City of Blue Mountains explained

Type:	lga
City of Blue Mountains
State:	nsw
Area:	1430
Est:	^[1]
Seat:	Katoomba^[2]
Mayor:	Mark Greenhill
Url:	https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/
Fedgov:	Macquarie
Near-Nw:	Lithgow
Near-N:	Hawkesbury
Near-Ne:	Hawkesbury
Near-W:	Lithgow
Near-E:	Penrith
Near-Sw:	Oberon
Near-S:	Wollondilly
Near-Se:	Liverpool

The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains, on the Great Dividing Range at the far western fringe of the Greater Sydney area. Major settlements include, Katoomba, Lawson, Springwood and Blaxland.

The mayor of Blue Mountains City Council is Councillor Mark Greenhill, a member of the Labor Party.

Towns and villages in the local government area

The urban part of the city consists of a ribbon of close or contiguous towns which lie on the Main Western railway line, served by NSW TrainLink's Blue Mountains Line, and Great Western Highway between Emu Plains and Lithgow. About 70% of the city's area is within the Blue Mountains National Park which lies north and south of the ribbon of towns. The National Park is part of the much larger Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site and the city brands itself as "The City Within a World Heritage National Park". The towns and villages are generally grouped into lower, mid, and upper mountains. The economy of the upper mountains is dependent almost entirely on tourism . The road to Sydney, the Great Western Highway, is mostly dual carriageway but is relatively slow due to the urban development and hilly terrain. The electric train service integrates into Sydney Trains, Sydney's suburban rail network.

The main towns and villages in the City of Blue Mountains are:

• Bell
• Blackheath
• Blaxland
• Bullaburra
• Faulconbridge
• Glenbrook
• Hawkesbury Heights
• Hazelbrook
• Katoomba
• Lapstone
• Lawson
• Leura
• Linden
• Medlow Bath
• Mount Irvine
• Mount Riverview
• Mount Victoria
• Mount Wilson
• Springwood
• Sun Valley
• Valley Heights
• Warrimoo
• Wentworth Falls
• Winmalee
• Woodford
• Yellow Rock

Demographics

Selected historical census data for the City of Blue Mountains local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011	2016	2021
Population
% of New South Wales population		1.1%	1.09%	0.99%	0.94%
% of Australian population	0.39%	0.37%	0.35%	0.33%	0.30%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	English	n/r	n/r	30.1%	30.5%	44.3%
Australian	n/r	n/r	28.7%	26.3%	38.1%
Irish	n/r	n/r	10.2%	11.1%	16.0%
Scottish	n/r	n/r	8.3%	8.6%	13.3%
German	n/r	n/r	3.2%	3.3%	4.8%
Language, top responses (other than English)		German	n/r	0.6%	0.6%	0.5%	0.5%
Spanish	n/r	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%
Italian	0.3%	0.4%	0.3%	0.4%	0.3%
Mandarin	n/r	n/r	n/r	0.4%	0.3%
French	n/r	n/r	n/r	0.3%	0.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	No religion (excluding not stated)	18.0%	22.0%	26.8%	35.7%	46.5%
Catholic	22.6%	22.5%	21.5%	19.7%	17.2%
Anglican	24.6%	22.5%	20.9%	17.0%	13.5%
Not stated	n/r	n/r	n/r	8.4%	4.9%
Christian (nfd)	n/r	n/r	n/r	2.9%	2.9%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income	n/r	$501	$590	$688	$817
% of Australian median income	n/r	107.5%	102.2%	103.9%	101.4%
Family income	Median weekly family income	n/r	$1,345	$1,624	$1,866	$2,235
% of Australian median income	n/r	114.9%	109.6%	107.6%	105.4%
Household income	Median weekly household income	n/r	$1,093	$1,270	$1,468	align=right"	$1,756
% of Australian median income	n/r	106.4%	102.9%	102.1%	100.5%

Council

Current composition and election method

Blue Mountains City Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three councillors. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent general election was held on 4 December 2021.

