Richmond Valley Council (RVC) is a local government area on the

Northern Rivers Northern Rivers is the most north-easterly region of the Australian state of New South Wales, located between north of the state capital, Sydney, and encompasses the catchments and fertile valleys of the Clarence, Richmond, and Tweed rivers. ...

region of north-eastern

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. RVC services an area of and draws its name from the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river situated in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The river rises at the northern end of the Richmond Range, near its junction with the McPherson Range, on the Queensl ...

, which flows through most of the council area. The area under management is located adjacent to the

Bruxner Highway Bruxner Highway, and its former alignment as Bruxner Way, are a state highway and rural road respectively, located in New South Wales, Australia. The route forms an east–west link from the Northern Rivers coast, across the Northern Tablelands ...

, Pacific Highway, and the North Coast railway line. It is a rural area for the most part, with most industries involving

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

and crop growing, such as

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, and

pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...

plantation. 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 Richmond Valley Council is Cr. Robert Mustow, 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.

History

Following a petition of 76 ratepayers, elections were held 22 March 1880 for the Casino Council. Tomki Shire Council merged with in 1976 to become the Richmond River Shire Council, which amalgamated with the Municipality of Casino into the Richmond Valley Council in February 2000.

Heritage listings

The Richmond Valley Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: *

High Conservation Value Old Growth forest The High Conservation Value Old Growth forest is a heritage-listed forest located across twelve local government areas in the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, and New England regions of New South Wales, Australia. The conservation area is also ...

Towns and localities

Demographics

At the 2016 census, there were people in the Richmond Valley local government area, of these 49.5 per cent were male and 50.5 per cent were female.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 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 ...

made up 6.6 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Richmond Valley area was 42 years, which was marginally higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 20.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 19.6 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.6 per cent were married and 13.7 per cent were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the Richmond Valley area between the and the was 4.9 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, the population growth was 3.4 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Richmond Valley local government area was significantly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Richmond Valley area was marginally lower than the national average. At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Richmond Valley local government area who stated their ancestry as

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

Anglo-Celtic Anglo-Celtic people are descended primarily from British and Irish people. The concept is mainly relevant outside of Great Britain and Ireland, particularly in Australia, but is also used in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and South Africa, ...

exceeded 86 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 16 per cent of all residents in the Richmond Valley at the 2011 census nominated no

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

affiliation, compared to the national average of 22.3 per cent. Meanwhile, affiliation with

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

exceeded 66 per cent, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. As at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Richmond Valley local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (3.3 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (93.8 per cent) where

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).

Council

Current composition and election method

Richmond Valley Council is 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, including the

, for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is directly elected while the six other councillors are 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 ...

. The most recent election was held on 10 September 2016, and the makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:

References

{{Authority control Local government areas of New South Wales Northern Rivers 2000 establishments in Australia