Shire of Esperance
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Shire of Esperance Western Australia |
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Location in Western Australia
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| Population | 14,242 (2013 est) | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.334736/km2 (0.866964/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1895 | ||||||||||||
| Area | 42,546.9 km2 (16,427.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Mayor | Victoria Brown | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Esperance | ||||||||||||
| Region | Goldfields-Esperance | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Eyre | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||||||
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| Website | Shire of Esperance | ||||||||||||
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The Shire of Esperance is a local government area in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of the town of Kalgoorlie and about 720 kilometres (450 mi) east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of 42,547 square kilometres (16,427 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Esperance, where about three-quarters of the Shire's population resides.
The Esperance Road District was constituted and gazetted in 1895. A municipality covering the town of Esperance, gazetted the same year, was merged into the Road District in 1908. A railway line from Coolgardie to Esperance was completed in 1927 led to development of farming in the mallee country to the north of Esperance. On 1 July 1961, it became a shire under the Local Government Act 1960. On 11 July 1979, the American Skylab Space Station re-entered Earth's atmosphere headed for Western Australia and the Indian Ocean. It broke up during reentry and much of it landed in Esperance. In turn, the Shire issued a facetious $400 fine to the American government for littering. It remained outstanding until April 2009, when radio show host Scott Barley of Highway Radio raised the funds from his morning show listeners, and paid the fine on behalf of NASA.
The main industry in the region is farming. The Department of Agriculture established a research station at Gibson finding the local soils to be deficient in trace elements and nitrogen. In 1953 there was 130 farms in the area, increasing to 347 in 1961 and over 650 in 1968.
The shire is divided into two wards. Prior to the 2005 elections, a 13-councillor setup with North, West and East wards each with two councillors was in place. The shire president is elected from amongst the councillors.
Coordinates: 33°51′40″S 121°53′31″E / 33.861°S 121.892°E
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