City of Hawkesbury

Summary

The City of Hawkesbury is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, located on the northern and north-western fringe of the Greater Sydney area, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-west of the Sydney central business district. Hawkesbury City is named after the Hawkesbury River. Major towns in City of Hawkesbury are Windsor and Richmond.

City of Hawkesbury
New South Wales
Location in Outer Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates33°36′41.42″S 150°48′53.68″E / 33.6115056°S 150.8149111°E / -33.6115056; 150.8149111
Population67,207 (LGA 2021)[1]
Established1 January 1981
Area2,776 km2 (1,071.8 sq mi)
MayorSarah McMahon (Liberal)
RegionGreater Western Sydney
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)
WebsiteCity of Hawkesbury
LGAs around City of Hawkesbury:
Mid-Western Singleton Cessnock,
Central Coast
Lithgow City of Hawkesbury Hills
Blue Mountains Penrith Blacktown

The mayor of the City of Hawkesbury is Cr. Sarah McMahon, a member of the Liberal Party.

Suburbs and localities in the local government area edit

Suburbs and localities in the City of Hawkesbury are:

History edit

The original inhabitants of the Hawkesbury district were the Darug tribe of Aboriginals, also spelt as Dharug or Daruk. The river, which they called Derrubbin, was a focal point as a source of food and transport. The Darug people used the river to farm for fish, eels, water birds, and mussels. They also used the river as a mode of transport in bark canoes.[2]

It was first settled by Europeans in 1794 in a bid to acquire arable land to feed the increasing population of the penal colony at Sydney. In April 1794, Lieutenant Governor Francis Grose submitted plans for the first 22 farms on the Hawkesbury River in the present Pitt Town Bottoms area. In June 1795, Lieutenant Governor William Paterson deployed troops to engage with Aboriginals inhabiting land along the Hawkesbury River.[3][editorializing]

By 1811 Governor Lachlan Macquarie established the five Macquarie Towns in the area. They are Windsor, Richmond, Castlereagh, Wilberforce and Pitt Town. Many of the early 19th century buildings still survive today. Ebenezer has the oldest surviving church and school building in Australia. Windsor District Council was formed in 1843 and disbanded in 1846. In 1871 the Borough Council of Windsor was founded and the Richmond Borough Council followed in 1872. The two councils amalgamated in 1949 to become the Municipality of Windsor. Colo Shire Council was established in 1906 and joined Windsor Municipal Council from 1 January 1981 to become Hawkesbury Shire Council.[4][5] On 1 July 1989, Hawkesbury became a City.[6][7]

On its creation in 1981, Hawkesbury was largely rural, but urban expansion within Sydney has since transformed the southern part of the area into dormitory suburbs. The northern part of the local government area still contains some farmlands and national parkland.

Demographics edit

At the 2021 Census, there were 67,207 people in the Hawkesbury local government area. Of these, 49.8% were male and 50.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.8% of the population, which was 1.6% above the national average. The median age of people in the City of Hawkesbury was 39 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.6% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 49.3% were married and 12.4% were either divorced or separated.[8]

Population in the City of Hawkesbury between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census decreased by 0.54%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 2.96%. Between the 2011 and 2016 Census, population increased by a further 1.04%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, population growth in Hawkesbury local government area was significantly lower than the national average.[9] The median weekly income for residents within the City of Hawkesbury has been consistently marginally higher than the national average.[10][11][12][8]

At the 2021 Census, the proportion of residents in the Hawkesbury local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or English amounted to 80.8%, representing an increase from 62% in 2011. Many people from the Hawkesbury identified as having a Catholic (26.0%) or Anglican (19.3%) religious affiliation in 2021.

Selected historical census data for Hawkesbury local government area
Census year 2001[9] 2006[12] 2011[11] 2016[10] 2021[8]
Population Estimated residents on census night 60,887   60,561   62,353   64,592   67,207
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 34th
% of New South Wales population 0.90%   1.66%   0.83%
% of Australian population 0.32%   0.31%   0.29%   0.27%   0.26%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses
Australian 32.6%   30.4%   41.1%
English 29.5%   29.5%   39.7%
Irish 7.6%   8.3%   10.6%
Scottish 6.3%   6.8%   9.5%
Maltese 3.1%   3.5%   5.8%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)
Maltese 0.8%   0.7%   0.8%   0.9%   0.9%
Italian 0.6%   0.6%   0.5%   0.4%   0.4%
Cantonese 0.3%   0.3%
German 0.3%   0.3%   0.3%   0.3%
Arabic 0.3%   0.3%   0.3%   0.3%   0.4%
Punjabi 0.5%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses
Catholic 26.6%   27.3%   28.2%   27.5%   26.0%
Anglican 30.9%   29.9%   29.4%   24.6%   19.3%
No Religion 12.2%   14.8%   16.7%   23.9%   33.7%
Not stated 8.3%   5.5%
Uniting Church 5.7%   5.0%   4.4%   3.3%   2.6%
Presbyterian and Reformed 3.0%   5.7%   2.8%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income Median weekly personal income $527   $622   $728   $860
% of Australian median income 113.1%   107.8%   110.0%   106.8%
Family income Median weekly family income $1,146   $1,598   $1,916   $2,272
% of Australian median income 111.6%   107.9%   110.5%   107.1%
Household income Median weekly household income $1,290   $1,385   $1,668   $1,980
% of Australian median income 110.2%   112.2%   116.0%   113.4%

Council edit

Current composition and election method edit

Hawkesbury City Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally as one entire 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 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:[13]

 
Party Councillors
Liberal Party 4
Independents and Unaligned 3
Labor Party 2
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party 1
The Greens 1
The Small Business Party 1
Total 12

