City of Greater Geraldton

The City of Greater Geraldton is a local government area in the Mid West region of Western Australia, 424 kilometres (263 mi) north of the state capital, Perth on the Indian Ocean. It covers an area of 12,625.5 square kilometres (4,874.7 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Geraldton.

This article is about a local government area. For the city, see Geraldton.

City of Greater Geraldton
Western Australia
Location in Western Australia
Population38,634 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density3.06000/km2 (7.92536/sq mi)
Established2011
Area12,625.5 km2 (4,874.7 sq mi)
Council seatGeraldton
RegionMid West
State electorate(s)Geraldton
Federal Division(s)Durack
WebsiteCity of Greater Geraldton
LGAs around City of Greater Geraldton:
Indian Ocean Murchison, Chapman Valley Murchison
Indian Ocean City of Greater Geraldton Yalgoo
Indian Ocean Mingenew, Irwin Morawa

It was established on 1 July 2011 following the amalgamation of the Shire of Mullewa and the City of Geraldton-Greenough, itself a product of a 2007 amalgamation between the City of Geraldton and Shire of Greenough.

History

A recommendation was made to the Minister for Local Government by the Local Government Advisory Board in August 2006 to amalgamate the Shire of Greenough with the City of Geraldton.

The Greenough electors successfully petitioned for a referendum to determine whether amalgamation should proceed. This was held on 2 December 2006, and with a participation rate of 28.74%, a majority of 80% voted against the proposal.[2] However, under the Local Government Act 1995 (clause 10 of Schedule 2.1) as the vote did not attract 50% of registered voters, it did not meet the requirements for a valid poll.[3]

The Liberal government, elected in mid-2008, announced its intentions to amalgamate local governments around the state in line with reforms undertaken elsewhere in Australia. Ultimately, the plan did not succeed, but a number of local governments commenced negotiations for voluntary mergers. One such group included the City, the Shire of Chapman Valley and the Shire of Mullewa. In February 2010, Chapman Valley decided not to proceed, citing community opposition.[4][5] In December 2010, the Local Government Advisory Board approved the merger.[6] Polls were held in both municipalities, with 72.61% of voters in Geraldton-Greenough and 83.23% of voters in Mullewa voting against the merger.[7] However, both polls failed to reach the minimum 50% required to be a valid poll, and the City of Greater Geraldton came into being on 1 July 2011.

Until the October 2011 elections, the council was administered by five commissioners, led by Ron Yuryevich, the mayor of City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, and including Ian Carpenter, the mayor of the former City and Nino Messina, the mayor of the former Shire.[8]

Wards

The City is divided into seven wards, each with two councillors, plus a directly elected mayor to serve the entire district.[9]

Suburbs

There are 57 individual suburbs within the City of Greater Geraldton.

Towns

Mayors
Main article: List of mayors of Geraldton

Population

The population of Greater Geraldton grew from 34,019 in 2001 to 38,634 at the 2016 census, representing an increase of 14%. Unemployment in Greater Geraldton at the census was estimated at 8.8%, compared to 7.8% in Western Australia and 6.9% nationally.[1]

The historical populations of the area which formed Geraldton-Greenough were:

Year Population Geraldton Greenough Mullewa
19216,3654,1741,375816
19338,1624,9841,5561,622
19478,8645,9721,5671,325
195411,3378,3091,3711,657
196113,84210,8941,3211,627
196615,54412,1251,5941,825
197118,88715,1181,9201,849
197622,50117,6632,9791,859
198125,35619,0964,6121,648
198627,17619,9235,7981,455
199129,53720,5217,6261,390
199631,23719,72410,3371,176
200132,19619,17911,9271,090
200633,37218,91613,545911

Heritage-listed places
Main article: List of State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Greater Geraldton

As of 2020, 733 places are heritage-listed in the City of Greater Geraldton,[10] of which 84 are on the State Register of Heritage Places.[11]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Greater Geraldton (C)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. Western Australian Electoral Commission (2 December 2006). "Greenough – Voting in Person Referendum". Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  3. Local Government Advisory Board (December 2006). "Inquiry Reports – Geraldton Greenough Inquiry Report". Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2007.
  4. "Local mergers 'doomed from beginning'". ABC News. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  5. "Councils push ahead with merger deal". ABC News. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  6. Local Government Advisory Board (December 2010). "Assessment of the Proposals for Amalgamation and Boundary Amendments involving the City of Geraldton-Greenough and the Shires of Mullewa and Chapman Valley". Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  7. Western Australian Electoral Commission (16 April 2011). Mullewa Archived 14 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine and Geraldton-Greenough Archived 14 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine results. Accessed 26 July 2011.
  8. City of Greater Geraldton. "Commissioners". Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  9. "Local Government Act 1995 – City of Geraldton-Greenough (Creation) Order 2007" (PDF). Western Australia Government Gazette. 30 March 2007. pp. 2007:1458–1468. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  10. "City of Greater Geraldton Heritage Places". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  11. "City of Greater Geraldton State Register of Heritage Places". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2020.

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