The Shire of Esperance is a local government area in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of the town of Kalgoorlie and about 720 kilometres (450 mi) east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of 42,547 square kilometres (16,427 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Esperance, where about three-quarters of the Shire's population resides.
Shire of Esperance Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Esperance Civic Centre, 2019 | |||||||||||||||
![]() Location in Western Australia | |||||||||||||||
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Population | 13,883 (LGA 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1895 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 42,546.9 km2 (16,427.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Shire President | Ian Mickel | ||||||||||||||
Council seat | Esperance | ||||||||||||||
Region | Goldfields-Esperance | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Roe | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||||||||
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Website | Shire of Esperance | ||||||||||||||
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The Esperance Road District was established on 13 September 1895. Two weeks later, on 27 September 1895, the township of Esperance separated from the road district as the Municipality of Esperance. The municipality was re-absorbed into the road district on 30 October 1908. On 1 July 1961, it became the Shire of Esperance under the Local Government Act 1960, which reformed all remaining road districts into shires.[2]
A railway line from Coolgardie to Esperance that was completed in 1927 led to development of farming in the mallee country to the north of Esperance.[3]
On 11 July 1979, the American Skylab Space Station re-entered Earth's atmosphere headed for Western Australia and the Indian Ocean. It broke up during reentry and much of it landed in Esperance. In turn, the Shire issued a facetious A$400 fine to NASA for littering. It remained outstanding until April 2009, when radio show host Scott Barley of Highway Radio raised the funds from his morning show listeners, and paid the fine on behalf of NASA.[4]
The main industry in the region is farming. The Department of Agriculture established a research station at Gibson finding the local soils to be deficient in trace elements and nitrogen. In 1953 there were 130 farms in the area, increasing to 347 in 1961 and over 650 in 1968.[3]
The shire is divided into two wards. Prior to the 2005 elections, a 13-councillor setup with North, West and East wards each with two councillors was in place. The shire president is elected from amongst the councillors.
The Shire of Esperance is divided into 32 localities:[5]
As of 2021, 89 places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Esperance,[6] of which twelve are on the State Register of Heritage Places.[7]
Local government areas of Western Australia | |||||||
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Perth |
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Gascoyne | |||||||
Goldfields–Esperance | |||||||
Great Southern |
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Kimberley | |||||||
Mid West |
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Peel | |||||||
Pilbara | |||||||
South West | |||||||
Wheatbelt |
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Indian Ocean Territories | |||||||