Shire of Greenough

Infobox Australian Place | type = lga
name =Shire of Greenough
state =wa
region =Mid West
area =1752.0
seat =Utakarra
pop = 15,394 (2007 Census Estimate)
density =


imagesize = 180
caption = Location in Western Australia
logo =
logosize =
url =
mayor =E J (John) Sewell (until April 2007)
fedgov =O'Connor
stategov =Greenough
near-nw = Geraldton
near-n = Chapman Valley
near-ne = Mullewa
near-e = Mullewa
near-se = Irwin
near-s = Irwin
near-sw = "Indian Ocean"
near-w = "Indian Ocean"

The Shire of Greenough was a Local Government Area in the Mid West region of Western Australia, convert|420|km|mi|0 north of the state capital, Perth surrounding the city of Geraldton. The Shire covered an area of convert|1752|km2|sqmi|1, and its seat of government was the outer Geraldton suburb of Utakarra.

Historically a rural area, with the growth of Geraldton in recent years as a port and city, the areas of the Shire closest to Geraldton became increasingly urbanised. The council is in the process of amalgamating with the City of Geraldton and the new entity will be known as the City of Geraldton-Greenough.

History

The Greenough and Geraldton Road Boards - the latter not to be confused with Geraldton Municipal Council - were gazetted in 1871. Initially, Greenough included all of Murchison, which split away in 1875 and Mullewa, which formed in 1911. In 1951, Geraldton and Greenough merged, and in 1961 became the Shire of Geraldton-Greenough after changes to the Local Government Act. In 1965, it was renamed the Shire of Greenough. [WA Electoral Commission, "Municipality Boundary Amendments Register" (release 2.0), 31 May 2003.]

Amalgamation

A recommendation was made to the Minister for Local Government by the Local Government Advisory Board in August 2006 to amalgamate the Shire of Greenough with the City of Geraldton.

The Greenough electors successfully petitioned for a referendum to determine whether amalgamation should proceed. This was held on 2 December 2006, and with a participation rate of 28.74%, a majority of 80% voted against the proposal. [cite news|url=http://www.waec.wa.gov.au/local/wards.asp?agencyid=66&electdate=2-Dec-2006&electionid=241|title=Greenough - Voting In Person Referendum|date=2 December 2006|author=Western Australian Electoral Commission|accessdate=2007-04-28] However, under the Local Government Act 1995 (clause 10 of Schedule 2.1) as the vote did not attract 50% of registered voters, it did not meet the requirements for a valid poll. [cite web|url=http://www.dlgrd.wa.gov.au/LocalGovt/AdvisoryBoard/inquiryReports.asp|title=Inquiry Reports - Geraldton Greenough Inquiry Report|author=Local Government Advisory Board|date=December 2006|accessdate=2007-04-28]

The councillors of both local government authorities resigned at the end of April 2007, and elections for the new local government are planned for October 2007.

Wards

The shire was divided into four wards until 2005 - West and Tarcoola Wards, each with 4 councillors, and North and South wards, each with 2 councillors. In May 2005, due to a redistribution of boundaries, the Central and Wandina Wards, each with 4 councillors, and the Chapman North Ward with 3 councillors were created.

uburbs

* Deepdale
* Glenfield
* Karloo
* Moresby
* Mount Tarcoola (split with City of Geraldton)
* Narngulu
* Rudds Gully
* Strathalbyn
* Tarcoola Beach
* Utakarra (split with City of Geraldton)
* Waggrakine
* Wandina
* Woorree

Towns

* Cape Burney
* Drummond Cove
* Eradu
* Greenough
* Kojarena
* Minnenooka
* Moonyoonooka
* Walkaway
* Wicherina

References