Tweed Shire is a local government area located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It is adjacent to the border with Queensland, where that meets the Coral Sea. Administered from the town of Murwillumbah, Tweed Shire covers an area of 1,321 square kilometres (510 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1947. It was named for the Tweed River.

Tweed Shire
New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Coordinates28°20′S 153°23′E / 28.333°S 153.383°E / -28.333; 153.383
Population
  • 91,371 (2016)[1]
  • 96,108 (2018 est.)[2]
 • Density69.168/km2 (179.14/sq mi)
Established1947
Area1,321 km2 (510.0 sq mi)
MayorChris Cherry
Council seatMurwillumbah
RegionNorthern Rivers
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)Richmond
WebsiteTweed Shire
LGAs around Tweed Shire:
Scenic Rim (Qld) Gold Coast (Qld) Coral Sea (Pacific Ocean)
Kyogle Tweed Shire Coral Sea (Pacific Ocean)
Lismore Byron Coral Sea (Pacific Ocean)
Pacific Motorway and Tweed Valley viewed from Duranbah

The current mayor of Tweed Shire Council is Cr. Chris Cherry.[3][4]

History

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The European history of the Tweed Shire began in 1823 when the Tweed River was explored by John Oxley. After sheltering on Cook Island (4 km from the river's mouth), Oxely travelled 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) up river. In 1828, Captain H. J. Rous explored 50 kilometres (31 mi) up the river. Settlers began to arrive in 1828, the first of which were the cedar getters, who came to harvest Great Red Cedars and send them back to England.[5] During the height of the cedar logging industry, the Tweed Valley was one of the wealthiest districts in Australia.

The Municipality of Murwillumbah was created on 25 May 1902, and held its first meeting on 22 August 1902, at which Peter Street was elected its first mayor. The Shire of Tweed, with its primary centre of population at Tumbulgum on the Tweed River, came into being in the surrounding area on 7 March 1906 with the enactment of the Local Government Act 1906 (NSW). On 1 January 1947, the two amalgamated to form Tweed Shire.[6]

Heritage listings

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

Towns and localities

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Duranbah Beach
Tweed Heads
Tweed Coast
Murwillumbah
Villages
Other localities

Demographics

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At the 2011 census, there were 85,105 people in the Tweed local government area, of these 48.2 per cent were male and 51.8 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.5 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 Tweed Shire area was 45 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 to 14 years made up 17.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 22.9 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.5 per cent were married and 15.3 per cent were either divorced or separated.[9]

Population growth in the Tweed Shire area between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 7.45 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 7.29 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 Tweed local government area was marginally higher than the national average.[10][11] The median weekly income for residents within the Tweed Shire area was significantly lower than the national average.[9]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Tweed local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 80 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 59 per cent of all residents in the Tweed Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Tweed local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (5.5 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (91.6 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).[9]

Selected historical census data for the Tweed Shire local government area
Census year 2001[10] 2006[11] 2011[9]
Population Estimated residents on Census night 73,821 79,321 85,105
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 26
% of New South Wales population 1.23%
% of Australian population 0.39%   0.40%   0.40%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses
English 31.9%
Australian 30.0%
Irish 9.8%
Scottish 8.0%
German 3.2%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)
German 0.4%   0.4%   0.4%
Italian 0.3%   0.3%   0.3%
French n/c   0.2%   0.2%
Japanese n/c   0.2%   0.2%
Spanish n/c n/c   0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses
Catholic 24.9%   24.7%   24.7%
Anglican 29.0%   26.1%   24.2%
No Religion 13.8%   17.6%   21.6%
Presbyterian and Reformed 5.9%   5.1%   4.9%
Uniting Church 6.0%   5.2%   4.5%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income Median weekly personal income A$364 A$442
% of Australian median income 78.1%   76.6%
Family income Median weekly family income A$904 A$1,045
% of Australian median income 77.2%   70.6%
Household income Median weekly household income A$683 A$845
% of Australian median income 66.5%   68.5%

Population

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Year Population References
1911 9,514
1921 15,136
1933 17,099
1947 19,321
1954 21,144
1961 22,491
1966 23,154
1976 27,526
1981 40,050
1986 45,690
1991 55,857
1996 66,519
2001 74,577 [10]
2006 83,089 [11]
2011 85,105 [9]
2016 91,371 [12]

Council

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In May 2005, the Governor of New South Wales dismissed the Tweed Shire Council of Mayor Warren Polglase, following a public inquiry which found that the council was improperly influenced by developers involved in a property boom in the area. The inquiry was commissioned by the Minister for Local Government, Tony Kelly, following community concern about the way planning decisions were made. The Minister appointed the director-general of the Department of Local Government, Garry Payne, former Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull and former Tweed Shire councillor, Max Boyd as Administrators for the ensuing three years.[13]

Shire Presidents and Mayors

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Councillor Term of office Title
C E Cox 1947–1948 Provisional President
A Buckley 1948–1949 President
C E Cox 1949–1957 President
Harold Lundberg 1957–1958 President
Clarrie Hall 1958–1959 President
Harold Lundberg 1959–1961 President
Clarrie Hall 1961–1963 President
Harold Lundberg 1963–1964 President
Clarrie Hall 1964–1973 President
Charles Jarvis 1973–1975 President
Clarrie Hall 1975–1979
died in office
President
Max Boyd 1979–1981 President
Mrs Y A M Rowse 1981–1984 President
Max Boyd 1984–1999 President/Mayor
Lynne Beck 1999–2001 Mayor
Warren Polglase 2001–2005 Mayor
Garry Payne 2005–2006 Administrator
Frank Willan 2006–2008 Administrator
Max Boyd 2005–2008 Administrator
Lucy Turnbull 2005–2007 Administrator
Garry Payne 2007–2008 Administrator
Joan van Lieshout 2008–2009 Mayor
Warren Polglase 2009–2010 Mayor
Kevin Skinner 2010–2011 Mayor
Barry Longland 2011–2014 Mayor
Gary Bagnall 2014–2015 Mayor
Katie Milne 2015–2020 Mayor
Chris Cherry 2020–present Mayor

