Coolamon Shire is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in the

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

region of south-western

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. The Shire comprises and is located adjacent to the

Newell Highway Newell Highway is a national highway in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It provides the major road link between southeastern Queensland and Victoria via central NSW and as such carries large amounts of freight. At in length, the Newell is th ...

and the

Burley Griffin Way Burley Griffin Way is a New South Wales state route, is located in south eastern Australia. Named after the American architect Walter Burley Griffin, designer of the cities of Canberra and Griffith, the road links these two cities via Yass a ...

. The Shire includes the towns of Coolamon,

Ganmain Ganmain is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Ganmain is located around north west of Wagga Wagga, and east of Narrandera. Ganmain is in the Coolamon Shire local government area and had a population at the 2016 ...

, and

Ardlethan Ardlethan () is a small service town in the Coolamon Shire in New South Wales, Australia. Ardlethan is at the intersection of the Burley Griffin Way and Newell Highway. Ardlethan lays claim to be the birthplace of the Australian kelpie. Histo ...

, and the villages of

Matong Matong is a town in the central east part of the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is east of Narrandera and west of Coolamon. At the 2016 census, Matong had a population of 164 people. Sport The most popular sport i ...

, Marrar, and Beckom. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the Coolamon Shire Council is Cr. David McCann, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

politician.

History

Coolamon Shire was first incorporated on 6 March 1906 by a Proclamation under the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905. The boundaries of the Shire were defined as: On 15 May 1906 a Temporary Council of five members was appointed by Proclamation. The temporary councillors were: Henry Doubleday, David Hannah, William Henry Rowston, William Steele and George Webb. The first meeting of the temporary Shire Council was held on 12 June 1906 in the Coolamon Court House. At this meeting Councillor William Rowston was elected as the chairman and the council resolved to nominate Mr J.E.A Florance as shire secretary, subject to ministerial approval. The Council was initially divided into three "Ridings" each returning two councillors. The first elections to the council took place on Saturday 24 November 1906. With only the "A Riding" being contested. The councillors elected in the inaugural election were: Riding A - William Rowston and Thomas Joseph Kelly; Riding B - Henry Doubleday and Thomas E. Lucas; Riding C - John Poiner and Randal King Pike. The first meeting of the permanent Shire Council was held on 10 December 1906 at which Cr. Henry Doubleday was elected as the first President. On 01 May 1912 the Coolamon Urban Area was Proclaimed, increasing the Council's powers to that of a municipality in respect of that Urban Area. Ganmain and Ardlethan were likewise proclaimed as Urban Areas on 14 Oct 1914.

Council

Current composition and election method

Coolamon Shire Council is composed of nine

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s 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. In the most recent election held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2016, is:

References

Local government areas of New South Wales Local government areas of the Riverina {{Riverina-geo-stub