# Tweed Shire

Tweed Shire is a local government area located in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. It is adjacent to the border with Queensland, where that meets the Coral Sea. Administered from the town of Murwillumbah, Tweed Shire covers an area of 1,321 square kilometres (510 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1947. It was named for the Tweed River.
The current mayor of Tweed Shire Council is Cr. Chris Cherry.

## History

The European history of the Tweed Shire began in 1823 when the Tweed River was explored by John Oxley. After sheltering on Cook Island (4 km from the river's mouth), Oxely travelled 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) up river. In 1828, Captain H. J. Rous explored 50 kilometres (31 mi) up the river. Settlers began to arrive in 1828, the first of which were the cedar getters, who came to harvest Great Red Cedars and send them back to England. During the height of the cedar logging industry, the Tweed Valley was one of the wealthiest districts in Australia.
The Municipality of Murwillumbah was created on 25 May 1902, and held its first meeting on 22 August 1902, at which Peter Street was elected its first mayor. The Shire of Tweed, with its primary centre of population at Tumbulgum on the Tweed River, came into being in the surrounding area on 7 March 1906 with the enactment of the Local Government Act 1906 (NSW). On 1 January 1947, the two amalgamated to form Tweed Shire.

## Heritage listings

The Tweed Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
* Murwillumbah, Casino-Murwillumbah railway: Murwillumbah railway station
* High Conservation Value Old Growth forest

## Towns and localities
### Tweed Heads

* Tweed Heads
* Banora Point
* Bilambil
* Bilambil Heights
* Chinderah
* Fingal Head
* Kingscliff
* Piggabeen
* Terranora
* Tweed Heads South
* Tweed Heads West

### Tweed Coast

* Bogangar
* Cabarita Beach
* Casuarina
* Cudgen
* Duranbah
* Hastings Point
* Kingscliff
* Pottsville
* Round Mountain
* Tanglewood
* Wooyung

### Murwillumbah

* Murwillumbah
* Bray Park
* Byangum
* Fernvale
* South Murwillumbah

### Villages

* Burringbar
* Chillingham
* Condong
* Kunghur
* Tomewin
* Tumbulgum
* Tyalgum
* Uki

### Other localities

* Brays Creek
* Bungalora
* Cedar Creek
* Carool
* Clothiers Creek
* Cobaki
* Cobaki Lakes
* Crystal Creek
* Cudgera Creek
* Doon Doon
* Dum Dum
* Dunbible
* Dungay
* Duroby
* Eungella
* Glengarrie
* Kielvale
* Kings Forest
* Kynnumboon
* Limpinwood
* Midginbil
* Mooball
* Mount Burrell
* Mount Warning
* Nobbys Creek
* North Arm
* Numinbah
* Pumpenbil
* Reserve Creek
* Stokers Siding
* Stotts Creek
* Terragon
* Tygalgah
* Upper Burringbar
* Upper Crystal Creek
* Upper Duroby
* Urliup

### Queensland

* Gold Coast Airport (Tweed Heads part)

## Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 85,105 people in the Tweed local government area, of these 48.2 per cent were male and 51.8 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.5 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Tweed Shire area was 45 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 to 14 years made up 17.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 22.9 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.5 per cent were married and 15.3 per cent were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the Tweed Shire area between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 7.45 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 7.29 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent, respectively, population growth in the Tweed local government area was marginally higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Tweed Shire area was significantly lower than the national average.
At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Tweed local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 80 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 59 per cent of all residents in the Tweed Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Tweed local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (5.5 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (91.6 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).
Selected historical census data for the Tweed Shire local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on Census night | 73,821 | 79,321 | 85,105 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 26 |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | | | 1.23% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.39% | 0.40% | 0.40% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | | | 31.9% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | | | 30.0% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | | | 9.8% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | | | 8.0% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | German | | | 3.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | German | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | French | n/c | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Japanese | n/c | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Spanish | n/c | n/c | 0.2% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 24.9% | 24.7% | 24.7% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 29.0% | 26.1% | 24.2% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No Religion | 13.8% | 17.6% | 21.6% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Presbyterian and Reformed | 5.9% | 5.1% | 4.9% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Uniting Church | 6.0% | 5.2% | 4.5% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | A$364 | A$442 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 78.1% | 76.6% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | A$904 | A$1,045 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 77.2% | 70.6% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | A$683 | A$845 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 66.5% | 68.5% |

### Population

| Year | Population |
| 1911 | 9,514 |
| 1921 | 15,136 |
| 1933 | 17,099 |
| 1947 | 19,321 |
| 1954 | 21,144 |
| 1961 | 22,491 |
| 1966 | 23,154 |
| 1976 | 27,526 |
| 1981 | 40,050 |
| 1986 | 45,690 |
| 1991 | 55,857 |
| 1996 | 66,519 |
| 2001 | 74,577 |
| 2006 | 83,089 |
| 2011 | 85,105 |
| 2016 | 91,371 |

## Council

In May 2005, the Governor of New South Wales dismissed the Tweed Shire Council of Mayor Warren Polglase, following a public inquiry which found that the council was improperly influenced by developers involved in a property boom in the area. The inquiry was commissioned by the Minister for Local Government, Tony Kelly, following community concern about the way planning decisions were made. The Minister appointed the director-general of the Department of Local Government, Garry Payne, former Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull and former Tweed Shire councillor, Max Boyd as Administrators for the ensuing three years.

