, with the current Mayor Matt Gould being the first popularly elected mayor in the history of the shire. Prior to this the mayor was elected by the councillors for a period of 2 years. The Mayor and Councillors are also allocated one or more portfolios that they have strategic oversight of. The current members of the council are:

{{excerpt|Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Greater Sydney|section=Wollondilly results}}

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

• Appin, Cataract Road: Cataract Dam{{cite NSW SHR|5051469|Cataract Dam|hr=01359|fn=H08/00192; H99/00197, 125107|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Appin, Wilton Road: Windmill Hill, Appin{{cite NSW SHR|5052792|Windmill Hill Group, including Ruins|hr=01931|fn=Plan No 2614|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Bargo, Avon Dam Road: Nepean Dam{{cite NSW SHR|5051477|Nepean Dam|hr=01368|fn=H08/00193; 125181; 13/03104|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Bargo, Hume Highway: Wirrimbirra Sanctuary{{cite NSW SHR|5051261|Wirrimbirra Sanctuary|hr=01508|fn=EF14/5872; S90/7308/001|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Bargo, Main Southern railway 96.265 km: Bargo railway viaduct{{cite NSW SHR|5045265|Bargo Railway Viaduct|hr=01024|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Camden Park, Elizabeth Macarthur Avenue: Camden Park Estate{{cite NSW SHR|5045133|Camden Park|hr=00341|fn=S90/06361, S90/03430|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Cordeaux, Cordeaux River: Cordeaux Dam{{cite NSW SHR|5051470|Cordeaux Dam|hr=01360|fn=H08/00191; H99/00197, 125220|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Couridjah, Main Southern railway: Couridjah railway station{{cite NSW SHR|5045273|Couridjah Railway Station|hr=01121|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Menangle, Main Southern railway: Menangle railway station{{cite NSW SHR|5012101|Menangle Railway Station group|hr=01191|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Menangle, Main Southern railway: Nepean River railway bridge, Menangle{{cite NSW SHR|5012102|Menangle rail bridge over Nepean River|hr=01047|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Orangeville, Brownlow Hill Loop Road: Brownlow Hill Estate{{cite NSW SHR|5051301|Brownlow Hill Estate|hr=01489|fn=EF14/5854; 09/1421; H00/296|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Picton, Hume Highway Deviation: Jarvisfield{{cite NSW SHR|5045544|Jarvisfield|hr=00305|fn=EF14/5859; S90/2612; HC32852|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Picton, Main Southern railway: Picton railway station{{cite NSW SHR|5012134|Picton Railway Station group|hr=01224|fn=EF14/5864|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Picton, Main Southern railway: Stonequarry Creek railway viaduct, Picton{{cite NSW SHR|5045123|Picton railway viaduct over Stonequarry Creek|hr=01051|fn=EF14/5865|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Picton, Oaks Road: Abbotsford{{cite NSW SHR|5045551|Abbotsford|hr=00073|fn=S90/02044 & HC 32047|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Picton, Prince Street: Victoria Bridge, Picton{{cite NSW SHR|5051388|Victoria Bridge over Stonequarry Creek|hr=01484|fn=S90/06536|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Tahmoor, Main Southern railway: Tahmoor railway station{{cite NSW SHR|5012233|Tahmoor Railway Station Group|hr=01258|fn=H06/00251/|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Thirlmere, NSW Rail Transport Museum, Barbour Road: Rail Paybus FP1{{cite NSW SHR|5054684|Rail Paybus FP1|hr=01673|fn=H03/00143|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Warragamba, Coxs River Arms: Coxs River track{{cite NSW SHR|5051480|Track|hr=01372|fn=EF14/4460; 495004|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Warragamba, Warragamba Dam: Megarritys Bridge{{cite NSW SHR|5051476|Megarritys Bridge|hr=01367|fn=465194|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Warragamba, Warragamba Dam: Warragamba Dam - Haviland Park{{cite NSW SHR|5051483|Warragamba Dam - Haviland Park|hr=01375|fn=S91/00061/3|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Warragamba, Warragamba Dam: Warragamba Dam Emergency Scheme{{cite NSW SHR|5051484|Warragamba Emergency Scheme|hr=01376|fn=125196|access-date=18 May 2018}}
• Wilton, Wilton Park Road: Wilton Park{{cite NSW SHR|5045546|Wilton Park|hr=00257|fn=S90/06177 & HC 32088|access-date=18 May 2018}}

Wollondilly is home to two local newspapers, the District Reporter and the Wollondilly Express. Other regional media which serve the area are radio stations, 2MCR and C91.3FM, and the "Macarthur Chronicle" a regional newspaper covering the wider Macarthur Region.

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Wollondilly Shire}}

• [https://www.wollondilly.nsw.gov.au/ Wollondilly Shire Council]

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Category:Local government areas of New South Wales

Category:1906 establishments in Australia

Category:Hume Highway

Category:Georges River

Category:Local government areas in Sydney

Wollondilly