Gundagai Shire was a local government area 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

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. On 12 May 2016, Gundagai Shire was abolished and merged with the neighbouring Cootamundra Shire to establish Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional 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 Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Hon ...

. The four villages in the Shire were

Coolac Coolac is a village in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in Gundagai Council. At the , Coolac had a population of 216. History The place name ''Coolac'' is derived from the local Aboriginal name for a plant which was abundan ...

Tumblong Tumblong is a village community in the central east part of the Riverina and situated about south east from Mundarlo and northwest of Adelong. It was known as Adelong Crossing until 1913. At the , Tumblong and the surrounding area had a popul ...

, Muttama and

Nangus Nangus is a village on the Wagga Wagga to Gundagai Road on the north side of the Murrumbidgee River. From Nangus, Junee, Gundagai, Wantabadgery, Oura, New South Wales, Oura and Wagga Wagga are accessible. Nangus is approximately due west of Gund ...

, with populations ranging from 40 to 90 people. The last

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 Gundagai Shire was Cr. Abb McAlister, an unaligned politician.

History

Gundagai was declared a Municipality in

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...

, and Adjungbilly Shire Council created in

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

to administer the district. The Municipality of Gundagai and the Adjungbilly Shire were amalgamated on 1 January 1924 to form the Gundagai Shire Council, which was the administrative body of the area. A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that Gundagai Shire merge with adjoining councils. The

NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger between the Gundagai and Cootamundra shires to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately . The alternative, proposed by

Harden Shire Harden Shire was a local government area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire included the twin towns of Harden and Murrumburrah and the small towns of Galong, Jugiong, Wombat and Kingsvale. The Shire was ...

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 Gundagai is a town in New South Wales, Australia. Although a small town, Gundagai is a popular topic for writers and has become a representative icon of a typical Australian country town. Located along the Murrumbidgee River and Muniong, Honeys ...

. After the merger was gazetted, opposition continued through a Facebook page.

Council

In 1952 Gundagai Shire Council won a coveted A.R. Bluett Memorial Award for progress. During 2011 Gundagai Shire Council was one of 110 state and local council authorities where employees were under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption as part of Operation Jarek. It was claimed that employees of some state and local authorities had accepted benefits including gift cards and other items from companies in return for placing orders and continuing business relationships with these companies.

Composition and election method

Gundagai Shire Council was composed of eight

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 from a single

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. All councillors were elected for fixed four-year terms of office. The mayor was elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the council was as follows: The last Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, was:

References

{{Authority control Former local government areas of New South Wales Local government areas of the Riverina 1924 establishments in Australia 2016 disestablishments in Australia Hume Highway