Shire of Plantagenet

Infobox Australian Place | type = lga
name =Shire of Plantagenet
state =wa
region =Great Southern


imagesize =180
area =4792
est =1871
seat =Mount Barker
pop =4,484 (2006 census)
logo =
logosize =
url =http://www.plantagenet.wa.gov.au
mayor =Cr Kevin Forbes, AM
fedgov =O'Connor
stategov =Blackwood-Stirling
near-nw = Manjimup
near-n = Cranbrook
near-ne = Gnowangerup
near-w = Manjimup
near-e = Albany
near-sw = Denmark
near-s = Albany
near-se = Albany

The Shire of Plantagenet is a Local Government Area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, managed from the town of Mount Barker, convert|360|km|mi|0 south of Perth and convert|50|km|mi|0 north of Albany. The shire covers an area of convert|4792|km2|sqmi|0] and includes the communities of Narrikup, Rocky Gully, Kendenup and Porongurup.

The region is noted for agriculture, principally wheat, sheep (wool and meat), beef cattle, wine, canola and olives. Silviculture, especially plantations of Tasmanian Blue Gums ("Eucalyptus globulus"), is fast becoming a major industry in the shire. Local tourist attractions include the Porongurup Range and Stirling Range, a packed-out museum based within the original police station, and other pioneering structures such as St Werburghs Chapel.

History

The Plantagenet Road Board was gazetted on 24 January 1871 as one of 18 elected boards to manage roads and services in Western Australia, and initially included a reasonably large section of the Great Southern region. On 1 July 1961, it became the Shire of Plantagenet following changes to the Local Government Act. [WA Electoral Commission, "Municipality Boundary Amendments Register" (release 2.0), 31 May 2003.]

Wards

The shire was redivided into five wards in 2001. The shire president is elected from amongst the councillors.

* East Ward (2 councillors)
* Kendenup Ward (1 councillor)
* Rocky Gully/West Ward (2 councillors)
* South Ward (1 councillor)
* Town Ward (3 councillors)

References

External links

* [http://www.plantagenet.wa.gov.au/ Shire of Plantagenet]
* [http://www.plantagenetonline.com/index.html Plantagenet Community and Business Directory]