# City of Shellharbour

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:
| Ward | Councillor | Party |
| Mayor | Chris Homer | Independent |
| A Ward | Kellie Marsh | Kellie Marsh Independents |
| A Ward | Maree Edwards | Labor |
| B Ward | Moira Hamilton | Labor |
| B Ward | John Davey | Local Voice |
| C Ward | Colin Gow | Independent |
| C Ward | Lou Stefanovski | Labor |
| D Ward | Jacqueline Graf | Independent |
| D Ward | Rob Petreski | Labor |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Shellharbour :
| Party | Party | Party | Seats |
| | Chris Homer Independents | Chris Homer Independents | |
| | Labor | Labor | |
| | Kane Murphy Independents | Kane Murphy Independents | |
| | Kellie Marsh Independents | Kellie Marsh Independents | |
| | Independents | Independents | |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | |
| Total | Total | Total | 8 |
| Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales local elections: Shellharbour :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 21,199 | 61.8 | +12.5 | 4 | 1 |
| | Kellie Marsh Independents | Kellie Marsh Independents | 8,746 | 25.5 | | 1 | |
| | Independent | Independent | 5,583 | 16.3 | | 2 | |
| | Local Voice | Local Voice | 3,454 | 10.1 | | 1 | |
| | Community Voice | Community Voice | 3,416 | 10.0 | | 0 | |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 34,282 | 94.9 | | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,845 | 5.1 | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 36,127 | 100.0 | | | |
| Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | 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.