Tweed Shire

The European history of the Tweed Shire began in 1823 when the Tweed River was explored by John Oxley. After sheltering on Cook Island, (4 km from the River's mouth), Oxely travelled 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) up river. In 1828, Captain H. J. Rous explored 50 kilometres (31 mi) up the river. Settlers began to arrive in 1828, the first of which were the cedar getters, who came to harvest Great Red Cedars and send them back to England.[4] During the height of the cedar logging industry, the Tweed Valley was one of the wealthiest districts in Australia.

The Municipality of Murwillumbah was created on 25 May 1902, and held its first meeting on 22 August 1902, at which Peter Street was elected its first Mayor. The Shire of Tweed, with its primary centre of population at Tumbulgum on the Tweed River, came into being in the surrounding area on 7 March 1906 with the enactment of the Local Government Act 1906 (NSW). On 1 January 1947, the two amalgamated to form Tweed Shire.[5]

The Tweed Shire has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Murwillumbah, Casino-Murwillumbah railway: Murwillumbah railway station[6]
• High Conservation Value Old Growth forest[7]

Duranbah Beach.

Tweed Heads

Tweed Coast

Murwillumbah

Towns

Other localities

At the 2011 census, there were 85,105 people in the Tweed local government area, of these 48.2 per cent were male and 51.8 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.5 per cent of the population, which was significantly higher than the national and state averages of 2.5 per cent. The median age of people in the Tweed Shire area was 45 years, which was significantly higher than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 17.8 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 22.9 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 47.5 per cent were married and 15.3 per cent were either divorced or separated.[8]

Population growth in the Tweed Shire area between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 7.45 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 7.29 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively, population growth in the Tweed local government area was marginally higher than the national average.[9][10] The median weekly income for residents within the Tweed Shire area was significantly lower than the national average.[8]

At the 2011 census, the proportion of residents in the Tweed local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Celtic exceeded 80 per cent of all residents (national average was 65.2 per cent). In excess of 59 per cent of all residents in the Tweed Shire nominated a religious affiliation with Christianity at the 2011 census, which was slightly higher than the national average of 50.2 per cent. Meanwhile, as at the census date, compared to the national average, households in the Tweed local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (5.5 per cent) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 20.4 per cent); and a significantly higher proportion (91.6 per cent) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8 per cent).[8]

Selected historical census data for the Tweed Shire local government area
Census year			2001[9]	2006[10]	2011[8]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	73,821	79,321	85,105
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			26
		% of New South Wales population			1.23%
		% of Australian population	0.39%	0.40%	0.40%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			31.9%
		Australian			30.0%
		Irish			9.8%
		Scottish			8.0%
		German			3.2%
Language, top responses (other than English)		German	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
		Italian	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
		French	n/c	0.2%	0.2%
		Japanese	n/c	0.2%	0.2%
		Spanish	n/c	n/c	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	24.9%	24.7%	24.7%
		Anglican	29.0%	26.1%	24.2%
		No Religion	13.8%	17.6%	21.6%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	5.9%	5.1%	4.9%
		Uniting Church	6.0%	5.2%	4.5%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$364	A$442
		% of Australian median income		78.1%	76.6%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$904	A$1,045
		% of Australian median income		77.2%	70.6%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$683	A$845
		% of Australian median income		66.5%	68.5%

In May 2005, the Governor of New South Wales dismissed the Tweed Shire Council following a public inquiry that found the Council was improperly influenced by developers involved in a property boom in the area. The inquiry was commissioned by the Minister for Local Government, Tony Kelly, following community concern about the way planning decisions were made. The Minister appointed the Director-general of the Department of Local Government, Garry Payne, former Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull and former Tweed Shire councillor, Max Boyd as Administrators for the ensuing three years.[11]