Shire of Plantagenet
The Shire of Plantagenet is a local government area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, managed from the town of Mount Barker, south of Perth and north of Albany. The shire covers an area of and includes the communities of Narrikup, Rocky Gully, Kendenup and Porongurup. The region is noted for agriculture, principally wheat, sheep (wool and meat), beef cattle, wine, canola and olives. Silviculture, especially plantations of Tasmanian blue gums ("Eucalyptus globulus"), was a major industry in the shire although some recent silviculture enterprises (Great Southern Plantations and Timbercorp) have gone into receivership. Local  tourist attractions include the Porongurup Range and Stirling Range, a museum based within the original police station, and other pioneer structures such as St Werburgh's Chapel. History. The Plantagenet Road District was gazetted on 24 January 1871 as one of 18 elected boards to manage roads and services in Western Australia, and initially included a reasonably large section of the Great Southern region. On 1 July 1961, it became the Shire of Plantagenet following the enactment of the "Local Government Act 1960", which reformed all remaining road districts into shires. Wards. The Shire was redivided into five wards in  2001. The shire president is elected from amongst the councillors. Infrastructure. The shire has ownership and responsibility of the Great Southern Saleyards, a state-of-the-art facility that was built following the closure of the Mount Barker Saleyards and the Albany Town Saleyards, and joint development by both councils around 2002. Due to cost issues, the City of Albany sought to dispose of its share of the facility, and an agreement was made to transfer full ownership and responsibility to the Shire of Plantagenet. The Mount Barker Power Company Pty Ltd has constructed slightly to the north of the  township a three Enercon turbine 73m high windfarm costing $8.3 million. The turbines are on private land and this development is a private energy generation selling power into the state grid. The windfarm is one of the very few to have been completed to service a local community's power needs since the government of Western Australia set a renewable energy target. The site is on private property and is projected to generate about 8,400 megawatt hours of electricity each year from three 800 kilowatt turbines. Services. The Shire of Plantagenet provides the usual services that Western Australian  local governments would supply. Rubbish collection is provided by Warren Blackwood Waste. A rubbish tip is located on O'Neill Road south of Mount Barker and transfer stations are at Kendenup, Porongurup and Narrikup. Ranger Services and a Community Emergency Services Manager (CESM) are based in the Shire Office in Mount Barker. The CESM assists the local bushfire brigades and State Emergency Service unit. The bushfire brigades are located at Porongurup, Porongurup South, Narrikup, Narpyn, Kendenup, Woogenellup, Rocky Gully, Perrilup, Denbarker, Forest Hill and Middle Ward. South Stirling's brigade works closely with the Plantagenet Shire but is registered with Albany  City Council. A Local Emergency Management Committee and a Roadwise Committee are just two examples of how the Shire engages with the community. Heritage-listed places. As of 2021, 74 places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Plantagenet, of which six are on the State Register of Heritage Places.