CITY OF GERALDTON-GREENOUGH

The 'City of Geraldton-Greenough' is a new Local Government Area in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth on the Indian Ocean. The City covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Geraldton. It came into existence in 2007 through the amalgamation of the former City of Geraldton and Shire of Greenough.

Contents

History

City of Geraldton

Shire of Greenough

Amalgamation

Wards

Suburbs

Towns

References

History

City of Geraldton

Geraldton was gazetted as a municipal district in 1871. On 1 July 1961, it became a Town Council following changes to the Local Government Act. On 22 April 1988, Geraldton attained city status.WA Electoral Commission, ''Municipality Boundary Amendments Register'' (release 2.0), 31 May 2003.

Shire of Greenough

The Greenough and Geraldton Road Boards - the latter not to be confused with Geraldton Municipal Council - were gazetted in 1871. Initially, Greenough included all of Murchison, which split away in 1875 and Mullewa, which formed in 1911. In 1951, Geraldton and Greenough merged, and in 1961 became the Shire of Geraldton-Greenough after changes to the Local Government Act. In 1965, it was renamed the Shire of Greenough.

Amalgamation

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.^[1] 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.^[2]
The councillors of both local government authorities resigned at the end of April 2007, and elections for the new local government are planned for October 2007. The entity will be run by three commissioners in the interim, headed by Jeff Carr, who was the state member for Geraldton from 1974 until 1991.

Wards

The City will be divided into six wards, each with 2 councillors.^[3] The Local Government Advisory Board has recommended that the mayor be elected from amongst the councillors, as opposed to a directly elected mayor such as the former City of Geraldton.

★ North Ward

★ Central Ward

★ West Ward

★ South Ward

★ South East Ward

★ East Ward

Suburbs

★ Beachlands

★ Beresford

★ Bluff Point

★ Deepdale

★ Geraldton

★ Glenfield

★ Karloo

★ Mahomets Flats

★ Moresby

★ Mount Tarcoola

★ Narngulu

★ Rangeway

★ Rudds Gully

★ Spalding

★ Strathalbyn

★ Sunset Beach

★ Tarcoola Beach

★ Utakarra

★ Waggrakine

★ Wandina

★ Webberton

★ West End

★ Wonthella

★ Woorree

Towns

★ Cape Burney

★ Drummond Cove

★ Eradu

★ Greenough

★ Kojarena

★ Minnenooka

★ Moonyoonooka

★ Walkaway

★ Wicherina

References

1. Greenough - Voting In Person Referendum
2. Inquiry Reports - Geraldton Greenough Inquiry Report Local Government Advisory Board
3. Local Government Act 1995 - City of Geraldton-Greenough (Creation) Order 2007