Port Stephens Council

Infobox Australian Place
type = lga
name = Port Stephens Council
city =
state = nsw


caption =
loc-x = 193
loc-y = 86
pop = 60,484
pop_footnotes = [Census 2006 AUS | id = LGA16400 | name = Port Stephens (A) (Local Government Area) | quick = on | accessdate= 2008-02-28]
poprank =
density = 61.78
est =
postcode =
coordinates = coord|32|45|S|151|55|E|scale:200000_region:AU-NSW
elevation =
area = 979
area_footnotes=cite web|url=http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/about.html|title=About Port Stephens|publisher=Port Stephens Council|accessdate=2008-06-06]
timezone = AEST
utc = +10
timezone-dst = AEDT
utc-dst = +11
propval =
mayor = Ron Swancite web
url = http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_CouncilContactDetails.asp?slacode=6400
title = Port Stephens Council
publisher = Department of Local Government
accessdate = 23 November
accessyear = 2006] [cite web
url = http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/council/1084.html
title = Port Stephens Council: Council: Councillors
publisher = Port Stephens Council
accessdate = 11 August
accessyear = 2007]
seat = Raymond Terrace
(116 Adelaide St}
region = Hunter, Mid North Coast
county =
parish =
hundred =
stategov = Port Stephens
stategov2 = Maitland
stategov3 =
stategov4 =
fedgov = Paterson
fedgov2 = Newcastle
fedgov3 =
fedgov4 =

url = http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
near-n = Dungog, Great Lakes
near-ne = Great Lakes
near-e = Tasman Sea
near-se = Tasman Sea
near-s = Newcastle
near-sw = Maitland
near-w = Maitland
near-nw = Dungog

Port Stephens Council is a Local Government Area (LGA) in the Hunter Region of Australia, located just north of Newcastle in New South Wales. It is bisected by the Pacific Highway which runs through Raymond Terrace, the largest town and Council seat. The LGA is named after Port Stephens, which is the major geographical feature of the area.

Main towns and villages

Most of the population is concentrated in Raymond Terrace and its satellite suburb of Heatherbrae or around or near the shores of Port Stephens in the suburbs of Anna Bay, Boat Harbour, Corlette, Fingal Bay, Fishermans Bay, Karuah, Lemon Tree Passage, Mallabula, Nelson Bay, One Mile, Oyster Cove, Salamander Bay, Shoal Bay, Soldiers Point, Swan Bay, Tanilba Bay and Taylors Beach. However, another significant portion of the population lives in a large rural/semi-rural area to the west of the Pacific Highway in the towns and suburbs of Balickera, Butterwick, Duns Creek, Eagleton, East Seaham, Glen Oak, Hinton, Nelsons Plains, Osterley, Seaham, Wallalong and Woodville and in the predominantly residential estate of Brandy Hill.

In the southern part of the LGA are the rural communities of Bobs Farm, Fern Bay, Fullerton Cove, Salt Ash, Tomago and Williamtown. Tomago supports both rural and industrial communities while Williamtown is the location for a Royal Australian Air Force base that shares its airfield with Newcastle Airport.

At the northern end of the LGA are Karuah and Twelve Mile Creek. Located adjacent to Port Stephens and straddling the Karuah River, Karuah is predominantly residential. It is the location of the largest Aboriginal community in the LGA. Twelve Mile Creek is almost exclusively rural.

Centrally located in the LGA, between Raymond Terrace and Port Stephens are Campvale, Ferodale and Medowie. Ferodale is dominated by Grahamstown Dam, a man-made dam with a capacity of 131,800 megalitres that is a major source of fresh water in the region. [cite web |url=http://www.hunterwater.com.au/285.aspx|title=Grahamstown Dam|publisher=Hunter Water |accessdate=23 September|accessyear=2007] The remainder of this area is a mix of rural, semi-rural and residential developments.

A map of the the various towns, suburbs and localities within the Port Stephens LGA is available from the Port Stephens Council website.Cite web|url=http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/council/1084/45856.html|title=Council Wards and Boundaries|publisher=Port Stephens Council|date=2008-03-12|accessdate=2008-06-06 ( [http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/files/45855/File/PSCWardsLocalities.pdf map] )]

Demographics

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics [cite web
publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics
title=Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2005-06 (catalogue no.: 3218.0)
url = http://abs.gov.au
accessdate = 2007-03-12 ] , there:

- were 63,650 people as at 30 June 2006, the 35th largest Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 0.9% of the New South Wales population of 6,827,694

- was an increase of 365 people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 47th largest population growth in a Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 0.6% of the 58,753 increase in the population of New South Wales

- was, in percentage terms, an increase of 0.6% in the number of people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 90th fastest growth in population of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 0.9%

- was an increase in population over the 10 years to 30 June 2006 of 11,369 people or 22% (2.0% in annual average terms), the 14th highest rate of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 622,966 or 10% (1.0% in annual average terms) over the same period.

Incomes

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics [cite web
publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics
title=Regional Wage and Salary Earner Statistics, Australia (catalogue no.: 5673.055.003)
url = http://abs.gov.au
accessdate = 2007-03-11 ] during 2003-04, there:

- were 21,149 wage and salary earners (ranked 42nd in New South Wales and 113rd in Australia, 0.8% of New South Wales's 2,558,415 and 0.3% of Australia's 7,831,856)

- was a total income of $757,559,870 (around $758 million) (ranked 45th in New South Wales and 117th in Australia, 0.7% of New South Wales's $107,179,688,262 (around $107 billion) and 0.2% of Australia's $304,034,755,876 (around $304 billion))

- was an estimated average income per wage and salary earner of $35,820 (ranked 66th in New South Wales and 208th in Australia, 87% of New South Wales's $41,407 and 92% of Australia's $38,820)

- was an estimated median income per wage and salary earner of $32,473 (ranked 69th in New South Wales and 233rd in Australia, 92% of New South Wales's $35,479 and 95% of Australia's $34,149).

Climate

Port Stephens Council covers an area of Convert|979|km2|sqmi|0, stretching approximately Convert|57|km|mi|0 from east to west and approximately Convert|30|km|mi|0|abbr=on from north to south, and experiences various climatic conditions throughout the LGA. These are monitored by five weather stations, four of which are located at the approximate cardinal points of the LGA, operated by the Bureau of Meteorology. The fifth station is located on RAAF Base Williamtown. The following tables indicate average climatic data throughout the LGA.

Eastern

Western

Southern

ister cities

Port Stephens has sister city relationships with the following cities:
*flagicon|USA Bellingham, Washington, USACite web |url=http://www.portstephens.nsw.gov.au/communityorgs/53809.html |title=Port Stephens Sister Cities |publisher=Port Stephens Council |accessdate=2007-07-13] [Cite web |url=http://www.sister-cities.org/icrc/directory/Oceania/Australia |title=Online Directory: Australia, Oceania |publisher=Sister Cities International |accessdate=2007-07-13] [Cite web |url=http://www.bsca.org |title=Bellingham Sister Cities Association |accessdate=2007-07-13]
*flagicon|Japan Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan
*flagicon|Japan Tateyama, Chiba, Japan
*flagicon|Japan Yugawara, Kanagawa, Japan

References

External links

*
* [http://www.huntergardens.org.au Hunter Region Botanic Gardens]