The Carrathool Shire is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

that borders both the

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

and Far West regions of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The Shire comprises and is located adjacent to the Mid-Western Highway and north of the

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions along the route. Initiall ...

. The largest town in the Shire is Hillston and the council seat is Goolgowi. The Shire also includes the villages of Merriwagga, Rankins Springs and Carrathool. Where once regular droughts made life almost untenable, the area now has irrigated crops, gardens, greened sporting facilities and village verges. Over are now used in rural pursuits, including more than in wheat, rice, vineyards, cotton, potatoes, vegetables and orchard trees. Most of the change was made possible by the widespread use of river and underground water.

Demographics

History

In May 1934 Carrathool Shire Council voted to remove the shire offices from Carrathool to Goolgowi. The decision was made because Carrathool township was located at the south-west corner of the large shire, whereas Goolgowi was in a more central position.'Transfer of Council Chambers', ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 9 May 1934, page 14.

Council

Current composition and election method

Carrathool Shire Council is composed of ten

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s elected proportionally as two separate wards, each electing five councillors. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021. The makeup of the council is as follows: Australia Carrathool Shire 2016

The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is:

Election results

2024

2021

2016

References

Local government areas of the Riverina Local government areas of New South Wales Far West (New South Wales) {{Riverina-geo-stub