Wingecarribee Shire is the

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 ...

of the Southern Highlands in the state 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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The Wingecarribee Shire is around southwest of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...

and is part of regional

Capital Country Capital Country was the name of one of the sixteen tourism regions of New South Wales, Australia. This geographical division is made for improving commerce, specifically tourism, in the state. The Capital area is one of the oldest settled are ...

and to some extent can be considered part of the

Southern Tablelands The Southern Tablelands is a Regions of New South Wales, geographic area of New South Wales, Australia, located south-west of Sydney and west of the Great Dividing Range. The area is characterised by Plateau, high, flat country which has gene ...

. Wingecarribee Shire covers an area of that is typically referred to as the ''Southern Highlands''. Wingecarribee Shire is an important catchment area for water supply to Sydney,

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

and the Northern Shoalhaven. The Council seat and Chambers is in

Moss Vale Moss Vale is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire. It is located on the Illawarra Highway, which connects to Wollongong and the Illawarra coast via Macquarie Pass. Moss Vale has several he ...

. However, the centre of commerce of the Shire is in

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

. The Shire came into existence on 1 January 1981 as an amalgamation of the three previous local government areas that made up the Southern Highlands; Mittagong Shire Council (previously Nattai Shire Council), Bowral Municipality Council and the former Wingecarribee Shire (based in Moss Vale). In 2012, the Wingecarribee Shire Council won a landmark

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

against

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Gol ...

Australia in the Federal Court after it was found that Lehman Brothers failed to give sound financial advice to the Wingecarribee Shire and other councils through exposure to high-risk investments known as collateralised debt obligations. Wingecarribee Council suffered A$1.5 million of losses on its investments. The Federal Court found that the council was entitled to an initial award of A$9 million. In 2016 Council announced they had recovered $9.5 million of the $11 million in total losses, recovering 85.6% of all losses. Council's total legal costs of $724,894 were also recovered. Before the council was suspended in 2021 and an administrator was appointed, 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 a ...

of Wingecarribee Shire was Cr. Duncan Gair. On 20 May 2021, Lisa Miscamble was appointed General Manager.

Major towns and villages

The major towns in the Shire are

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

and

Bundanoon Bundanoon is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire, on Gandangarra and Dharawal Country (where these two countries meet). It is an Aboriginal name meaning "place of deep gullies" and was formerl ...

. Villages include: , Balmoral Village, , , , , , , , , Willow Vale, and

Yerrinbool Yerrinbool is a Northern Village of the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wingecarribee Shire, and is accessible from the Hume Highway (via Bargo or Alpine) and is about a drive from nearby Mittagong. It is to Hill To ...

Etymology

The current shire retains the name of the former Wingecarribee Shire because the Wingecarribee River is one of the most significant geographical features that is found in all the three previous local government areas that made up the Highlands prior to amalgamation. The word ''Wingecarribee'' is from the

Dharawal language The Dharawal language, also spelt Tharawal and Thurawal, and also known as Wodiwodi and other variants, is an Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales. Phonology Consonants Vowels Vowels are p ...

(an

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

language) which loosely translates into ''"a flight of birds"'', or ''"waters to rest beside"''. Moreover, the term "Wingecarribee" was used as the name of the area by the first settlers of the area, the Oxley Family (''See,

History of Bowral Bowral is a town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It has a history spanning nearly 200 years. Pre-colonial times The Bowral area during pre-colonial times was a part of land that belonged to the Tharawal Aboriginal ...

'') and

Governor Macquarie Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, an ...

in 1816 recorded it as "Winge Karribee". In 1838, the contemporary spelling was adapted by Surveyor Mitchell.

Geology and geography

The Shire is crossed by the

Hume Highway Hume Highway, inclusive of the sections now known as Hume Freeway and Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of the route ...

and the Southern Highlands railway line. The pattern of development is one of small towns and villages. The eastern parts of the Shire are bounded by the Illawarra escarpment and

Morton National Park The Morton National Park is a national park located in the Southern Highlands, South Coast and Illawarra regions of New South Wales, Australia, situated approximately south southwest of Sydney. Location and features The most notable attractio ...