### Shire Presidents and Mayors

| Councillor | Term of office | Title |
| C E Cox | 1947–1948 | Provisional President |
| A Buckley | 1948–1949 | President |
| C E Cox | 1949–1957 | President |
| Harold Lundberg | 1957–1958 | President |
| Clarrie Hall | 1958–1959 | President |
| Harold Lundberg | 1959–1961 | President |
| Clarrie Hall | 1961–1963 | President |
| Harold Lundberg | 1963–1964 | President |
| Clarrie Hall | 1964–1973 | President |
| Charles Jarvis | 1973–1975 | President |
| Clarrie Hall | 1975–1979 died in office | President |
| Max Boyd | 1979–1981 | President |
| Mrs Y A M Rowse | 1981–1984 | President |
| Max Boyd | 1984–1999 | President/Mayor |
| Lynne Beck | 1999–2001 | Mayor |
| Warren Polglase | 2001–2005 | Mayor |
| Garry Payne | 2005–2006 | Administrator |
| Frank Willan | 2006–2008 | Administrator |
| Max Boyd | 2005–2008 | Administrator |
| Lucy Turnbull | 2005–2007 | Administrator |
| Garry Payne | 2007–2008 | Administrator |
| Joan van Lieshout | 2008–2009 | Mayor |
| Warren Polglase | 2009–2010 | Mayor |
| Kevin Skinner | 2010–2011 | Mayor |
| Barry Longland | 2011–2014 | Mayor |
| Gary Bagnall | 2014–2015 | Mayor |
| Katie Milne | 2015–2020 | Mayor |
| Chris Cherry | 2020–present | Mayor |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Tweed :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | 1. James Owen (elected 1) 2. Rhiannon Brinsmead (elected 4) 3. Thomas O'Connor 4. Freda Wilding | 14,262 | 28.5 | +3.6 |
| | Community Independents | 1. Chris Cherry (elected 2) 2. Lindy Smith 3. Julie Boyd 4. Trevor White | 7,574 | 15.1 | +2.8 |
| | Labor | 1. Reece Byrnes (elected 3) 2. Judith Choat 3. Russell Logan 4. Marie-Antoinette Rogers | 7,235 | 14.5 | +2.9 |
| | Bring Back Balance | 1. Kimberly Hone (elected 5) 2. Warren Polglase 3. David Allen 4. Hannah Easton | 5,801 | 11.6 | +2.7 |
| | Greens | 1. Nola Firth (elected 6) 2. Mary-Jayne Johnston 3. Hilary Green 4. Julianne Sandison | 5,252 | 10.5 | +1.2 |
| | Independent | 1. Meredith Dennis (elected 7) 2. Jennifer Hayes 3. Gillian Cooper 4. Zachary Hoade 5. Edna Gorton | 3,530 | 7.1 | +1.7 |
| | Turner 4 Tweed | 1. Brady Turner 2. Dirk Brouwer 3. Peter Waver 4. Susan Mole | 2,502 | 5.0 | |
| | All 4 Tweed | 1. Colin Usher 2. Belinda Dinsey 3. Jerami Grassi 4. Peter Sibilant | 2,265 | 4.5 | |
| | Pryceless Tweed | 1. Pryce Allsop 2. Bill Larkin 3. Paul Pouloudis | 856 | 1.7 | −4.6 |
| | Independent | 1. Ned Wales 2. Kim Lloyd | 382 | 0.8 | |
| | Animal Justice | Susie Hearder | 141 | 0.3 | |
| | Independent | Mitch Dobbie | 98 | 0.2 | |
| | Independent | James McKenzie | 69 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| | Animal Justice | Nicola Stone | 32 | 0.1 | |
| | Animal Justice | Sheraden Robins | 15 | 0.3 | |
| | Animal Justice | Clelia Valdez | 14 | 0.0 | |
| | Animal Justice | Cheryl Tompson | 12 | 0.0 | |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 50,040 | 91.7 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,549 | 8.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 54,589 | 76.3 | |

### 2016

| Elected councillor | Party |
| Katie Milne | Greens |
| Warren Polglase | Independent (Group A) |
| Pryce Allsop | Independent (Group H) |
| James Owen | Liberal |
| Reece Byrnes | Country Labor |
| Chris Cherry | Independent (Group B) |
| Ron Cooper | No High-Rise |
2016 Tweed Shire Council election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent (Group A) | Independent (Group A) | 7,336 | 15.45 |
| | Greens | Greens | 7,279 | 15.33 |
| | Liberal | Liberal | 5,525 | 11.63 |
| | Independent (Group H) | Independent (Group H) | 5,053 | 10.64 |
| | Country Labor | Country Labor | 4,970 | 10.46 |
| | Independent (Group B) | Independent (Group B) | 2,821 | 5.94 |
| | No High-Rise | No High-Rise | 2,028 | 4.27 |
| | Independent (Group I) | Independent (Group I) | 1,956 | 4.21 |
| | Independent (Group K) | Independent (Group K) | 1,690 | 3.56 |
| | Independent (Group C) | Independent (Group C) | 1,551 | 3.27 |
| | Dot Holdom Group | Dot Holdom Group | 1,524 | 3.21 |
| | Carolyn Byrne Group | Carolyn Byrne Group | 1,369 | 2.88 |
| | Independent (Group E) | Independent (Group E) | 1,364 | 2.87 |
| | Independent (Group O) | Independent (Group O) | 1,159 | 2.44 |
| | Independent (Group J) | Independent (Group J) | 1,158 | 2.44 |
| | Independent | Dion Andrews | 466 | 0.98 |
| | Independent | Suzy Hudson | 106 | 0.22 |
| | Independent | Mathuranath Das | 73 | 0.15 |
| | Independent | James McKenzie | 69 | 0.15 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 47,497 | 93.17 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 3,482 | 6.83 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,979 | |