Party		Councillors
		Labor Party	align=right	6
		Independents	1
		Liberal Party	3
		The Greens	align=right	2
	Total	align=right	12

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
First Ward^[3]			Kevin Schreiber	Liberal	Elected 2016.
			Sarah Redshaw	Greens	Elected 2021.
			Suzie van Opdorp	Labor	Elected 2021.
Second Ward^[4]			Claire West	Labor	Elected 2021.
			Romola Hollywood	Labor	Elected 2012. Deputy Mayor 2021–date.
			Brent Hoare	Greens	Elected 2016.
Third Ward^[5]			Daniel Myles	Independent	Elected 1999. Deputy Mayor 2004–2005. Mayor 2010–2013.
			Roza Sage	Liberal	Elected 2021.
			Mick Fell	Labor	Elected 2012.
Fourth Ward^[6]			Mark Greenhill	Labor	Elected 1999–2004, 2008–date. Deputy Mayor 2010–2012.^[7] Mayor 2013–date.
			Brendan Christie	Liberal	Elected 2012.
			Nyree Fisher	Labor	Elected 2021.

Election results

2021

Mayors

	Mayor		Party	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
			William Freelander	Independent	2 October 1947	7 December 1948		^[8] ^[9] ^[10]
			Frank Walford	Independent	7 December 1948	12 December 1950		^[11] ^[12]
			Percy Edward Galwey	Independent	12 December 1950	5 December 1953		^[13] ^[14] ^[15]
			Aubrey Murphy	Independent	15 December 1953	December 1955		^[16] ^[17]
–			Frank Walford	Independent	December 1955	December 1956		^[18]
–			Aubrey Murphy	Independent	December 1956	December 1959
			Leslie Corne	Independent	December 1959	December 1960
–			Frank Walford	Independent	December 1960	December 1961
			Keith Bates	Independent	December 1961	December 1966
			Tom Hunter	Independent	December 1966	December 1967
		Ern Lesslie		December 1967	December 1969
		Jack Powell		December 1969	September 1971
		Ian Dash		September 1971	September 1974
–		Ern Lesslie		September 1974	September 1976
		William Lloyd		September 1976	September 1977
–		Ern Lesslie		September 1977	19 December 1979
–	John James Wickham (Administrator)			19 December 1979	December 1981		^[19] ^[20]
		Peter Quirk		December 1981	September 1987		^[21]
		James C. Angel		September 1987	September 1988
		Ralph Williams		September 1988	September 1991
		Peter O'Toole		September 1991	February 1992
		Bob Clarke		February 1992	September 1994
		Joy Anderson		September 1994	September 1995
		Michael Neall		September 1995	September 1999
			Jim Angel	Labor	September 1999	13 September 2008
				Labor	30 September 2008	21 September 2010
			Daniel Myles	Liberal	21 September 2010	17 September 2013
			Mark Greenhill	Labor	17 September 2013	Incumbent		^[22] ^[23] ^[24]

Council services

Cemeteries

The City of Blue Mountains Council maintains cemeteries at Blackheath, Faulconbridge, Katoomba, Lawson, Megalong Valley, Mount Irvine, Mount Victoria, Mount Wilson, Springwood, and Wentworth Falls.^[25]

Libraries

Blue Mountains Library operates three full-time branches, three part-time branches and a service for train commuters at Springwood and Katoomba stations two days a week.^[26]

Leisure centres

Blue Mountains Leisure Centres operate from five locations. All five locations have pools and the Katoomba and Springwood locations have gyms and offer various fitness classes.^[27]

Heritage listings

The City of Blue Mountains has a number of heritage-listed sites, including the following sites listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register:

