Harden Shire was 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

South West Slopes The South Western Slopes, also known as the South West Slopes, is a region predominantly in New South Wales, Australia. It covers the lower inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range, extending from north of Dunedoo through central NSW and into ...

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. The Shire included the twin towns of Harden and

Murrumburrah Murrumburrah is a township in New South Wales, Australia, part of a twin town with Harden. The town is in Hilltops Council local government area in the South West Slopes area of NSW. It is on the Burley Griffin Way, the major link from the R ...

and the small towns of Galong,

Jugiong Jugiong is a locality and town on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River near its confluence with Jugiong Creek. in the Hilltops Council Local Government area, New South Wales, Australia. It is situated just off the Hume Highway, by road, about 30 ...

Wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

and Kingsvale. The Shire was established in 1975 from the merger of the

Municipality of Murrumburrah A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

with

Demondrille Shire Demondrille Shire was a local government area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was established on 7 March 1906 and its offices were based in the town of Murrumburrahbut the Harden-Murrumburrah urban area w ...

. In 2016, Harden Shire was amalgamated with

Boorowa Shire Boorowa Council was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the South West Slopes, New South Wales, South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The LGA was located adjacent to the Lachlan Valley Way and included Boor ...

and

Young Shire Young Shire was a local government area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was located adjacent to the Olympic Highway. Young Shire was created on 1 July 1980 from the amalgamation of the Municipality of You ...

to create

Hilltops Council Hilltops Council is a local government area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of Boorowa Council, Harden Shire and Young Shire. The local government area covers muc ...

. 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 a ...

of Harden Shire was Cr. John Horton, an unaligned politician.

Council

Composition and election method

Harden Shire Council was composed of seven

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 one entire

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 a fixed four-year term of office. The

was elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The last democratic election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the council was as follows: The final Council, elected in 2012 and dissolved in 2016, in order of election, was:

Amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that Harden 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 Harden,

Boorowa Boorowa () is a farming village in the Hilltops Council, Hilltops Region in the South West Slopes, south west slopes of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in a valley southwest of Sydney around above sea-level. The town is in Hilltop ...

and

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

shires to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately . The alternative, proposed by Harden Shire on 28 February 2016, was for an amalgamation of the

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

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, Honeys ...

and Harden shires. Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016, the Minister for Local Government announced the dissolution of the Boorowa, Harden and Young shires and merged the areas to form the

with immediate effect.

Gallery

Harden Shire Council Office 002.JPG, The former Harden Shire Council office Harden Shire Yass Valley Council sign Bobborra Road between Binalong and Galong.JPG, A former shire boundary sign (circa 2015)

References

{{NSW Local Government amalgamations 2016, state=collapsed Former local government areas of New South Wales 1975 establishments in Australia 2016 disestablishments in Australia