Murrumbidgee Council is a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Murrumbidgee Shire with the neighbouring Jerilderie Shire.[3]

Murrumbidgee Council New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates	35°9′S 145°46′E
Population	3,826 (2016 census)[1] 3,961 (2018 est.)[2]
• Density	0.5561/km2 (1.4403/sq mi)
Established	12 May 2016 (2016-05-12)
Area	6,880 km2 (2,656.4 sq mi)[3]
Mayor	Ruth McRae
Region	Riverina
State electorate(s)	Albury, Murray
Federal division(s)	Farrer
Website	Murrumbidgee Council
LGAs around Murrumbidgee Council: Carrathool Carrathool, Griffith Leeton Hay, Edward River Murrumbidgee Council Narrandera, Federation Edward River Berrigan Federation

The combined area comprises 6,880 square kilometres (2,660 sq mi) and covers the urban areas of Coleambally, Darlington Point and Jerilderie and the surrounding cropping and pastoral areas. At the time of its establishment, the estimated population of the area was 4,047.[3]

The inaugural Mayor of Murrumbidgee Council is former Jerilderie Shire councillor Ruth McRae, elected on 21 September 2017.[4] Cr McRae was elected as Mayor for the second term on 24 September 2019.[5]

Demographics

Selected historical census data for Murrumbidgee Council local government area
Census year			2001[6]	2006[7]	2011[8]	2016[1]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	2,502	2,503	2,261	3,836
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			117th	117th
		% of New South Wales population	0.04%	0.04%	0.03%	0.05%
		% of Australian population	0.01%	0.01%	0.01%	0.02%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			36.4%	35.0%
		English			27.4%	27.6%
		Irish			9.6%	9.3%
		Scottish			7.7%	7.8%
		Italian			n/c	3.2%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Italian	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.4%
		Spanish	n/c	n/c	n/c	0.3%
		Arabic	n/c	n/c	n/c	0.3%
		Tagalog	0.2%	n/c	0.5%	0.3%
		Mandarin	n/c	n/c	n/c	0.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	28.9%	28.0%	28.3%	28.9%
		Anglican	33.0%	32.8%	29.9%	22.3%
		No Religion, so described	9.2%	8.7%	13.6%	18.7%
		Not stated	n/c	n/c	n/c	12.1%
		Uniting Church	11.2%	9.8%	8.2%	8.5%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$467	A$508	A$659
		% of Australian median income		100.2%	88.0%	99.5%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,047	A$1,109	A$1,461
		% of Australian median income		89.4%	74.9%	84.3%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$861	A$894	A$1,197
		% of Australian median income		83.8%	72.4%	83.2%

Heritage listings

The Murrumbidgee Council has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Darlington Point, Warangesda: Warangesda Aboriginal Mission[9]
• Jerilderie, Nowranie Street: Jerilderie railway station[10]

Council

Murrumbidgee Council has nine Councillors, with three councillors elected proportionally from three wards - Jerilderie, Murrumbidgee and Murrumbidgee East. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office.[3] The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected for 12 month terms, each September.

The most recent election was held on 9 September 2017, and the Councillors elected are as follows:

See also

• Local government areas of New South Wales

References