• Blue Mountains National Park: Blue Mountains walking tracks^[28]
• Blackheath, Main Western railway: Blackheath railway station^[29]
• Faulconbridge, 14-20 Norman Lindsay Crescent: Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum^[30]
• Glenbrook, Great Western Highway: Glenbrook railway residence^[31]
• Glenbrook, Great Western Highway: Glenbrook Tunnel^[32]
• Glenbrook, Mitchells Pass: Lennox Bridge, Glenbrook^[33]
• Katoomba, 10-14 Civic Place: Mount St Marys College and Convent^[34]
• Katoomba, Katoomba Street: Carrington Hotel^[35]
• Katoomba, 59-61 Katoomba Street: Katoomba Post Office^[36]
• Katoomba, 63-69 Katoomba Street: Paragon Cafe, Katoomba^[37]
• Katoomba, Main Western railway: Katoomba railway station^[38]
• Katoomba, 10-16 Panorama Drive: Lilianfels, Katoomba^[39]
• Lawson, Main Western railway: Lawson railway station^[40]
• Leura, 37 – 49 Everglades Avenue: Everglades, Leura^[41]
• Linden, 91 – 111 Glossop Road: Linden Observatory Complex^[42]
• Linden, off Railway Parade: Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Linden, Linden Precinct^[43]
• Medlow Bath, Beauchamp Road: Medlow Dam^[44]
• Medlow Bath, Great Western Highway: Medlow Bath railway station^[45]
• Mount Victoria, Main Western railway: Mount Victoria railway station^[46]
• Mount Victoria, Mount York Road (off): Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Mount York, Cox's Pass Precinct^[47]
• Mount Wilson, 68-78 The Avenue: Wynstay Estate^[48]
• Springwood, 345-347 Great Western Highway: Christ Church Anglican Church, Springwood^[49]
• Springwood, 39 Hawkesbury Road: Buckland Convalescent Home^[50]
• Springwood, Main Western railway: Springwood railway station^[51]
• Valley Heights, 110 and 112 Green Parade: Valley Heights railway gatehouse^[52]
• Valley Heights, Main Western railway: Valley Heights railway station^[53]
• Warragamba, Coxs River Arms: Coxs River track^[54]
• Wentworth Falls, 63-67 Falls Road: Davisville, Wentworth Falls^[55]
• Wentworth Falls, 1-15 Matcham Avenue: Weatherboard Inn archaelological site^[56]
• Woodford, 90-92 Great Western Highway: Woodford Academy^[57]
• Woodford, Old Bathurst Road: Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Woodford, Old Bathurst Road Precinct^[58]
• Woodford, The Appian Way (off): Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Woodford, Appian Way Precinct^[59]

Sister cities

The City of Blue Mountains has sister city relationships with the following cities:^[60]

