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Wyong Shire
	Wyong Shire; New South Wales
	; Location of Wyong Shire
Population:	144,297
Established:	1947
Area:	827 km² (319.3 sq mi)
Mayor:	Bob Graham
Council Seat:	Wyong
Region:	Central Coast
State District:	Wyong, The Entrance, Lake Macquarie, Swansea
Federal Division:	Dobell, Shortland
	Website: http://www.wyong.nsw.gov.au
	LGAs around Wyong Shire:

Wyong Shire is located in New South Wales, Australia, specifically in the Central Coast region, north of Sydney. Wyong Shire's administrative centre is located in the town of Wyong, and the Council maintains service and information centres at The Entrance, Tuggerah and at Lakehaven Shopping Centre. The Council and the City of Gosford control the Gosford/Wyong Councils' Water Authority, which operates the Mangrove Creek Dam.

Wyong Shire is located around the coastal lake system of Tuggerah Lake, Budgewoi Lake and Lake Munmorah. It includes a coastal strip from Bateau Bay to Budgewoi, some lakeside towns and residential areas, some inland towns on the coastal plain and a sparsely populated region to the west with some rural townships (Yarramalong, Dooralong, Jilliby) and regions of native bush (Kulnura).

The council area is bounded

North by the City of Lake Macquarie, the boundary running along the southern shore of Lake Macquarie, then through Wyee and then North-West between Lemon Tree and Cooranbong.
West by City of Cessnock.
South by City of Gosford, the boundary running Bateau Bay and Forresters Beach, through Tumbi Umbi, Holgate, Lisarow, Somersby and Kulnura,
East by the Pacific Ocean

[edit] History

1889 saw the opening of the railway from Sydney to Newcastle, and Wyong turning into a proper township with the opening of the Royal Hotel and the first post office was established. The railway was the making of the timber industry. In its heyday, around the turn of the century, Wyong exported thousands of railway sleepers. In 1903 the Lighthouse at Norah Head was built and the first few houses began to appear at The Entrance. Already early tourists were making the trip to Tuggerah Lakes - by boat, horse-drawn vehicle and train - to take advantage of fishing and walking opportunities in the area, and the population of the Shire grew over time. Roads, bridges and boarding houses were built. In 1947, Wyong Shire was created out of the old Erina Shire.

[edit] Council

Wyong Shire Council is composed of ten councillors elected proportionally. The area is divided into two wards, each electing five councillors. The mayor is not directly elected.^[1] The current makeup of the council is as follows:^[1]

Party		Councillors
	Independents	4
	Australian Labor Party	3
	Liberal Party of Australia	2
	The Greens	1
	Total	10

The current council, elected in 2008, is:^[1]

Ward		Party	Notes
A Ward	Doug Vincent	Labor
	Greg Best	Independent
	John McNamara	Liberal	Deputy Mayor
	Bill Symington	Independent
	Sue Wynn	Greens
B Ward	Emma McBride	Labor
	Lynne Webster	Liberal
	Bob Graham	Independent	Mayor
	Lisa Matthews	Labor
	Doug Eaton	Independent

[edit] Industries and services

University of Newcastle (NSW) has a Campus at Ourimbah
The NSW Police Assistance Line (PAL) call centre operates from Tuggerah Business Park.

[edit] Demographics

According to the Australian Bureau Statistics ^[2], there:

- were 144,297 people as at 30 June 2006, the 16th largest Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 2.1% of the New South Wales population of 6,827,694

- was an increase of 1,480 people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 8th largest population growth in a Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 2.5% of the 58,753 increase in the population of New South Wales

- was, in percentage terms, an increase of 1.0% in the number of people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 45th fastest growth in population of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 0.9%

- was an increase in population over the 10 years to 30 June 2006 of 24,112 people or 20% (1.8% in annual average terms), the 17th highest rate of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 622,966 or 10% (1.0% in annual average terms) over the same period.

[edit] Incomes

According to the Australian Bureau Statistics ^[3] during 2003-04, there:

- were 47,654 wage and salary earners (ranked 18th in New South Wales and 47th in Australia, 1.8% of New South Wales's 2,558,415 and 0.6% of Australia's 7,831,856)

- was a total income of $1,681,886,926 (around $1.7 billion) (ranked 22nd in New South Wales and 56th in Australia, 1.6% of New South Wales's $107,179,688,262 (around $107 billion) and 0.6% of Australia's $304,034,755,876 (around $304 billion))

- was an estimated average income per wage and salary earner of $35,294 (ranked 72nd in New South Wales and 227th in Australia, 85% of New South Wales's $41,407 and 91% of Australia's $38,820)

- was an estimated median income per wage and salary earner of $32,173 (ranked 76th in New South Wales and 252nd in Australia, 91% of New South Wales's $35,479 and 94% of Australia's $34,149).

[edit] Suburbs and towns

Western area:

[edit] Population and Education Statistics

Some brief population and education statistics from the 2001 Australian Census, Australian Bureau of Statistics http://www.abs.gov.au/

	Wyong			NSW			Australia
	2001	1996	1991	2001	1996	1991	2001	1996	1991
Population (incr. to 2001)	130854	115999 (12.8%)	100643 (30.0%)	6,371,745	6,038,696 (3.3%)	5,732,032 (11.2%)	18,972,350	17,892,423 (6.0%)	16,850,334 (12.6%)
0-14 (proportion)	29599 (22.7%)			1,313,350 (20.8%)			3,912,475 (20.8%)
15-24 (proportion)	14848 (11.4%)			845,345 (13.4%)			2,566,346 (13.6%)
25-44 (proportion)	34720 (26.6%)			1,880,360 (29.8%)			5,591,476 (30.0%)
45-64 (proportion)	28426 (21.8%)			1,443,638 (22.9%)			4,328,074 (23.1%)
65+ (proportion)	22943 (17.6%)			828,475 (13.1%)			2,370,878 (12.5%)
Median age	37	xx	xx	35	34	32	35	34	32
Australian-born	82.1%	xx%	xx%	70.5%	73.3%	75.1%	72.6%	74.5%	75.8%
Post-Secondary Education
Postgraduate	xx%	xx%	xx%	3.4%	2.9%	2.1%	3.2%	2.7%	1.9%
Bachelor	xx%	xx%	xx%	10.1%	8.0%	5.8%	9.7%	7.7%	5.7%
Diploma/Certificate	xx%	xx%	xx%	22.7%	20.6%	19.8%	21.8%	19.6%	18.8%