Muswellbrook Shire Explained

Type:lga
Muswellbrook Shire
State:nsw
Coordinates:-32.2667°N 204°W
Pop:16,086
Pop2:16383
Pop2 Year:2018 est.
Pop2 Footnotes:[1]
Density:5.05
Area:3405
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10
Timezone-Dst:AEDT
Utc-Dst:+11
Mayor:Steven Reynolds
Seat:Muswellbrook[2]
Region:Hunter[3]
Stategov:Upper Hunter[4]
Fedgov:Hunter[5]
Logo Upright:1.23
Url:http://www.muswellbrook.nsw.gov.au
Near-N:Upper Hunter
Near-Ne:Upper Hunter
Near-E:Singleton
Near-Se:Singleton
Near-S:Singleton
Near-Sw:Mid-Western
Near-W:Mid-Western
Near-Nw:Upper Hunter

Muswellbrook Shire is a local government area in the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is situated adjacent to the New England Highway and the Hunter railway line.

Muswellbrook Shire was established on 1 July 1979 from the amalgamation of the Municipality of Muswellbrook with the adjacent Denman Shire, which had been called Muswellbrook Shire between 1907 and 1968.

The mayor of the Muswellbrook Shire Council is Cr. Steven Reynolds.

Main towns and villages

The Shire includes Muswellbrook, Denman, Baerami, McCullys Gap, Martindale, Muscle Creek, Sandy Hollow, Widden and Wybong.[6]

Coal mining

Muswellbrook started as coal mining town in late 1800s and began open cut mining in 1944. The oldest coal was opened in 1906.[7]

Heritage listings

The Muswellbrook Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were people in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area, of these 51.7 per cent were male and 48.3 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 5.4 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Muswellbrook Shire was 34 years, which was lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 22.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 10.6 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.0 per cent were married and 11.8 per cent were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the Muswellbrook Shire between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 3.25 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 3.64 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area was approximately half the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Muswellbrook Shire was marginally higher than the national average.

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon exceeded 81 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 68% of all residents in the Muswellbrook Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was considerably higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Muswellbrook Shire local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (4.3 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (89.7 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).

Selected historical census data for the Muswellbrook Shire local government area
Census year 200120062011
Population Estimated residents on Census night
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
% of New South Wales population 0.23%
% of Australian population 0.08%  0.08%  0.07%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses
Australian36.2%
English30.4%
Irish8.1%
Scottish6.6%
German2.9%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)
Shonan/c  n/c  0.2%
Cantonese0.1%  0.1%  0.2%
Italian0.1%  0.1%  0.1%
Thain/c  0.1%  0.1%
Mandarinn/c  0.1%  0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses
Anglican40.3%  37.5%  35.6%
Catholic28.0%  27.7%  26.1%
No Religion7.6%  11.0%  13.9%
Uniting Church5.2%  4.4%  3.9%
Presbyterian and Reformed3.8%  3.2%  3.1%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income Median weekly personal incomeA$453 A$619
% of Australian median income97.2%  107.3%
Family income Median weekly family income
% of Australian median income103.6%  114.6%
Median weekly household income
% of Australian median income103.2%  113.4%

Council

Current composition and election method

Muswellbrook Shire Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. 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 election was held on 11 January 2022 and the makeup of the council is as follows:[16]

PartyCouncillors
 Independents and Unalignedalign=right 12
Totalalign=right 12

The current Council, elected in 2022, in order of election, is:[16]

CouncillorPartyNotes
 Steve ReynoldsIndependentMayor[17]
 Jennifer LeckyIndependentDeputy Mayor
 Amanda Barry
 Mark BowditchIndependent
 De-Anne Douglas
 Jeffrey Drayton
 Louise Dunn
 Rohit Mahajan
 Darryl Marshall
 Graeme McNeillIndependent
 Rod ScholesIndependent
 Brett WoodruffIndependent

Mayors

The following is a list of mayors since the Shire of Denman amalgamated with the Municipality of Muswellbrook to form Muswellbrook Shire Council on 1 July 1979.[18]

CouncillorPartyTerm of office
 J.H. JoblingUnaligned19791986
 E.I. WolfgangUnaligned19861989
 I.E. SeymourUnaligned19891999
 J.E. ColvinUnaligned19992008
 Martin RushUnaligned20082021
 Rod ScholesUnaligned20212022
Steven Reynolds2022-present

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
  2. Web site: Muswellbrook Shire Council. New South Wales Division of Local Government. 7 October 2012.
  3. Web site: Suburb Search – Local Council Boundaries – Hunter (HT) – Muswellbrook Shire Council. New South Wales Division of Local Government. 7 October 2012.
  4. Web site: Upper Hunter. . 23 November 2019.
  5. Web site: Hunter. Australian Electoral Commission. 26 July 2012. 7 October 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131005012555/http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch/LocalitySearchResults.aspx?filter=Hunter&filterby=Electorate. 5 October 2013.
  6. Web site: About Muswellbrook Shire. Muswellbrook Shire Council. 28 August 2009.
  7. Web site: Coal Industry – Muswellbrook Shire Council. 2020-09-16. muswellbrook.nsw.gov.au.
  8. 00159. S90/06231 & HC 32033. 18 May 2018.
  9. 00211. S90/05440 & HC 32806. 18 May 2018.
  10. 00260. S90/05877 & HC 32432. 18 May 2018.
  11. 00185. S90/05895 & HC 32411. 18 May 2018.
  12. 00331. EF11/20060; S90/5350; 11/20060. 18 May 2018.
  13. 00170. S90/05833 & HC 32464. 18 May 2018.
  14. 00458. S90/05526, NEP90 342, HC 32968. 18 May 2018.
  15. 01208. EF14/5014. 18 May 2018.
  16. Web site: Muswellbrook Shire Council Mayor Elected . Muswellbrook Shire Council . Muswellbrook Shire Council.
  17. News: Hughes, Betina . 22 September 2016 . The new Muswellbrook Shire councillors elected Cr Martin Rush as mayor . Muswellbrook Chronicle . 19 October 2016.
  18. Web site: Mayors, Alderman, Shire Presidents, Councillors and Staff. PDF. Bill Spicer. Muswellbrook Shire Council. 18 June 2004. 16 August 2009.