• Sanda, Hyōgo, Japan
• Flagstaff, Arizona, US

See also

• List of local government areas in New South Wales

External links

• Blue Mountains City Council website
• Blue Mountains
• Blue Mountains Library

Notes and References

1. Web site: Council Overview – History of Council. Blue Mountains City Council .
2. Web site: Blue Mountains City Council . . 27 November 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060906233329/http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_CouncilContactDetails.asp?slacode=900 . 6 September 2006 . dead .
3. Web site: Blue Mountains Ward 1 Results. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 18 September 2016. 17 September 2016.
4. Web site: Blue Mountains Ward 2 Results. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 18 September 2016. 17 September 2016.
5. Web site: Blue Mountains Ward 3 Results. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 18 September 2016. 17 September 2016.
6. Web site: Blue Mountains Ward 3 Results. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 18 September 2016. 17 September 2016.
7. Web site: Past and Current Elected Deputy Mayors . Blue Mountains City Council . 16 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171216083809/https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/councillors/pastandcurrentelecteddeputymayors . 16 December 2017.
8. News: CITY OF BLUE MOUNTAINS PROVISIONAL COUNCIL . . New South Wales, Australia . 3 October 1947 . 15 September 2022 . 2 . National Library of Australia.
9. News: ALD. W. FREELANDER RE-ELECTED MAYOR OF BLUE MOUNTAINS BY UNANIMOUS VOTE . The Blue Mountains Advertiser . New South Wales, Australia . 5 December 1947 . 15 September 2022 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
10. News: Mayor of City of Blue Mountains . . New South Wales, Australia . 11 December 1947 . 15 September 2022 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
11. News: MAYOR OF BLUE MOUNTAINS CITY . Nepean Times . New South Wales, Australia . 9 December 1948 . 15 September 2022 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
12. News: WALFORD RE-ELECTED BLUE MOUNTAINS MAYOR . The Blue Mountains Advertiser . New South Wales, Australia . 15 December 1949 . 15 September 2022 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
13. News: BLUE MOUNTAINS MAYOR ELECTED . The Blue Mountains Advertiser . New South Wales, Australia . 14 December 1950 . 15 September 2022 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
14. News: Mayor of Blue Mountains . Nepean Times . New South Wales, Australia . 13 December 1951 . 15 September 2022 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
15. News: Four Candidates for Mayor CLOSE POLL ON THE MOUNTAINS . Nepean Times . New South Wales, Australia . 4 December 1952 . 15 September 2022 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
16. News: IMMENSE INTEREST IN BLUE MOUNTAINS MAYORAL ELECTION . . New South Wales, Australia . 16 December 1953 . 15 September 2022 . 3 . National Library of Australia.
17. News: Blue Mountains Mayor Re-elected . . New South Wales, Australia . 8 December 1954 . 15 September 2022 . 4 . National Library of Australia.
18. News: SPRINGWOOD . Nepean Times . New South Wales, Australia . 12 January 1956 . 15 September 2022 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
19. News: Local Government Act, 1919.—Proclamation. . Government Gazette Of The State Of New South Wales . 182 . New South Wales, Australia . 20 December 1979 . 16 September 2022 . 6365 . National Library of Australia.
20. News: Macey . Richard . Council's leader holds a 'tight' meeting . The Sydney Morning Herald . 22 January 1980 . 3.
21. News: Revolt leader may be mayor . The Sydney Morning Herald . 8 December 1981 . 11.
22. Web site: Past and Current Elected Mayors . Blue Mountains City Council . 16 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171216083803/https://www.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/yourcouncil/councillors/pastandcurrentelectedmayors . 16 December 2017.
23. News: Blue Mountains Councillor Mark Greenhill re-elected Mayor . 16 September 2022 . Blue Mountains City Council . 30 September 2020 . Media Release.
24. News: Mark Greenhill elected for third term as Blue Mountains mayor; Romola Hollywood elected deputy mayor . 16 September 2022 . Blue Mountains Gazette . 30 December 2021.
25. Web site: Our cemeteries . Blue Mountains City Council . en.
26. Web site: Locations, Hours & Contacts. bmcc.ent.sirsidynix.net.au. 2016-11-29.
27. Web site: Blue Mountains Leisure Centres – Centres. Day. Clear Blue. www.bmleisurecentres.com.au. 2016-11-29.
28. 00980. H00/00231; EF14/4439. 18 May 2018.
29. 01088. 18 May 2018.
30. 01503. H00/00218. 18 May 2018.
31. 00713. S90/03339 & HC 86/1331. 18 May 2018.
32. 01861. 09/04976 HC Plan 2458. 18 May 2018.
33. 00024. S90/07399 & HC 30149. 18 May 2018.
34. 01681. H02/0062. 18 May 2018.
35. 00280. EF14/4441; S90/02841, S92/1002. 18 May 2018.
36. 01453. H00/00465. 18 May 2018.
37. 01959. EF14/13365. 18 May 2018.
38. 01174. H00/00254. 18 May 2018.
39. 00431. S90/04647 & HC 33120. 18 May 2018.
40. 01177. H05/00225. 18 May 2018.
41. 01498. 09/04287; S90/07445. 18 May 2018.
42. 01807. EF14/4452. 18 May 2018.
43. 01953. EF14/12820. 18 May 2018.
44. 01366. H07/00038, 120317. 18 May 2018.
45. 01190. 18 May 2018.
46. 01203. 18 May 2018.
47. 01956. EF14/12820. 18 May 2018.
48. 01520. S95/00570. 18 May 2018.
49. 00130. S90/06053 & HC 32237. 18 May 2018.
50. 00371. 10/4379; S90/05006; HC 32951. 18 May 2018.
51. 01247. 18 May 2018.
52. 00220. S90/01402 & HC 32803. 18 May 2018.
53. 01276. S90/02874. 18 May 2018.
54. 01372. EF14/4460; 495004. 18 May 2018.
55. 00401. EF14.4443; 10/4362; S90/5670. 18 May 2018.
56. 00595. S90/03585. 18 May 2018.
57. 01509. H00/00219/001, 10/04374. 18 May 2018.
58. 01954. EF14/12820. 18 May 2018.
59. 01955. EF14/12820. 18 May 2018.
60. Web site: Sister Cities . Blue Mountains City Council . 1 April 2011.