City of Dubbo | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location inNew South Wales | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:32°15′S148°36′E / 32.250°S 148.600°E /-32.250; 148.600 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| Region | Orana | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1872 | ||||||||||||
| Abolished | 12 May 2016 (2016-05-12) | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Dubbo | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 3,425 km2 (1,322 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 41,211 (2011 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 12.0324/km2 (31.164/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Website | City of Dubbo | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
TheCity of Dubbo was alocal government area in theOrana region ofNew South Wales,Australia. The former area is located adjacent to theMitchell,Newell, and theGolden highways, theMain Western railway line, and theMacquarie River.
A2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the City of Dubbo merge with theWellington Council to form a new council with an area of 7,536 square kilometres (2,910 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 51,000.[2] Following an independent review, on 12 May 2016 theMinister for Local Government announced the dissolution of the Dubbo City Council and theWellington Council, together with the establishment of theWestern Plains Regional Council with immediate effect.[3]
The lastmayor of the City of Dubbo wasClr. Mathew Dickerson, anindependent politician.
The lastdeputy mayor of the City of Dubbo wasClr. Ben Shields, anunaligned politician.Clr. Ben Shields was elected in 1st position at the 2012 and 2008 Dubbo City Council elections.
The largest population centre in the former area is the regional city ofDubbo. The local government area also included the villages ofEumungerie,Mogriguy,Brocklehurst,Wongarbon,Toongi, andRawsonville.[4]
The Dubbo local government area came into being on 19 February 1872, when theMunicipal District of Dubbo was approved by theColonial Secretary. The first sixaldermen were elected into office on 22 April 1872 with 82 votes being cast for a wide field of candidates.[5]James Samuels was elected mayor at the first council meeting and remained mayor for 3 years.[6]
Talbragar Shire was amalgamated with the Dubbo City Council on 1 April 1980. At that time the area of the city was 3,321 square kilometres (1,282 sq mi); and with a population estimated at 29,000.[5]
Prior to its dissolution, the Dubbo City Council was composed of elevencouncillors electedproportionally as a singleward. All Councillors were elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor was elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the former council was as follows:[7]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents and Unaligned | 11 | |
| Total | 11 | |
The last Council, elected in 2012 and dissolved in 2016, in order of election, was:[7]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Shields | Unaligned | Deputy Mayor[8] | |
| Mathew Dickerson | Independent | Mayor[8] | |
| John Walkom | Unaligned | ||
| Bill Kelly | Independent | ||
| Greg Mohr | Unaligned | Elected on Ben Shieldsticket | |
| Allan Smith | Independent | ||
| Kevin Parker | Unaligned | ||
| Tina Reynolds | Independent | ||
| Greg Mathews | Unaligned | ||
| Lyn Griffiths | Independent | ||
| Rod Towney | Independent | ||
The former Dubbo City Council staffed around 350 permanent employees, and was responsible for the city and surrounding areas. The Civic Administration Building of the former council is located on the corner of Darling and Church Streets and now has a "One Stop Shop" for all customers of the former council.
As a regional centre, the City of Dubbo provided services far beyond its own population base. It served 130,000 people, and one third of the geographic area of New South Wales.[4] The main industry sectors represented in the City of Dubbo were retail, health, manufacturing, transport, tourism, education, construction, business services, agriculture, and government services.[4]
The City of Dubbo had foursister cities:[9]
Minokamo, Japan, since 1989.
Warringah, New South Wales, since 1994.
Wujiang, China, since 1995.Newcastle, New South Wales, since 1995.
Media related toCity of Dubbo at Wikimedia Commons