Byron Shire is a Local Government Area

Local Government Areas of New South Wales

The local government areas of New South Wales, Australia have been subject to periodic bouts of restructuring and rationalisation by the State Government, involving voluntary and involuntary amalgamation of areas...

 located in the North Coast region of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, on the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 coast between 50 and 80 kilometres (30-50 mi) south of the Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 border. The shire, administered from the town of Mullumbimby

Mullumbimby, New South Wales

Mullumbimby is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia in Byron Shire, and is colloquially referred to as The Biggest Little Town in Australia. It lies at the foot of Mount Chincogan in the Brunswick Valley about from the sea...

, covers an area of 566.7 square kilometres (218.8 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1906. It was named for Cape Byron

Cape Byron

Cape Byron is the easternmost point of the mainland of Australia. It is located about northeast of the town of Byron Bay and projects into the Pacific Ocean...

, itself named by Captain Cook in May 1770 in honour of Admiral John Byron

John Byron

Vice Admiral The Hon. John Byron, RN was a Royal Navy officer. He was known as Foul-weather Jack because of his frequent bad luck with weather.-Early career:...

.

History

Byron Shire was created on 7 March 1906 under the Shires Act 1906 as one of 134 local government areas in regional New South Wales. On 16 May 1906, a temporary council of five members was appointed to administer it, and elections were held in November. On 4 December, the council convened for the first time with William Robert Baker as its inaugural president.

On 1 July 1908, the Mullumbimby Municipality was created out of part of Byron. On 1 October 1980, the municipality and the shire were re-amalgamated by direction of the Minister for Local Government.

Demographics

At the 2006 census, Byron Shire had a population of 28,766.

	Byron	Region	State
Median age	41	42	37
Median weekly individual income	$383	$370	$461
% of residents born overseas	25.3	17.8	31.0
% Indigenous population	1.5	3.3	2.1

The most popular religious affiliations in descending order in the 2006 census were no religion (30%), Catholic, Anglican, Uniting and Presbyterian. A small Jewish minority also exists within the shire.

Towns and localities

Byron (SE) Byron Bay Byron Bay, New South Wales Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjacent to the town, is the easternmost point of mainland Australia. At the 2006 Census, the town had a... Bangalow Bangalow, New South Wales Bangalow is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in Byron Shire with a population of 1,327. The town is 765 km north of Sydney and 167 km south of Brisbane, just off the Pacific Highway... Broken Head Coopers Shoot Ewingsdale Hayters Hill McLeods Shoot Newrybar (shared with Ballina) Skinners Shoot Skinners Shoot, New South Wales Skinners Shoot is a small locality in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 4 km southwest of Byron Bay. In 2006, Skinners Shoot had a population of 275 people.... Suffolk Park Talofa Tyagarah

Mullumbimby/Brunswick (NE) Mullumbimby Mullumbimby, New South Wales Mullumbimby is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia in Byron Shire, and is colloquially referred to as The Biggest Little Town in Australia. It lies at the foot of Mount Chincogan in the Brunswick Valley about from the sea... Brunswick Heads Brunswick Heads, New South Wales Brunswick Heads is a town on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia in Byron Shire. In 2006, the town had a population of 1,614 people.... Billinudgel Billinudgel, New South Wales Billinudgel is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and is part of Byron Shire. It used to be a railway town with many fruits and vegetable loaded onto the local railway. Since the railway was not longer used in Billinudgel it has nearly joined to the nearby town of... Crabbes Creek Montecollum Mullumbimby Creek Myocum New Brighton New Brighton, New South Wales New Brighton, New South Wales is a small town located north-west of Ocean Shores. It includes a soccer field home to the Shores United Soccer Club and is very close to the Ocean Shores Public School located in North Ocean Shores, New South Wales.-References:... Ocean Shores Ocean Shores, New South Wales Ocean Shores is a coastal town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. Since being established in the early 1970s it has grown to a reasonable size town. It is the largest town north Byron Bay in the Byron Shire and second largest in the shire. It is located in the Brunswick Valley - a... South Golden Beach South Golden Beach, New South Wales South Golden Beach is a town in New South Wales, Australia in Byron Shire. It is off the Pacific Highway, close to Byron Bay, Ocean Shores, Billinudgel and the Queensland border. At the 2006 census, South Golden Beach had a population of 1,729 people.... The Pocket Wilsons Creek Wooyung (shared with Tweed) Yelgun

Other (W) Binna Burra Booyong (shared with Lismore City of Lismore The City of Lismore is a local government area in New South Wales, Australia. Its primary city, Lismore is a major regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the state.-Demographics:... ) Coorabell Durrumbul Eureka Federal Goonengerry Huonbrook Koonyum Range Main Arm Middle Pocket Nashua Palmwoods Possum Creek Repentance Creek Upper Coopers Creek Upper Main Arm Upper Wilsons Creek Wanganui

Population

Census populations for the Byron Shire and Mullumbimby Municipality between 1911 and 1966, sourced from the New South Wales Statistical Register, were as follows:

Year	Total	Byron	Mullumbimby
1911	7,504	6,553	951
1921	9,628	8,299	1,329
1933	9,329	7,967	1,362
1947	10,393	8,784	1,609
1954	10,921	8,904	2,017
1961	10,469	8,505	1,964
1966	9,953	7,972	1,981

Later census figures for the entire area are as follows:

Year	Population
1976	10,916
1981	15,426
1986	18,342
1991	22,599
1996	27,007
2001	28,916
2006	29,423

Council

Byron Shire Council is composed of eight councillors elected proportionally, and the mayor, directly elected. The current makeup of the council, including the mayor, is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	The Greens Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...	4
	Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	4
	Our Sustainable Future	1
	Total	9

The current council, elected in 2008, is:

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Jan Barham Jan Barham Jan Barham is an Australian politician. She has been a Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since the 2011 state election.As of 2011, Jan Barham's portfolio responsibilities within the Greens include: Family and Community Services, Aging, Disability Services, Aboriginal Affairs,...	Greens Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...	Mayor
	Simon Richardson	Greens Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
	Ross Tucker	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Tom Tabart	Greens Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...	Deputy Mayor
	Tony Heeson	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Elected on Ross Tucker's ticket
	Richard Staples	Greens Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
	Patrick Morrisey	Our Sustainable Future
	Diane Woods	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Elected on Ross Tucker's Ticket
	Basil Cameron	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...