Central Darling Shire

Central Darling Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Population:	2,019(2009)
• Density:	0.05/km² (0.1/sq mi)
Area:	53511 km² (20,660.7 sq mi)
Mayor:	Raymond Longfellow
Council Seat:	Wilcannia (21 Reid Street)
Region:	Far West
State electorate:	Murray-Darling
Federal Division:	Parkes
Website: http://www.centraldarling.nsw.gov.au/
LGAs around Central Darling Shire: Unincorporated Far West Unincorporated Far West Bourke Unincorporated Far West Central Darling Shire Cobar Wentworth Balranald Carrathool

Central Darling Shire is a Local Government Area (LGA) in the Far West of New South Wales, Australia on the Barrier Highway. Central Darling Shire was constituted in 1959 and it is the largest Local Government Area in New South Wales.

Incomes

According to the Australian Bureau Statistics during 2003-04, there:

- were 509 wage and salary earners (ranked 162nd in New South Wales and 525th in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's 2,558,415 and Australia's 7,831,856)

- was a total income of $17,505,253 (around $18 million) (ranked 159th in New South Wales and 522nd in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's $107,179,688,262 (around $107 billion) and Australia's $304,034,755,876 (around $304 billion))

- was an estimated average income per wage and salary earner of $34,391 (ranked 82nd in New South Wales and 268th in Australia, 83% of New South Wales's $41,407 and 89% of Australia's $38,820)

- was an estimated median income per wage and salary earner of $31,477 (ranked 84th in New South Wales and 284th in Australia, 89% of New South Wales's $35,479 and 92% of Australia's $34,149).

Main towns/villages

It includes the towns of Ivanhoe, Menindee, Wilcannia and White Cliffs.

Council

Central Darling Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally. The shire is divided into three wards, each electing three councillors. The mayor is not directly elected. The current makeup of the council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Independents and Unaffiliated	9
	Total	9

The current council, elected in 2008, is:

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
A Ward		Paul Brown	Independent
		Graham Wellings	Unaffiliated	Deputy Mayor
		Eamon Sammon	Independent
B Ward		Clive Linnett	Unaffiliated
		Ray Longfellow	Unaffiliated	Mayor
		Peter Sullivan	Unaffiliated
C Ward		Ron Page	Unaffiliated
		Moya Reid	Independent
		Lorraine Looney	Unaffiliated	Elected on 13 February 2010 to replace Gary Astill

Economic activity

The principle economic activities within the Shire include pastoral, horticultural, agricultural, mining and tourism. Rural grazing properties represent the largest land use within the Shire, accounting for 97% of the entire area. Major horticultural and agricultural production is centred on Menindee. The relative ease of access to water from the Darling River and Menindee Lakes Storage Scheme enables producers to grow a large variety of crops and fruits.

Opal mining has been the predominant mining industry within the Shire. Opal was discovered in White Cliffs in 1884 and the first commercial opal field commenced operation in 1890, reaching its peak in 1899. (from the Council web site)