View source for City of Shellharbour

{{About|the [[Local government in Australia|local government area]]|the [[Illawarra]] region suburb|Shellharbour, New South Wales}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Use Australian English|date=October 2012}}
{{Infobox Australian place | type = lga
| name     = City of Shellharbour
| state    = nsw
| image    = Shellharbour LGA location map.svg
| caption  = Location in the [[Illawarra]]
| pop      = 76,271
| pop_year = {{CensusAU|2021}}
| pop_footnotes = <ref>{{Census 2021 AUS |id=LGA16900 |name=Shellharbour |access-date=2023-02-24 |quick=on}}</ref>
| pop2               = 72240
| pop2_year          = 2018 est.
| pop2_footnotes     = <ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-27 |title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18 |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3218.02017-18 |url-status=live |access-date=2019-03-27 |website=[[Australian Bureau of Statistics]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327110730/http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3218.02017-18 |archive-date=2019-03-27 }} Estimated resident population (ERP) at 30 June 2018.</ref>
| area     = 147
| coordinates = {{coord|34|35|S|150|52|E|region:AU_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| est      = 1859
| seat     = [[Shellharbour City Centre, New South Wales|Shellharbour City Centre]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shellharbour City Council |url=http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_CouncilContactDetails.asp?slacode=6900 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906214340/http://www.dlg.nsw.gov.au/dlg/dlghome/dlg_CouncilContactDetails.asp?slacode=6900 |archive-date=2006-09-06 |access-date=2006-11-26 |website=[[New South Wales Department of Local Government|Department of Local Government]]}}</ref>
| mayor    = Chris Homer
| region   = [[Illawarra]]
| logo     = Shellharbour City Council Logo.png
| logo_upright   = 1.2
| url      = http://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au
| stategov = [[Electoral district of Shellharbour|Shellharbour]]
| stategov2= [[Electoral district of Kiama|Kiama]]
| fedgov   = [[Division of Whitlam|Whitlam]]
| fedgov2  = [[Division of Gilmore|Gilmore]]
| near-nw  = [[Wingecarribee Shire|Wingecarribee]]
| near-n   = [[City of Wollongong|Wollongong]]
| near-ne  = ''[[Tasman Sea]]''
| near-w   = [[Wingecarribee Shire|Wingecarribee]]
| near-e   = ''[[Tasman Sea]]''
| near-sw  = [[Wingecarribee Shire|Wingecarribee]]
| near-s   = [[Municipality of Kiama|Kiama]]
| near-se  = ''[[Tasman Sea]]''
}}
The '''City of Shellharbour''' is a [[Local government in Australia|local government area]] in the [[Illawarra]] region of [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]. The city is located about {{convert|100|km}} south of [[Sydney]] and covers the southern suburbs of the [[Wollongong]] urban area centred on [[Shellharbour, New South Wales|Shellharbour]]. At the {{CensusAU|2021}}, it had an estimated population of 76,271.

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, New South Wales|Lake Illawarra]]) and [[Macquarie Rivulet]] ([[Albion Park Rail, New South Wales|Albion Park Rail]]).  The [[Municipality of Kiama]] is to the south of the City of Shellharbour.

The [[mayor]] of the Shellharbour City Council is [[Councillor|Cr.]] Chris Homer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=shh-admin |date=2018-12-04 |title=Chris Homer (Mayor) |url=https://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/chris-homer-mayor |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=Shellharbour Council}}</ref>

==History==
[[Indigenous Australians|Indigenous]] occupation of the area, particularly of Bass Point, can be traced back to 17,000 BCE.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

The area was discovered by [[European Australians|Europeans]] [[George Bass|Bass]] and [[Matthew Flinders|Flinders]] in 1796.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=Bass and Flinders |url=http://www.australianhistory.org/bass-flinders |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320182606/http://www.australianhistory.org/bass-flinders |archive-date=2012-03-20 |access-date=2012-10-05 |website=Australian History}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History |url=http://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/default.aspx?WebPage=115 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208171102/http://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/default.aspx?WebPage=115 |archive-date=2008-02-08 |access-date=2008-03-16 |website=Shellharbour City Council}}</ref>

A [[Local government areas of New South Wales#Reviews of local government areas|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 {{convert|831|km2}} and support a population of approximately {{formatnum:276000}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 2016 |title=Merger proposal: Shellharbour City Council, Wollongong City Council |url=https://dpc-olg-ss.s3.amazonaws.com/78cf594fd02bc6088abdc2a154408b89/Shellharbour-Wollongong.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310193900/https://dpc-olg-ss.s3.amazonaws.com/78cf594fd02bc6088abdc2a154408b89/Shellharbour-Wollongong.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-10 |access-date=2016-03-10 |publisher=[[Government of New South Wales]] |page=7 |via=Amazon Web Services}}</ref> 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]]<ref>{{cite NSW SHR |5045681 |Toongla |hr=00556 |fn=S91/01036 & HC 870387 |access-date=2018-05-18}}</ref>
* Albion Park Rail, Princes Highway: [[Albion Park railway station]]<ref>{{cite NSW SHR |5011942 |Albion Park Railway Station Group |hr=01072 |access-date=2018-05-18}}</ref>
* Dunmore, Illawarra railway: [[Dunmore railway station]]<ref>{{cite NSW SHR |5012217 |Shellharbour Railway Station Group |hr=01245 |fn=H00/00173 |access-date=2018-05-18}}</ref>
* Shell Cove, Boollwarroo Parade: [[Bass Point Reserve]]<ref>{{cite NSW SHR |5061535 |Bass Point Reserve |hr=01896 |fn=12/03599 |access-date=2018-05-18}}</ref>

