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.
City of Blue Mountains New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 33°42′S 150°18′E / 33.700°S 150.300°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 78,121 (LGA 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1 October 1947[2] | ||||||||||||||
Area | 1,430 km2 (552.1 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Mayor | Mark Greenhill | ||||||||||||||
Council seat | Katoomba[3] | ||||||||||||||
Region | Blue Mountains, Greater Western Sydney | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Macquarie | ||||||||||||||
Website | City of Blue Mountains | ||||||||||||||
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The mayor of Blue Mountains City Council is Councillor Mark Greenhill, a member of the Labor Party.
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 [citation needed]. 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:
Selected historical census data for the City of Blue Mountains local government area | |||||||
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Census year | 2001[4] | 2006[5] | 2011[6] | 2016[7] | 2021 [8] | ||
Population | Estimated residents on census night | 73,675 | 74,067 | 75,942 | 76,904 | 78,121 | |
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | 28 | 27 | 31 | ||||
% 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 | $1,756 | |
% of Australian median income | n/r | 106.4% | 102.9% | 102.1% | 100.5% |
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 | 6 | |
Independents | 1 | |
Liberal Party | 3 | |
The Greens | 2 | |
Total | 12 |
Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
First Ward[9] | Kevin Schreiber | Liberal | Elected 2016. | |
Sarah Redshaw | Greens | Elected 2021. | ||
Suzie van Opdorp | Labor | Elected 2021. | ||
Second Ward[10] | Claire West | Labor | Elected 2021. | |
Romola Hollywood | Labor | Elected 2012. Deputy Mayor 2021–date. | ||
Brent Hoare | Greens | Elected 2016. | ||
Third Ward[11] | Daniel Myles | Independent | Elected 1999. Deputy Mayor 2004–2005.[12] Mayor 2010–2013. | |
Roza Sage | Liberal | Elected 2021. | ||
Mick Fell | Labor | Elected 2012. | ||
Fourth Ward[13] | Mark Greenhill | Labor | Elected 1999–2004, 2008–date. Deputy Mayor 2010–2012.[12] Mayor 2013–date. | |
Brendan Christie | Liberal | Elected 2012. | ||
Nyree Fisher | Labor | Elected 2021. |
Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labor | 24,032 | 49.2 | +11.4 | 6 | 1 | ||
Liberal | 11,750 | 24.1 | −1.1 | 3 | 1 | ||
Greens | 7,296 | 14.9 | −4.3 | 2 | |||
Independent | 5,755 | 11.8 | −5.9 | 1 | |||
Formal votes | 48,833 | 96.48 | |||||
Informal votes | 1,784 | 3.52 | |||||
Total | 50,617 | 100.00 |
# | Mayor | Party | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Freelander | Independent | 2 October 1947 | 7 December 1948 | 1 year, 66 days | [15][16][17] | |
2 | Frank Walford | Independent | 7 December 1948 | 12 December 1950 | 2 years, 5 days | [18][19] | |
3 | Percy Edward Galwey | Independent | 12 December 1950 | 5 December 1953 | 2 years, 358 days | [20][21][22] | |
4 | Aubrey Murphy | Independent | 15 December 1953 | December 1955 | 1 year, 351 days | [23][24] | |
– | Frank Walford | Independent | December 1955 | December 1956 | 1 year, 0 days | [25] | |
– | Aubrey Murphy | Independent | December 1956 | December 1959 | 3 years, 0 days | [26] | |
5 | Leslie Corne | Independent | December 1959 | December 1960 | 352 days | [26] | |
– | Frank Walford | Independent | December 1960 | December 1961 | 1 year, 0 days | ||
6 | Keith Bates | Independent | December 1961 | December 1966 | 4 years, 351 days | [26] | |
7 | Tom Hunter | Independent | December 1966 | December 1967 | 351 days | [26] | |
8 | Ern Lesslie | December 1967 | December 1969 | 1 year, 351 days | [26] | ||
9 | Jack Powell | December 1969 | September 1971 | 1 year, 274 days | [26] | ||
10 | Ian Dash | September 1971 | September 1974 | 3 years, 0 days | [26] | ||
– | Ern Lesslie | September 1974 | September 1976 | 2 years, 0 days | [26] | ||
11 | William Lloyd | September 1976 | September 1977 | 1 year, 0 days | [26] | ||
– | Ern Lesslie | September 1977 | 19 December 1979 | 2 years, 109 days | [26] | ||
– | John James Wickham (Administrator) | 19 December 1979 | December 1981 | 1 year, 347 days | [26][27][28] | ||
12 | Peter Quirk | December 1981 | September 1987 | 5 years, 274 days | [26][29] | ||
13 | James C. Angel | September 1987 | September 1988 | 1 year, 0 days | [26] | ||
14 | Ralph Williams | September 1988 | September 1991 | 3 years, 0 days | [26] | ||
15 | Peter O'Toole | September 1991 | February 1992 | 153 days | [26] | ||
16 | Bob Clarke | February 1992 | September 1994 | 2 years, 212 days | [26] | ||
17 | Joy Anderson | September 1994 | September 1995 | 1 year, 0 days | [26] | ||
18 | Michael Neall | September 1995 | September 1999 | 4 years, 0 days | [26] | ||
19 | Jim Angel | Labor | September 1999 | 13 September 2008 | 9 years, 12 days | [26] | |
20 | Adam Searle | Labor | 30 September 2008 | 21 September 2010 | 1 year, 356 days | [26] | |
21 | Daniel Myles | Liberal | 21 September 2010 | 17 September 2013 | 2 years, 361 days | [26] | |
22 | Mark Greenhill | Labor | 17 September 2013 | Incumbent | 10 years, 222 days | [26][30][31] |
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.[32]
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.[33]
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.[34]
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:
The City of Blue Mountains has sister city relationships with the following cities:[67]