Gundagai Shire New South Wales |
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Location in NSW
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Coordinates | 35°04′S 148°07′E / 35.067°S 148.117°ECoordinates: 35°04′S 148°07′E / 35.067°S 148.117°E | ||||||||||||
Population | 3,747 (2013 est) | ||||||||||||
• Density | 1.5250/km2 (3.9498/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Established | 1923 | ||||||||||||
Abolished | 12 May 2016 | ||||||||||||
Area | 2,457 km2 (948.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Mayor | Cr. Abb McAlister (Unaligned) | ||||||||||||
Council seat | Gundagai | ||||||||||||
Region | Riverina | ||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Cootamundra | ||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Riverina | ||||||||||||
Website | Gundagai Shire | ||||||||||||
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Gundagai Shire was a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. On 12 May 2016, Gundagai Shire was abolished and merged with the neighbouring Cootamundra Shire to establish Gundagai Council.
The Shire was located adjacent to the Hume Highway. Gundagai Shire is primarily rural, with a small population. 80% of the Shire's population live in the town of Gundagai. The four villages in the Shire were Coolac, Tumblong, Muttama and Nangus, with populations ranging from 40 to 90 people.
The last Mayor of Gundagai Shire was Cr. Abb McAlister, an unaligned politician.
Gundagai was declared a Municipality in 1889, and Adjungbilly Shire Council created in 1906 to administer the district. The Municipality of Gundagai and the Adjungbilly Shire were amalgamated in 1923 to form the Gundagai Shire Council, which was the administrative body of the area until 2016.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that Gundagai Shire merge with adjoining councils. The NSW Government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger between the Gundagai and Cootamundra shires to form a new council with an area of 3,981 square kilometres (1,537 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 11,500. The alternative, proposed by Harden Shire on 28 February 2016, was for an amalgamation of the Cootamundra, Gundagai and Harden shires. Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced the dissolution of the Cootamunda and Gundagai shires, with their area merging to establish the Gundagai Council. After the merger was gazetted, opposition continued through a Facebook page.