# City of Broken Hill

The City of Broken Hill is a local government area in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The area contains an isolated mining city, Broken Hill, located in the outback of New South Wales and is surrounded by the Unincorporated Far West Region. The city is located adjacent to the Silver City and Barrier Highways and the Broken Hill railway line.
As of 2021 the mayor of the City of Broken Hill Council is Cr. Tom Kennedy, an independent politician.

## Council history

Following a petition submitted by residents to the Colonial Secretary on 2 May 1888, the Municipal District of Broken Hill was first incorporated on 22 September 1888. The incorporation occurred during a typhoid epidemic, which killed 128 people, and the need for public health and water supply provisions was one of the main driving forces behind incorporation, and one of the biggest issues for the new municipality. One contemporary report commented that "The town is in a terrible state owing to defective sanitary arrangements. People continue to leave by trains daily in hundreds in view of the impending drought." As a consequence, in 1892 the private Broken Hill Water Supply Company completed construction on the Stephens Creek Reservoir, which provided the first reliable clean water supply to the town.
The first council was divided into four wards: Burke, Wills, Sturt and King, each returning three aldermen, and the first election, conducted by Charles George Gibson as Returning Officer, was held at the Broken Hill Court House on 24 November 1888. The ward system remained in place until early 1909 when the council requested that the state government abolish the wards and elect the aldermen proportionally, which was proclaimed on 24 May 1909. By 1891 the population had passed 23,000, making Broken Hill the third largest town in New South Wales, and that number continued to grow, reaching 25,000 by 1897. Civic improvements, spurred on by silver mining profits, continued during the 1890s with the construction of schools, a technical college, town hall, post offices and gaol. Timber and temporary structures gave way to brick and stone, the town's streets were paved and recreation reserves were planted with trees. The council commissioned the Town Hall, designed in the Italianate style by Whittall & Wells of Adelaide, with the foundation stone laid by Sir Henry Parkes on 3 April 1890. The hall was officially opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Lord Jersey, with the Governor of South Australia, Lord Kintore, in attendance, on 6 August 1891.
The council was renamed the Municipality of Broken Hill following the passage of the Municipalities Act, 1897 on 6 December 1897. The council's population continue to grow in this period and by 1906, the council resolved to apply for City status, being able to fulfil the city conditions set in Local Government Act, 1906, and the City of Broken Hill was proclaimed on 17 July 1907, the only municipality to do so under the 1906 act.

### Later history

Following the release of the report of public inquiry that detailed ongoing infighting among councillors and their conflicts with staff and councillor interference in operational matters, on 10 January 2007 the council was dismissed by the Minister for Local Government, Kerry Hickey. The elected council was replaced by a single Administrator, with the former Broken Hill General Manager, Ken Boyle, appointed. Elections originally scheduled for September 2008 were deferred and the council remained under administration until a special election held on 5 December 2009.
In 2015, Broken Hill became the first city in Australia to be included on the National Heritage List.

## Demography

Selected historical census data for Broken Hill local government area :
| Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 |
| Population | Estimated residents on census night | 20,274 | 19,361 | 18,517 | 17,708 |
| Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 72nd | 72nd |
| Population | % of New South Wales population | | | | |
| Population | % of Australian population | | | | |
| Cultural and language diversity ||||||
| Ancestry, top responses | English | | | | 6,782 |
| Ancestry, top responses | Australian | | | | 8,424 |
| Ancestry, top responses | Italian | | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | | | | 1,476 |
| Ancestry, top responses | Irish | | | | 1,667 |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Italian | | | | 45 |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Mandarin | | | | |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Cantonese | | | | |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Korean | | | | |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Maltese | | | | 19 |
| Religious affiliation ||||||
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Eastern Orthodox | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Buddhism | | | | |
| Median weekly incomes ||||||
| Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | | A$ | |
| Personal income | % of Australian median income | | | | |
| Family income | Median weekly family income | | | | |
| Family income | % of Australian median income | | | | |
| Household income | Median weekly household income | | | | |
| Household income | % of Australian median income | | | | |

## Council
### Current composition and election method

Broken Hill City Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected directly by a popular vote. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021 and the makeup of the council is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
| For A Better Broken Hill | 6 |
| Team Broken Hill | 2 |
| Labor | 2 |
| Total | 10 |
The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election, is:
| Mayor | Mayor | Party | Notes |
| | Tom Kennedy | Better Broken Hill | Mayor 2021–date |
| Councillor | Councillor | Party | Notes |
| | Dave Gallagher APM | Team Broken Hill | Deputy Mayor 2014–2017 |
| | Michael Boland | Better Broken Hill | |
| | Darriea Turley AM | Country Labor | Mayor 2016–2021, Deputy Mayor 1997–1998, 2001–2002, 2012–2014 |
| | Bob Algate | Better Broken Hill | |
| | Ronald Page | Team Broken Hill | |
| | Marion Browne | Labor | Deputy Mayor 2017–2021 |
| | Jim Hickey | Better Broken Hill | Deputy Mayor 2021–date |
| | Hayley Jewitt | Better Broken Hill | |
| | Alan Chandler | Better Broken Hill | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Broken Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | For A Better Broken Hill | 1. Tom Kennedy 2. Michael Boland (elected) 3. Jim Hickey (elected) 4. Bob Algate (elected) 5. Hayley Jewitt (elected) 6. Alan Chandler (elected) 7. Elaine Gillett (elected) 8. Thomas Kennedy 9. James Elston | 6,338 | 63.00 | +12.60 |
| | Labor | 1. Darriea Turley (elected) 2. Ashley Byrne (elected) 3. Blake Edgecombe 4. Nathan Fell 5. Richard Shoebridge | 2,292 | 22.78 | +0.98 |
| | Team Broken Hill | 1. Dave Gallagher (elected) 2. Ron Page 3. Dean Grose 4. Matthew McCarthy 5. Anita Hoysted | 1,263 | 12.55 | −11.95 |
| | Independent | Branko Licul | 168 | 1.67 | +1.67 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 10,061 | 92.63 | −0.77 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 801 | 7.37 | +0.77 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,862 | 83.20 | −0.20 |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Broken Hill :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | For A Better Broken Hill | 1. Tom Kennedy 2. Michael Boland (elected) 3. Bob Algate (elected) 4. Jim Hickey (elected) 5. Hayley Jewitt (elected) 6. Alan Chandler (elected) | 5,237 | 50.4 | +50.4 |
| | Team Broken Hill | 1. Dave Gallagher (elected) 2. Ron Page (elected) 3. Dinny Reardon 4. Patrick Reincke 5. Matthew McCarthy | 2,549 | 24.5 | −1.8 |
| | Labor | 1. Darriea Turley (elected) 2. Marion Browne (elected) 3. Branko Licul 4. Ashley Byrne 5. Blake Egdecombe 6. Nathan Fell | 2,263 | 21.8 | −16.9 |
| | Independent | Gigi Barbe | 346 | 3.3 | +3.3 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 10,395 | 93.4 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 732 | 6.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,127 | 83.4 | |