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City of Shellharbour New South Wales
Location in the Illawarra
Coordinates	34°35′S 150°52′E / 34.583°S 150.867°E / -34.583; 150.867
Population	76,271 (2021 census) 72,240 (2018 est.)
• Density	518.9/km (1,344/sq mi)
Established	1859
Area	147 km (56.8 sq mi)
Mayor	Chris Homer
Council seat	Shellharbour City Centre
Region	Illawarra
State electorate(s)	Shellharbour Kiama
Federal division(s)	Whitlam Gilmore
Website	City of Shellharbour
LGAs around City of Shellharbour: Wingecarribee Wollongong Tasman Sea Wingecarribee City of Shellharbour Tasman Sea Wingecarribee Kiama Tasman Sea

The City of Shellharbour is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The city is located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Sydney and covers the southern suburbs of the Wollongong urban area centred on Shellharbour and it had an estimated population of 68,460 at the 2016 census.

The area is bordered by the City of Wollongong to the north, with the boundary being the Lake Illawarra entrance (and the suburb of Lake Illawarra) and Macquarie Rivulet (Albion Park Rail). The Municipality of Kiama is to the south of the City of Shellharbour.

The mayor of the Shellharbour City Council is Cr. Chris Homer.

History

Indigenous occupation of the area, particularly of Bass Point, can be traced back to 17,000 BCE.

The area was discovered by Europeans Bass and Flinders in 1796. Free settlers began arriving between 1817 and 1831 and the township was founded in 1851. The Shellharbour (Municipal) Council was constituted on 4 June 1859, and was gazetted as a City in 1996. In May 2009, Shellharbour City Council celebrated its sesquicentenary.

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the City of Shellharbour merge with the City of Wollongong to form a new council with an area of 831 square kilometres (321 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 276,000. On 13 February 2017, the New South Wales Government decided not to forcibly amalgamate Shellharbour Council with Wollongong Council.

Heritage listings

The City of Shellharbour has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Albion Park, Tullimbar Road: Toongla
• Albion Park Rail, Princes Highway: Albion Park railway station
• Dunmore, Illawarra railway: Dunmore railway station
• Shell Cove, Boollwarroo Parade: Bass Point Reserve

Suburbs

The City of Shellharbour contains the following suburbs and localities:

• Albion Park
• Albion Park Rail
• Barrack Heights
• Barrack Point
• Blackbutt
• Calderwood
• Croom
• Dunmore
• Flinders
• Lake Illawarra
• Macquarie Pass
• Mount Warrigal
• North Macquarie
• Oak Flats
• Shell Cove
• Shellharbour
• Shellharbour City Centre
• Tongarra
• Tullimbar
• Warilla
• Yallah
• Yellow Rock

Council

Current composition and election method

As of 2023, Shellharbour City Council is composed of eight councillors elected proportionally in four wards.. Under the Local Government (Shellharbour and Wollongong Elections) Act, 2011 (NSW), councillors are elected to hold office until September 2024. Since 2021, the mayor has been directly elected.

The current council, elected in 2021, is:

Election results

2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Shellharbour

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		18,870	40.2	−21.6	3	1
	Kellie Marsh Independents		8,705	18.6	−6.9	2	1
	Chris Homer Independents		6,958	14.8		1
	Kane Murphy Independents		4,784	10.2		1	1
	Independents		7,586	16.2	−0.1	1	1
Formal votes			46,903	92.3
Informal votes			3,940	7.7
Total			50,843			8
Registered voters / turnout

2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Shellharbour

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		21,199	61.8	+12.5	4	1
	Kellie Marsh Independents		8,746	25.5		1
	Independent		5,583	16.3		2
	Local Voice		3,454	10.1		1
	Community Voice		3,416	10.0		0
Formal votes			34,282	94.9
Informal votes			1,845	5.1
Total votes			36,127	100.0
Registered voters / turnout			55,825	64.71

Attractions

Shellharbour City has many attractions for family entertainment and recreation. In Albion Park Rail there is a Light Rail Museum and steam trains, Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Museum, and Albion Oval; a local sports ground. Shellharbour Village, the beach and playground are also popular attractions. Excellent fishing at Lake Illawarra and superb surfing at Warilla beach. A cycleway goes from Oak Flats to Barrack Point. The Macquarie Valley (Shellharbour) provides scenic views and also includes the Macquarie Pass National Park.

There are various beaches in Shellharbour such as the Blacks Beach, Shellharbour North Beach, Shellharbour South Beach, Warilla Central Beach, Warilla North Beach, and Warilla South Beach which are some of the major crowd pullers.

See also

• Local government areas of New South Wales

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Shellharbour". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
2. "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019. Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.
3. "Shellharbour City Council". Department of Local Government. Archived from the original on 6 September 2006. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
4. shh-admin (4 December 2018). "Chris Homer (Mayor)". Shellharbour Council. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
5. "Bass and Flinders". Australian History. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
6. "Our History". Shellharbour City Council. Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
7. "Merger proposal: Shellharbour City Council, Wollongong City Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016 – via Amazon Web Services.
8. "Toongla". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H00556. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
9. "Albion Park Railway Station Group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01072. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
10. "Shellharbour Railway Station Group". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01245. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
11. "Bass Point Reserve". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Department of Planning & Environment. H01896. Retrieved 18 May 2018. Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under CC BY 4.0 licence.
12. "City of Shellharbour". ABC News. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
13. "As we approach the last day of pre polls tomorrow I encourage those who have not voted yet to come down to Bing Lee at Warilla or the Scout Hall at Station Rd Albion Park and get the job done before Saturday". Facebook. Community Voice for Shellharbour - Peter Moran and Tammy Larkings. 2 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
14. "Beaches and pools". Shellharbour City Council. 7 November 2018. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019.

External links

• Local tourist information

• Populated places established in 1859
• 1859 establishments in Australia
• City of Shellharbour
• Local government areas of New South Wales