The Palerang Council was a local government area located in the

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

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 the Minister for Local Government announced dissolution of the Palerang Council with immediate effect. Together with

Queanbeyan City Queanbeyan City was a local government area located in south eastern New South Wales, Australia. The former area is located adjacent to Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory, the Queanbeyan River, the Molonglo River, the Kings Highway ...

the combined council areas were merged to establish the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. Both councils had opposed the amalgamation. Elections for the new Council area were held in September 2017. The former mayor of Queanbeyan City Council was appointed by the New South Wales Government as administrator until that date. 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 the Palerang Council was Cr. Pete Harrison, 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 * Independ ...

politician.

Municipal history

Originally known as the Eastern Capital City Regional Council, Palerang was proclaimed on 11 February 2004 when

Tallaganda Shire Tallaganda Shire, was a local government area in New South Wales centered on Braidwood, New South Wales It lasted from colonial times until February 2004, when the local government organisation was absorbed into newly created Palerang Council ...

was amalgamated with most of

Yarrowlumla Shire Yarrowlumla Shire was a local government area in New South Wales, which surrounded the Australian Capital Territory until February 2004, when it was divided between Palerang Council, Yass Valley Council, Queanbeyan City Council, Tumut Shire and ...

and small parts of

Cooma-Monaro Shire Cooma-Monaro Shire was a local government area located in the Monaro region of southern New South Wales, Australia. The area was named after the former Cooma Municipality and the former Monaro Shire, that were amalgamated to create it. The M ...

Gunning Shire Gunning Shire was a local government area in New South Wales centered on Gunning, New South Wales north of the Australian Capital Territory until February 2004, when the local government organisation was absorbed into newly created Palerang C ...

and Mulwaree Shire. A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Palerang Council merge with adjoining councils. The

New South Wales 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 Governme ...

considered three options. The first two options were to merge parts of the Palerang Council with the

Goulburn Mulwaree Council Goulburn Mulwaree Council is a local government area located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is located adjacent to the Hume Highway and the Southern Highlands railway line. The estimated resident popu ...

to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately ; and to merge the remaining parts of Palerang with the City of Queanbeyan to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately . The alternative, proposed by Palerang Council on 29 January 2016, was for an amalgamation of the whole of Palerang with Queanbeyan City Council. On 12 May 2016 the Minister for Local Government announced dissolution of the Palerang Council with immediate effect. Together with Queanbeyan City the combined council areas were merged to establish the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council.

Towns and localities

The former area was named after Mount Palerang, located close to the geographical centre, and one of the highest points in the former council's area. The area that was covered under administration extended to Lake George in the north, the Tallaganda State Forest in the south, Queanbeyan to the west and the

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...

and

Budawang National Park Budawang National Park is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, located approximately southwest of Sydney and north of Batemans Bay. It contains part of the Budawang Mountain Range. Budawang National Park is named after Mount B ...

s to the east. The Kings Highway and the Sydney- Canberra railway pass through the former Palerang Council area. Predominantly rural in nature, the Palerang Council area comprised the towns of

Bungendore Bungendore is a town in the Queanbeyan Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is on the Kings Highway, Australia, Kings Highway near Lake George, New South Wales, Lake George, the Molonglo River Valley ...

, Braidwood and

Captains Flat Captains Flat is a town in the Southern Tablelands of rural New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is south of Queanbeyan. Captains Flat township is bounded by the non-urban parts of the locality of Captains F ...

, and the villages of Araluen, Majors Creek, Mongarlowe and

Nerriga Nerriga is a small village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It is situated at the edge of Morton National Park, on the Braidwood - Nowra road. The population of Nerriga and the ...

. It also encompasses the rural residential areas of Wamboin, Bywong, Burra, Urila,

Hoskinstown Hoskinstown is a locality in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, New South Wales, Australia. The locality, and what remains of the cluster of settlement of the same name, is 38 km southeast of Canberra the Capital city of Australia, and 299 k ...

, Rossi and parts of Carwoola, Royalla, and

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a location * Sutton-in-the-Isle, Ely, Cambridgeshire * ...

. Around two-thirds of the Palerang population was concentrated in Bungendore and the rural residential areas adjacent to the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. I ...

border, with many residents commuting daily to Canberra or Queanbeyan. Cattle grazing is the primary agricultural pursuit in the former area, with more recent development of niche rural industries such as vineyards, olive groves and alpaca breeding. About one quarter of the former Palerang Council area is managed for conservation, with significant areas of national park.

Council

Current composition and election method

Until its dissolution, Palerang Council was 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 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 most recent and last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the former council was as follows: The last council, elected in 2012 and dissolved in 2016, in order of election, was:

References

External links

Map of council areaPalerang Council websitePalerang Community ProfileThe District BulletinThe Braidwood Times NewspaperThe Bungendore Mirror Newspaper
{{Authority control Former local government areas of New South Wales Southern Tablelands 2016 disestablishments in Australia