Election results

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2024

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2024 New South Wales local elections: Tweed[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal 1. James Owen (elected 1)
2. Rhiannon Brinsmead (elected 4)
3. Thomas O'Connor
4. Freda Wilding
14,262 28.5 +3.6
Community Independents 1. Chris Cherry (elected 2)
2. Lindy Smith
3. Julie Boyd
4. Trevor White
7,574 15.1 +2.8
Labor 1. Reece Byrnes (elected 3)
2. Judith Choat
3. Russell Logan
4. Marie-Antoinette Rogers
7,235 14.5 +2.9
Bring Back Balance 1. Kimberly Hone (elected 5)
2. Warren Polglase
3. David Allen
4. Hannah Easton
5,801 11.6 +2.7
Greens 1. Nola Firth (elected 6)
2. Mary-Jayne Johnston
3. Hilary Green
4. Julianne Sandison
5,252 10.5 +1.2
Independent 1. Meredith Dennis (elected 7)
2. Jennifer Hayes
3. Gillian Cooper
4. Zachary Hoade
5. Edna Gorton
3,530 7.1 +1.7
Turner 4 Tweed 1. Brady Turner
2. Dirk Brouwer
3. Peter Waver
4. Susan Mole
2,502 5.0
All 4 Tweed 1. Colin Usher
2. Belinda Dinsey
3. Jerami Grassi
4. Peter Sibilant
2,265 4.5
Pryceless Tweed 1. Pryce Allsop
2. Bill Larkin
3. Paul Pouloudis
856 1.7 −4.6
Independent 1. Ned Wales
2. Kim Lloyd
382 0.8
Animal Justice Susie Hearder 141 0.3
Independent Mitch Dobbie 98 0.2
Independent James McKenzie 69 0.1 0.0
Animal Justice Nicola Stone 32 0.1
Animal Justice Sheraden Robins 15 0.3
Animal Justice Clelia Valdez 14 0.0
Animal Justice Cheryl Tompson 12 0.0
Total formal votes 50,040 91.7
Informal votes 4,549 8.3
Turnout 54,589 76.3

2016

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Elected councillor Party
  Katie Milne Greens
  Warren Polglase Independent
(Group A)
  Pryce Allsop Independent
(Group H)
  James Owen Liberal
  Reece Byrnes Country Labor
  Chris Cherry Independent
(Group B)
  Ron Cooper No High-Rise
2016 Tweed Shire Council election[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent (Group A) 7,336 15.45
Greens 7,279 15.33
Liberal 5,525 11.63
Independent (Group H) 5,053 10.64
Country Labor 4,970 10.46
Independent (Group B) 2,821 5.94
No High-Rise 2,028 4.27
Independent (Group I) 1,956 4.21
Independent (Group K) 1,690 3.56
Independent (Group C) 1,551 3.27
Dot Holdom Group 1,524 3.21
Carolyn Byrne Group 1,369 2.88
Independent (Group E) 1,364 2.87
Independent (Group O) 1,159 2.44
Independent (Group J) 1,158 2.44
Independent Dion Andrews 466 0.98
Independent Suzy Hudson 106 0.22
Independent Mathuranath Das 73 0.15
Independent James McKenzie 69 0.15
Total formal votes 47,497 93.17
Informal votes 3,482 6.83
Turnout 50,979

References

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  1. ^ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2014–15". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. ^ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Independent Chris Cherry wins Mayoral vote in Tweed". Echonetdaily. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. ^ Tweed Link, Issue 1171 23 September 2020, page 1
  5. ^ Collier's Encyclopedia. New York: Maxwell Macmillan Communication Group.
  6. ^ Murwillumbah Historical Society Inc. (8 October 2009). "The Shire of Tweed". Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  7. ^ "Murwillumbah Railway Station and yard group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01206. Retrieved 18 May 2018.   Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
  8. ^ "High Conservation Value Old Growth forest". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01487. Retrieved 18 May 2018.   Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
  9. ^ a b c d e Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Tweed Shire". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 10 April 2015.  
  10. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Tweed (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 May 2016.  
  11. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Community Profile Series: Tweed (A) (Local Government Area)". 2006 Census of Population and Housing. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
  12. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Tweed Shire". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 August 2020.  
  13. ^ "Council sacked after property corruption probe". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 25 May 2005. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Tweed needs genuine community-based Independents who can work with the parties to protect where we live". Facebook. Mayor Chris Cherry. 2 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Check out the weekly!". Facebook. Turner 4 Tweed. 22 August 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Polling booths open tomorrow". Facebook. Kimberly Hone For Tweed Council. 6 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  17. ^ "WARREN POLGLASE". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 16 August 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  18. ^ "DAVID ALLEN". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 16 August 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  19. ^ "VOTE 1 GROUP F". Facebook. Pryceless Tweed. 8 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  20. ^ "It's all happening all over Tweed so far with the elections, open until 6pm tonight". Facebook. All 4 Tweed. 14 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  21. ^ "Northern Rivers Guardians Inc say: Vote for the Community and the Environment!". Facebook. Mayor Chris Cherry. 13 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Tweed Shire Council - First Preferences Group and Candidate by Aggregated Vote Type Report". New South Wales Electoral Commission.