Bega Valley Shire

The Bega Valley Shire is a local government area located adjacent to the south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of the Municipality of Bega, Imlay Shire and Mumbulla Shire, with its name deriving from the town of Bega. The shire is also known as the Sapphire Coast for tourism and marketing purposes. During the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, the area was devastated by fire, with 448 houses being destroyed by fire and approximately 365,000 hectares burned, which is 58% of the Shire's total land mass.

The estimated population as at the 2021 census was 35,942.

The current mayor is Russell Fitzpatrick, an independent who joined the Liberal Party in 2023.

History

Yuin since ancient times (at least 5000BC). First white settlers in early 1800s, farming, timber, fishing, mining.

Area

The shire covers 6,040 square kilometres (2,330 sq mi), and includes a coastline of 225 km (140 mi), with 101 beaches and 26 estuaries. Around 78% of the area belongs to various national parks and state forests. The biggest industry is the production of timber, followed by dairy farming and other agriculture. Smaller industries include fishing, oyster harvesting, and tourism. The Biamanga National Park includes important Aboriginal sites.

Towns and localities

The area extends from Bermagui in the north to the Victorian border in the south and includes the towns of Bega, Tathra, Merimbula, Tura Beach, Wolumla, Cobargo, Bemboka, Pambula, Pambula Beach and the former whaling port, tourism hotspot, and major port of Eden.

Smaller localities include:

Angledale
Bald Hills
Barragga Bay
Berrambool
Black Range
Bournda
Boydtown
Broadwater
Brogo
Buckajo
Burragate
Candelo
Chinnock
Coolagolite
Coopers Gully
Cuttagee
Devils Hole
Dignams Creek
Doctor George Mountain
Edrom
Frogs Hollow
Greendale
Greigs Flat
Jellat Jellat
Kalaru
Kameruka
Kanoona
Kiah
Kingswood
Lochiel
Millingandi
Mirador
Mogareeka
Mogilla
Morans Crossing
Mount Darragh
Murrah
Myrtle Mountain
Narrabarba
Nelson
Nethercote
New Buildings
Nullica
Numbugga
Nungatta (part)
Nungatta South
Pericoe
Quaama
Reedy Swamp
Rocky Hall
South Pambula
South Wolumla
Stony Creek
Tanja
Tantawangalo
Tarraganda
Timbillica
Toothdale
Towamba
Verona
Wallagoot
Wandella
Wapengo
Wolumla
Wonboyn
Wyndham
Yellow Pinch
Yowrie

Council

Bega Valley Shire Council is composed of nine 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:

Party	Councillors
	Independent	6
	Labor	1
	Independent Liberal	1
	Greens	1
	Total	9

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

Party	Notes
Helen O’Neil	Labor
Karen Wright	Independent
Russel Fitzpatrick	Independent Liberal	Mayor
Tony Allen	Independent
Cathy Griff	Greens	Deputy Mayor
Mitch Nadin	Independent
David Porter	Independent
Liz Seckold	Independent
Joy Robin	Independent

Election results

2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Bega Valley
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independents For Change	1. Mitchell Nadin (elected) 2. David Porter (elected) 3. Peggy Noble (elected) 4. Jason Hetherington 5. Morgan Eneberg	7,374	34.63	+34.63
	Labor	1. Helen O'Neil (elected) 2. Simon Daly (elected) 3. David Neyle 4. Nicola Collins	5,296	24.87	+7.57
	Greens	1. Peter Haggar (elected) 2. Liane Munro 3. Emma Goward 4. Vivian Harris 5. Jamie Shaw	2,926	13.74	+1.34
	Independent	Russell Fitzpatrick (elected mayor)	2,044	9.60	−3.50
	Independent	Tony Allen (elected)	1,836	8.62	−3.48
	Independent	Clair Mudaliar (elected)	1,082	5.08	+5.08
	Independent	Phillip Dummett	733	3.44	+3.44
Total formal votes	21,291	90.87	−0.53
Informal votes	2,138	9.13	+0.53
Turnout	23,429

2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Bega Valley
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Helen O'Neil (elected) 2. Simon Daly	4,943	17.3
	Independent	Russell Fitzpatrick (elected)	2,818	13.1
	Greens	1. Cathy Griff (elected) 2. Vivian Harris 3. Paula Park 4. Angus Ashcroft 5. Peter Haggar	2,665	12.4
	Independent	Tony Allen (elected)	2,594	12.1
	Independent	Karen Wright (elected)	2,539	11.8
	Independent	Mitch Nadin (elected)	1,201	5.6
	Independent	Joy Robin (elected)	1,080	5.0
	Independent	David Porter (elected)	1,003	4.7
	Independent	Mike Britten	884	4.1
	Independent	Liz Seckhold (elected)	875	4.1
	Independent	Nathan O'Donnell	852	4.0
	Independent	Joshua Shoobridge	650	3.0
	Independent	Neil Bourke	568	2.6
Total formal votes	21,435	91.4
Informal votes	2,026	8.6
Turnout	23,461	87.9

Demographics

Selected historical census data for Bega Valley Shire local government area
Census year	2011	2016	2021
Population	Estimated residents on census night	31,950	33,253	35,942
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales	56th	57th
% of New South Wales population	0.46%	0.44%	0.44%
% of Australian population	0.15%	0.14%	0.14%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses	English	32.5%	31.9%	43.8%
Australian	31.3%	30.9%	40.7
Irish	9.3%	9.2%	13.0%
Scottish	8.4%	8.2%	11.4%
German	3.8%	3.7%	5.1%
Language, top responses (other than English)	German	0.6%	0.5%	0.4%
Dutch	0.3%	0.2%	–
Italian	0.2%	0.2%	–
French	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
Thai	n/r	0.2%	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses	No religion, so described	26.7%	35.1%	46.9%
Anglican	27.3%	21.9%	16.4%
Catholic	20.0%	17.9%	15.1%
Not stated	n/r	10.4%	8.3%
Uniting Church	4.6%	3.7%	2.7%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income	Median weekly personal income	$454	$538	$645
% of Australian median income	78.7%	81.3%	80.1%
Family income	Median weekly family income	$1,014	$1,242	$1,501
% of Australian median income	68.5%	71.6%	70.8%
Household income	Median weekly household income	$848	$986	$1,200
% of Australian median income	68.7%	68.6%	68.7%