Shire of Esperance

Shire of Esperance
Western Australia
Location in Western Australia
Population 14,236 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density 0.334595/km2 (0.866598/sq mi)
Established 1895
Area 42,546.9 km2 (16,427.4 sq mi)
Mayor Victoria Brown
Council seat Esperance
Region Goldfields-Esperance
State electorate(s) Roe
Federal Division(s) O'Connor
Website Shire of Esperance
LGAs around Shire of Esperance:
Dundas Dundas Dundas
Ravensthorpe Shire of Esperance Dundas
Southern Ocean Southern Ocean Southern Ocean

The Shire of Esperance is a local government area in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of the town of Kalgoorlie and about 720 kilometres (450 mi) east-southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of 42,547 square kilometres (16,427 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Esperance, where about three-quarters of the Shire's population resides.

History

The Esperance Road District was constituted and gazetted in 1895. A municipality covering the town of Esperance, gazetted the same year, was merged into the Road District in 1908.[2] A railway line from Coolgardie to Esperance was completed in 1927 led to development of farming in the mallee country to the north of Esperance.[3] On 1 July 1961, it became a shire under the Local Government Act 1960.[2] On 11 July 1979, the American Skylab Space Station re-entered Earth's atmosphere headed for Western Australia and the Indian Ocean. It broke up during reentry and much of it landed in Esperance. In turn, the Shire issued a facetious $400 fine to the American government for littering. It remained outstanding until April 2009, when radio show host Scott Barley of Highway Radio raised the funds from his morning show listeners, and paid the fine on behalf of NASA.[4]

The main industry in the region is farming. The Department of Agriculture established a research station at Gibson finding the local soils to be deficient in trace elements and nitrogen. In 1953 there was 130 farms in the area, increasing to 347 in 1961 and over 650 in 1968.[3]

Wards

The shire is divided into two wards. Prior to the 2005 elections, a 13-councillor setup with North, West and East wards each with two councillors was in place. The shire president is elected from amongst the councillors.

  • Town Ward (six councillors)
  • Rural Ward (three councillors)

Towns and localities

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Esperance (S)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 November 2017. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. 1 2 WA Electoral Commission, Municipality Boundary Amendments Register (release 3.0), 31 May 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Government members Mining and National Development Committees fact finding tour July 1968" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Hannah Siemer. ""Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2009-04-26. " The Esperance Express, 17 April 2009.

Coordinates: 33°51′40″S 121°53′31″E / 33.861°S 121.892°E / -33.861; 121.892

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