==Suburbs==

The City of Shellharbour contains the following suburbs and localities:
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* [[Albion Park, New South Wales|Albion Park]]
* [[Albion Park Rail, New South Wales|Albion Park Rail]]
* [[Barrack Heights, New South Wales|Barrack Heights]]
* [[Barrack Point, New South Wales|Barrack Point]]
* [[Blackbutt, New South Wales|Blackbutt]]
* [[Calderwood, New South Wales|Calderwood]]
* [[Croom, New South Wales|Croom]]
* [[Dunmore, New South Wales|Dunmore]]
* [[Flinders, New South Wales|Flinders]]
* [[Lake Illawarra, New South Wales|Lake Illawarra]]
* [[Macquarie Pass, New South Wales|Macquarie Pass]]
* [[Mount Warrigal, New South Wales|Mount Warrigal]]
* [[North Macquarie, New South Wales|North Macquarie]]
* [[Oak Flats, New South Wales|Oak Flats]]
* [[Shell Cove, New South Wales|Shell Cove]]
* [[Shellharbour, New South Wales|Shellharbour]]
* [[Shellharbour City Centre, New South Wales|Shellharbour City Centre]]
* [[Tongarra, New South Wales|Tongarra]]
* [[Tullimbar, New South Wales|Tullimbar]]
* [[Warilla, New South Wales|Warilla]]
* [[Yallah, New South Wales|Yallah]]
* [[Yellow Rock, New South Wales (Shellharbour)|Yellow Rock]]
}}

==Council==

===Current composition and election method===
As of 2023, Shellharbour City Council is composed of eight [[councillor]]s elected [[Single transferable vote|proportionally]] in four wards.. Under the {{Cite Legislation AU |NSW|act||Local Government (Shellharbour and Wollongong Elections) Act, 2011}}, councillors are elected to hold office until [[2024 New South Wales local elections|September 2024]]. Since [[2021 New South Wales mayoral elections|2021]], the mayor has been directly elected.

The current council, elected in [[2021 New South Wales local elections|2021]], is:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Ward!!colspan="2"|Councillor!!Party
|-
| Mayor
| {{Australian party style|Independent}}|&nbsp;
| Chris Homer
| {{Australian politics/name|Independent}}
|-
| rowspan="2"|A Ward
| {{Australian party style|australian independents}}|&nbsp;
| Kellie Marsh
| Kellie Marsh Independents
|-
| {{Australian party style|Labor NSW}}|&nbsp;
| Maree Edwards
| {{Australian politics/name|Labor NSW}}
|-
| rowspan="2"|B Ward
| {{Australian party style|Labor NSW}}|&nbsp;
| Moira Hamilton
| {{Australian politics/name|Labor NSW}}
|-
| {{Australian party style|christians}}|&nbsp;
| John Davey
| Local Voice
|-
| rowspan="2"|C Ward
| {{Australian party style|Independent}}|&nbsp;
| Colin Gow
| {{Australian politics/name|Independent}}
|-
| {{Australian party style|Labor NSW}}|&nbsp;
| Lou Stefanovski
| {{Australian politics/name|Labor NSW}}
|-
| rowspan="2"|D Ward
| {{Australian party style|Independent}}|&nbsp;
| Jacqueline Graf
| {{Australian politics/name|Independent}}
|-
| {{Australian party style|Labor NSW}}|&nbsp;
| Rob Petreski
| {{Australian politics/name|Labor NSW}}
|}

==Election results==
===2024===
{{excerpt|Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Illawarra|section=Shellharbour results}}

===2021===
{{excerpt|Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Illawarra|section=Shellharbour results}}

==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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beaches and pools |url=https://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/beaches-and-pools |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514130431/https://www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/beaches-and-pools |archive-date=2019-05-14 |access-date=2019-05-21 |website=Shellharbour City Council|date=7 November 2018 }}</ref>

==See also==
{{stack|{{portal|New South Wales}}}}
* [[Local government areas of New South Wales]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://localguidesigns.com.au/shellharbour-tourism/shellharbour_attractions.php Local tourist information]

{{City of Shellharbour suburbs}}
{{Local Government Areas of New South Wales}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shellharbour}}
[[Category:City of Shellharbour| ]]
[[Category:Local government areas of New South Wales]]
[[Category:1859 establishments in Australia]]