Gloucester Shire | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:32°00′S151°58′E / 32.000°S 151.967°E /-32.000; 151.967 | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | New South Wales | ||||||||||||
| Region | Hunter,Mid North Coast[1] | ||||||||||||
| Established | 7 March 1906 | ||||||||||||
| Abolished | 12 May 2016 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Gloucester | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | John Rosenbaum[2] | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 2,952 km2 (1,140 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 4,877 (2011 census)[5] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 1.6521/km2 (4.2789/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+10 (AEST) | ||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+11 (AEDT) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Gloucester Shire | ||||||||||||
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Gloucester Shire (/ˈɡlɒstər/ ⓘGLOST-ər) was alocal government area in theMid North Coast andUpper Hunter regions ofNew South Wales, Australia. The Shire was situated adjacent to theBucketts Way and theNorth Coast railway line.
The lastmayor of the Gloucester Shire Council wasCr. John Rosenbaum, anindependent politician.[2]
The Shire included the following towns and localities:
A2015 review of local government boundaries by theNSW GovernmentIndependent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the Gloucester Shire merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of Gloucester Shire andDungog Shire councils to form a new council with an area of 5,200 square kilometres (2,000 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 14,000.[6] Following the lodging of an alternate proposal by Gloucester Shire Council to amalgamate the Gloucester,Great Lakes andGreater Taree councils, theNSW Minister for Local Government proposed a merger between the Dungog Shire andCity of Maitland.[7]
The council was dissolved on 12 May 2016 and the area included in theMid-Coast Council, along with city of Greater Taree and Great Lakes Council.[8]
At the2011 census, there were 4,877 people in the Gloucester Shire local government area, of these 49.8 per cent were male and 50.2 per cent were female.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.7 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. Themedian age of people in the Gloucester Shire was 50 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 16.0 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 26.0 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 54.7 per cent were married and 13.1 per cent were either divorced or separated.[5]
Population growth in the Gloucester Shire between the 2001 census and the2006 census was 2.54 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the2011 census, population growth was 1.56 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 Gloucester Shire local government area was approximately one-third of the national average.[9][10] The medianweekly income for residents within the Gloucester Shire was significantly lower than the national average.[5]
At the2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Gloucester Shire local government area who stated theirancestry asAustralian orAnglo-Saxon exceeded 86 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 66% of all residents in the Gloucester Shire nominated areligious affiliation withChristianity at the2011 census, which was significantly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Gloucester Shire local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (2.0 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (96.0 per cent) whereEnglish only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).[5]
| Selected historical census data for the Gloucester Shire local government area | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Census year | 2001[9] | 2006[10] | 2011[5] | ||
| Population | Estimated residents on Census night | 4,683 | 4,802 | 4,877 | |
| LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | |||||
| % of New South Wales population | 0.07% | ||||
| % of Australian population | 0.02% |  0.02% | 0.02% | ||
| Cultural and language diversity | |||||
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 36.3% | |||
| English | 34.8% | ||||
| Scottish | 9.0% | ||||
| Irish | 6.7% | ||||
| German | 3.5% | ||||
| Language, top responses (other thanEnglish) | German | 0.3% |  0.1% |  0.3% | |
| Cantonese | n/c | 0.1% | 0.2% | ||
| Dutch | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | ||
| Italian | n/c | n/c | 0.2% | ||
| French | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | ||
| Religious affiliation | |||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 40.4% | 37.5% | 36.3% | |
| No Religion | 9.8% | 12.1% | 16.5% | ||
| Catholic | 16.5% | 15.7% | 15.5% | ||
| Presbyterian and Reformed | 8.9% | 8.0% | 7.7% | ||
| Uniting Church | 8.1% | 7.3% | 7.3% | ||
| Median weekly incomes | |||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | A$343 | A$422 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 73.6% | 73.1% | |||
| Family income | Median weekly family income | A$846 | A$971 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 72.2% | 65.6% | |||
| Household income | Median weekly household income | A$665 | A$810 | ||
| % of Australian median income | 64.8% | 65.6% | |||
At the time of dissolution, Gloucester Shire Council was composed of sevencouncillors, electedproportionally as a singleward. All councillors were elected for a fixed four-year term of office. Themayor was elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the council was as follows:[11]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independents and Unaligned | 7 | |
| Total | 7 | |
The last Council, elected in 2012 and dissolved in 2016, in order of election, was:[11]
| Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Hooke | Unaligned | Deputy Mayor[2] | |
| Aled Hoggett | Independent | ||
| John Rosenbaum | Independent | Mayor[2] | |
| Jim Henderson | Unaligned | ||
| James Hooke | Unaligned | ||
| Tony Tersteeg | Independent | ||
| Katheryn Smith | Independent | ||