, with some remnant rainforest and heathland. The north of the Shire is characterised by rugged

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

bushland, with gullies, gorges and sandy soils. This area forms part of the catchment for

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's water supply and two major storage dams (Avon and Nepean Dams) are in this area. The dams cannot be accessed by any roads within the Wingecarribee Shire but by roads leading off south-east of the

Wollondilly Shire Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Aus ...

. The

Wollondilly Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollondil ...

and

Wingecarribee River The Wingecarribee River ( Aboriginal Dharawal: ''Winge Karrabee''), a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury–Nepean catchment, is located in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Wingecarri ...

s flow through the west of the Shire, through deep sandstone valleys and much of this area forms part of the catchment for

Warragamba Dam Warragamba Dam is a heritage-listed dam in the outer South Western Sydney suburb of Warragamba, New South Wales, Warragamba, Wollondilly Shire in New South Wales, Australia. It is a concrete gravity dam, which creates Lake Burragorang, the prima ...

. The south of the Shire is bounded by Uringalla Creek and is a sandstone plateaux dissected by deep gorges. Wingecarribee Swamp is home to the remaining population of the endangered Giant dragonfly and Wingecarribee Leek Orchid.

Demographics

Population

At the , the Wingecarribee Shire had an estimated population of 47,882 and has grown from 40,636 at the , a growth rate 1.1% per annum. The population density is 17.8 person/km². The Shire is relatively homogenous with an Australian-born population making up 77.1% of the population.

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

make up 2.0% of the population. 88.4% of the population speak English at home.

Workforce

The Shire's workforce is at a current estimate of 18,919 residents, around 40% of Shire's entire population. The Shire's workforce are 14.7% managers, 19.3% professionals, 16.2% technicians and trades workers, 9.2% community and personal service workers, 12.5% clerical and administrative workers, 9.5% sales workers, 6.3 machinery operators and drivers, and 10.7% labourers. At the 2006 census, the average median income for the workforce of the Shire was $43,052. The workforce are primarily employed in four main industries: 16% in retail trading, 12% in manufacturing, 11% in health and community services, and 9% in construction. The workforce predominately works within the Shire, with 77% of the workforce working within the Shire. Moreover, 3% travel to nearby

for employment and 20% work in Sydney. Educationally, 40% of residents of the Shire are qualified with post High School certification in which 11% hold a University Degree and 28% qualified with a Diploma or Certificate. At the 2006 census the Shire had an unemployment rate of 4.3%.

Housing and residential

Separate and detached housing make up the majority of the housing in the Shire at 90.7%. The rest is semi-detached/townhouse at 5.9% and apartments and units at 1.8%.

Council

Composition and election method

Wingecarribee Shire 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. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The

is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 10 September 2016. The council was suspended by the Minister for Local Government and gazetted on 12 March 2021 at 12:35pm. The composition of the council prior to it bein
suspended
by the Minister for Local Government on 12 March 2021 was as follows: The Council elected in 2016 and suspended in 2021, in order of election, was:

Past Mayors

In 1981, the first Shire President was David Wood and the Shire Clerk was Harold Jopling. Duncan Gair Gordon Lewis 2004 Dr Sara Murray 2012 Philip Yeo Juliet Arkwright

Local media

Weekly paid local newspapers,
Southern Highland News
' and ''Southern Highlands Express''. Local online publicatio
The Bowral News
Commercial radio statio
2ST 102.9
Community radio statio
Highland FM 107.1

Local attractions

References

External links

Wingecarribee Shire
website
Official Tourism
website
Asset management information
{{Authority control Southern Highlands (New South Wales) Local government areas of New South Wales Hume Highway