How did Gwydir Shire Council come into being?
The story begins in 2003, when mainly rural councils were told at a shires conference in Sydney to go home and talk to their neighbours about merging, or risk having a decision made for them.
For Bingara Shire Council, the response was not to wait for a larger council to take over. Led by Mayor David Rose and General Manager Max Eastcott, the Bingara councillors took a proactive approach and began developing their own plan for the future.
That plan involved a merger with Yallaroi Shire Council, based in Warialda. The Bingara councillors worked hard to explain the proposal to their community and build support for the idea. In Warialda, the proposal was more difficult to sell, and the two communities faced different challenges as they considered the future.
Barraba councillors also considered joining the proposed arrangement. However, despite strong feeling within the community, Barraba ultimately decided not to become part of the merger.
The councillors behind the merger
The Bingara councillors who helped develop and promote the merger proposal were David Rose, Vern Lewis, Charles Bull, Rodney King, Peter Pankhurst, Ashley Otter, Charlie Quelch and John Wearne.
The Yallaroi councillors involved were Ian McFarlane, Wallis Gilmour, Doug Clarke, Jack Coulton, Bill Kennedy, Di Quinn, Laurie Smith and Robert Tremain.
Their decisions helped shape the future of local government across the New England North West region of New South Wales.
Establishing the new council
On 17 March 2004, the merger of Bingara Shire Council and Yallaroi Shire Council was gazetted, creating Gwydir Shire Council.
After the merger was gazetted, the NSW Minister for Local Government authorised the positions of Administrator and Acting General Manager to establish the new council. Their role was to get the new council operating, including its staffing, planning and day-to-day arrangements, while reporting to the Minister.
They also prepared Gwydir Shire Council for its first election and for the elected councillors to take over. David Rose served as Administrator and Max Eastcott as Acting General Manager during this important establishment period.
Once the first elected councillors took office, they appointed Mark Coulton as Gwydir Shire Council’s first mayor and Max Eastcott as General Manager.
The early leadership
Mark Coulton led the new council through its first four years, until 2008.
In 2009, Mark’s brother John Coulton was elected to council to fill a vacancy. Within a few months, John was elected mayor. He went on to become Gwydir Shire Council’s longest-serving mayor, with Cr Catherine Egan serving as his deputy mayor.
The early years were about much more than combining two organisations. Staff, councillors and communities had to adjust, new systems had to be established and the council had to demonstrate that the merger could succeed.
Recognition for the new council
Four years after the merger, Gwydir Shire Council received the AR Bluett Memorial Award, recognising the progress made by the new council during its early years.
The award created a great sense of pride among council staff and the wider community. It also helped demonstrate that the new council was succeeding and that the hard work involved in establishing it had been worthwhile.
Twenty years later, the merger continues to shape the region. Gwydir Shire Council has its administrative headquarters in Bingara, while Warialda is the base for engineering operations.
I was one of the Bingara councillors involved in the merger process. The full story includes the people, decisions, challenges and achievements that shaped Gwydir Shire Council during its first 20 years.
You can read “The Making of Gwydir Shire Council” in Bingara Our Town Our People Vol 2.