Cobar 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 ...

in the Orana region 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 is located in an

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

area that is centred around the mining town of

Cobar Cobar is a town in Outback New South Wales, Australia, whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Highwa ...

. The Shire is traversed by the

Barrier Highway Barrier Highway is a highway in South Australia and New South Wales, and is designated part of route A32. The name of the highway is derived from the Barrier Ranges, an area of moderately high ground in the far west of New South Wales, through ...

and the

Kidman Way Kidman Way is a state rural road in the western Riverina and western region of New South Wales, Australia. The highway services the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and outback communities and links the Newell Highway with the Sturt, Mid-Weste ...

. With a total area of , about two-thirds the size of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, Cobar Shire is larger than

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and 99 other countries and self-governing territories, but its population is under 5,000.

Lilliane Brady Lilliane Olive Brady (29 December 1930 – 7 February 2021) was an Australian local politician in New South Wales. She served as mayor of Cobar Shire for more than 20 years, and sat on the local council for 40 years. At the time of her death s ...

was the mayor of Cobar Shire for more than 20 years, before her death in 2021. At the time of her death, she was the longest-serving female mayor in New South Wales' history. The current mayor of Cobar Shire Council is Cr. Peter Abbott, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politician.

Villages and localities

The shire also includes several small outback towns and localities; the twin villages of Euabalong and Euabalong West in the far south east of the shire,

Canbelego Canbelego is a village in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. It is now virtually a ghost town but was once a much larger settlement associated with the Mount Boppy Gold Mine. The name (pronounced can-bell-ee-go) also refers to the ...

, Mount Hope, Murrin Bridge,

Nymagee Nymagee is a small town in the north west of New South Wales, north west of Sydney, south west of Nyngan and south of Cobar. It is in the Shire of Cobar, The State Government area of Barwon and the Federal Government area of Parkes. At the ...

and Irymple.

Demographics

According to the

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...

during 2003–04 there: * were 1,898 wage and salary earners (ranked 116th in New South Wales and 376th in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's 2,558,415 and Australia's 7,831,856) * was a total income of $79 million (ranked 108th in New South Wales and 359th in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's $107 billion and Australia's $304 billion) * was an estimated average income per wage and salary earner of $41,386 (ranked 27th in New South Wales and 85th in Australia, 100% of New South Wales's $41,407 and 107% of Australia's $38,820) * was an estimated median income per wage and salary earner of $36,856 (ranked 27th in New South Wales and 81st in Australia, 104% of New South Wales's $35,479 and 108% of Australia's $34,149).

Council

Current composition and election method

Cobar Shire Council is composed of 12

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 to a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021. Only eleven candidates nominated for election, and with there being no additional candidates, the election was uncontested. A by-election was held on 26 February 2022 for the remaining seat. The makeup of the council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:

Election results

2024

2022 by-election

2021

References

{{Authority control Local government areas of New South Wales 1884 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1884