The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:[13]

Councillor Party Notes
Nathan Zamprogno Independent Elected Liberal in the 2016–2021 term, now independent
Sarah McMahon Liberal Mayor 2022–date
Mary Lyons-Buckett Independent Mayor 2018–2020, Deputy Mayor 2016–2018
Barry Calvert Labor Deputy Mayor 2018–date, Mayor 2016–2018, Deputy Mayor 2022–date
Patrick Conolly Liberal Mayor 2020–2022
Paul Veigel Liberal
Jill Reardon Liberal
Danielle Wheeler Greens
Les Sheather Independent
Eddie Dogramaci The Small Business Party
Amanda Kotlash Labor
Shane Djuric Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party

2021 election results edit

Elected councillor Party
  Sarah McMahon Liberal
  Patrick Conolly Liberal
  Paul Veigel Liberal
  Jill Reardon Liberal
  Barry Calvert Labor
  Amanda Kotlash Labor
  Mary Lyons-Buckett People Not Parties
  Nathan Zamprogno Ind. Liberal
  Les Sheather Les and The Doc
  Shane Djuric SFF
  Danielle Wheeler Greens
  Eddie Dogramaci Small Business
2021 New South Wales local elections: Hawkesbury[14][15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal 13,577 34.3 +6.0
Labor 4,783 12.1 −4.3
People Not Parties 3,846 9.7
Independent Liberal 3,357 8.5
Les and The Doc 2,916 7.4
Shooters, Fishers, Farmers 2,821 7.1 +7.1
Greens 2,795 7.1 −0.8
Small Business 1,899 4.8 +4.8
Andrew Cadman Group 1,070 2.7
Independent 947 2.4
Hawkesbury Alliance 944 2.4
The Locals 448 1.1
Independent John Ross 85 0.2
Total formal votes 39,488 94.9
Informal votes 2,135 5.1
Turnout 41,623 86.1

Mayors edit

Mayor Party Term Notes
1981 – 27 September 1994
Dr Rex Stubbs Independent 27 September 1994 – 30 September 1997 [16]
30 September 1997 – 29 September 1999
Dr Rex Stubbs OAM Independent 29 September 1999 – 27 September 2004 [16]
Bart Bassett Liberal 27 September 2004 – 18 September 2006 [17]
Dr Rex Stubbs OAM Independent 18 September 2006 – 18 September 2007 [18]
Bart Bassett Liberal 18 September 2007 – 20 September 2011 [19]
Kim Ford 20 September 2011 – 10 September 2016 [20][21][22]
Mary Lyons-Buckett Independent 27 September 2016 – 18 September 2018 [23]
Barry Calvert Labor 18 September 2018 – 22 September 2020 [24]
Patrick Conolly Liberal 22 September 2020 – 23 August 2022 [25]
Sarah McMahon Liberal 23 August 2022 – date

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Hawkesbury (Local Government Area)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
  2. ^ "Hawkesbury - A Brief Look At The History Of The Hawkesbury". www.westernsydneylibraries.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  3. ^ Grassby, Albert Jaime; Hill, Marji (1988). Six Australian Battlefields. Angus & Robertson. p. 324. ISBN 1864486724.
  4. ^ "ELECTIONS POSTPONED 40 country councils in NSW to amalgamate". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 346. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 June 1980. p. 6. Retrieved 2 November 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Details of new NSW local government". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 459. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 October 1980. p. 9. Retrieved 2 November 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "History of the Hawkesbury". Hawkesbury City Council. 2012. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  7. ^ "LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1919—PROCLAMATION". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 81. New South Wales, Australia. 30 June 1989. p. 3854. Retrieved 8 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Hawkesbury". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 February 2024.  
  9. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Hawkesbury (C)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 November 2012.  
  10. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Hawkesbury (C)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 October 2018.  
  11. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Hawkesbury (C)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 November 2012.  
  12. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Hawkesbury (C)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Hawkesbury City Council". Local Government Elections 2021. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  14. ^ "City of Hawkesbury". ABC News.
  15. ^ "Hawkesbury Council election will be held on Saturday, December 4". Hawkesbury Gazette.
  16. ^ a b "Councillors – Biographical Details". Hawkesbury City Council. Archived from the original on 15 July 2004. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Councillor Bart Bassett". Councillors – Biographical details. Hawkesbury City Council. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  18. ^ "Dr Rex STUBBS – Medal of the Order of Australia". It's an Honour database. Australian Government. 11 June 2001. Retrieved 9 March 2019. For service to local government, and to the community of the Hawkesbury area.
  19. ^ "Special Meeting Minutes" (PDF). City of Hawkesbury. 18 September 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Extraordinary Meeting Minutes" (PDF). City of Hawkesbury. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  21. ^ Machado, Lawrence (22 September 2014). "Liberal Kim Ford scores a fourth term as Hawkesbury Mayor". Rouse Hill Times. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  22. ^ Shaw, Roderick (16 September 2015). "Hawkesbury Mayor re-elected with new deputy". Hawkesbury Gazette. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  23. ^ "NEW MAYOR AND DEPUTY MAYOR ELECTED FOR HAWKESBURY". Hills to Hawkesbury Living. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  24. ^ Pollard, Krystyna (19 September 2018). "Name of new mayor pulled out of hat after votes deadlocked at council". Hawkesbury Gazette. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  25. ^ Lawrence, Matt (23 September 2020). "Patrick Conolly elected Hawkesbury Mayor for final year of term". Hawkesbury Gazette. Retrieved 21 March 2021.

External links edit

  • Hawkesbury City Council - Home