The Snowy River Shire was 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

Australian Alps The Australian Alps are a mountain range in southeast Australia. The range comprises an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion,

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 ...

from 1939 until May 2016. It was named after the

Snowy River The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...

that runs through it. Prior to 1936, it had been named as Dalgety Shire since establishment in 1906.

History

The Dalgety Shire Council changed its name to Snowy River Shire in 1939. The council seat was at Berridale, which caused delays when mail and deliveries were erroneously sent to Dalgety. Dalgety was one of several new shires established in June 1906. A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Snowy River Shire merge with the

Bombala Bombala is a town in the Monaro, New South Wales, Monaro region of far southern New South Wales, Australia, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is approximately south-southwest of the state capital, Sydney, and south of the town of Cooma, Ne ...

and Cooma-Monaro shires to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately . On 12 May 2016, the Snowy River Shire merged with Bombala and Cooma-Monaro shires to form the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. The last

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 ...

of the Snowy River Shire was Cr. John Cahill, 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.

Towns and localities

The administrative centre of the former Shire was the town of Berridale, with the sub-alpine town of Jindabyne providing the main commercial centre for the southern

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range, a cordillera syste ...

resort area. The town of

Adaminaby Adaminaby is a small town near the Snowy Mountains north-west of Cooma, New South Wales, Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. The historic town, of 301 people at the , is a trout fishing centre and winter spo ...

is the service centre for the northern snowfields resorts and the starting point for most trout fishers eager to test their skills in the rivers and streams or the enormous expanse of

Lake Eucumbene Eucumbene Dam is a major gated embankment dam, earthfill embankment dam with an Spillway#Types, overflow ski-jump and bucket spillway with two vertical lift gates across the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The ...

. It also includes the village of Dalgety, Anglers Reach, the ghost town of Kiandra, and the ski resorts of Thredbo, Perisher, Smiggin Holes, Guthega, and Blue Cow.

Council

Final composition and election method

Prior to its abolition, Snowy River Shire Council was composed of seven

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, including the mayor, elected for fixed four-year terms of office. The mayor was directly elected while the six other councillors were elected proportionally as one entire

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. The last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the former council, including the mayor, was as follows: The last Council, elected in 2012, in order of election, was:

References

Former local government areas of New South Wales 2016 disestablishments in Australia 1939 establishments in Australia {{NewSouthWales-geo-stub