Blayney Shire

This article is about the local government area. For the regional city, see Blayney, New South Wales.

Blayney Shire is a local government area in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Mid-Western Highway and the Main Western railway line, and is centred on the town of Blayney.

Blayney Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Council Chambers, Blayney
Coordinates	33°32′S 149°15′E
Population	7,257 (2016 census)[1] 7,342 (2018 est.)[2]
• Density	4.7587/km2 (12.325/sq mi)
Area	1,525 km2 (588.8 sq mi)
Mayor	Bruce Reynolds (Independent
Council seat	Blayney[3]
Region	Central West
State electorate(s)	Bathurst
Federal division(s)	Calare
Website	Blayney Shire
LGAs around Blayney Shire: Cabonne Orange Bathurst Cabonne Blayney Shire Bathurst Cowra Cowra Bathurst

Blayney Shire consists of approximately 1,600 square kilometres (620 sq mi) of well watered, gently undulating to hilly country and the climate is partially suitable for cool climate crops and trees. There is also significant mining industry in the shire.

Towns and localities

Towns and localities within the Blayney Shire are:

• Blayney (Town)
• Athol (Locality)
• Barry (Village)
• Carcoar (Village)
• Forest Reefs (Locality)
• Garland (Locality)
• Hobbys Yards (Village)
• Junction Reefs (Locality)
• Kings Plains (Locality)
• Lyndhurst (Village)
• Mandurama (Village)
• Millthorpe (Village)
• Neville (Village)
• Newbridge (Village)
• Wombiana (Locality)
• Gallymont (Locality)
• Burnt Yards (Locality)
• Errowanbang (Locality)
• Panuara (Locality)
• Tallwood (Locality)
• Moorilda (Locality)

Demographics

Selected historical census data for Blayney Shire local government area
Census year			2011[4]	2016[1]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	6,985	7,257
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		100th
		% of New South Wales population
		% of Australian population
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian	35.0%	35.4%
		English	32.0%	31.1%
		Irish	11.1%	10.9%
		Chinese	7.4%	7.4%
		German	2.3%	2.4%
Language, top responses (other than English)		German	n/a	0.2%
		Arabic	0.2%	0.2%
		Cantonese	n/a	0.2%
		Tamil	n/a	0.1%
		French	n/a	0.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	31.0%	28.6%
		Anglican	27.9%	24.2%
		No religion	14.4%	20.8%
		Not stated	not reported	8.5%
		Uniting Church	7.6%	6.8%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income	A$553	A$620
		% of Australian median income	%	%
Family income		Median weekly family income	A$1376	A$1581
		% of Australian median income	%	%
Household income		Median weekly household income	A$1092	A$1227
		% of Australian median income	%	%

Council

Current composition and election method

Blayney Shire Council is composed of seven councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:^[5]

Party		Councillors
	Independent	6
	Independent National	1
	Total	7

The current Council, elected in 2024, is:^[5]

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Bruce Reynolds	Independent National	Mayor[6]
	Stephen Johnston	Independent	Elected February 2025 on a countback following the resignation of Michelle Pryse Jones
	Karl Hutchings	Independent
	John Newstead	Independent
	Craig Gosewisch	Independent
	Rebecca Scott	Independent	Deputy Mayor[6]
	Iris Dorsett	Independent

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Central West § Blayney results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Blayney^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent National	Bruce Reynolds (elected)	1,074	23.6	+9.7
	Independent	Michelle Pryse Jones (elected)	629	13.8	+0.6
	Independent	Karl Hutchings (elected)	622	13.7
	Independent	John Newstead (elected)	556	12.2	+3.1
	Independent	Craig Gosewisch (elected)	485	10.7	−1.6
	Independent	Rebecca Scott (elected)	450	9.9
	Independent	Iris Dorsett (elected)	394	8.7	+1.2
	Independent	Stephen Johnston	264	5.8
	Independent	Angus Norton	73	1.6
Total formal votes			4,547	94.1
Informal votes			284	5.9
Turnout			4,831	86.8

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Central West § Blayney.[edit]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Blayney^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Scott Ferguson (elected)	1,036	22.7
	Independent	Bruce Reynolds (elected)	635	13.9
	Independent	Michelle Pryse Jones (elected)	605	13.3
	Independent	Craig Gosewisch (elected)	559	12.3
	Independent	Allan Ewin (elected)	526	11.5
	Independent	David Somervaille (elected)	443	9.7
	Independent	John Newstead (elected)	416	9.1
	Independent	Iris Dorsett	340	7.5
Total formal votes			4,560	95.3
Informal votes			224	4.7
Turnout			4,784	87.7

2017

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2017 New South Wales local elections § Blayney.[edit]

2017 New South Wales local elections: Blayney^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Scott Ferguson (elected)	1,329	30.9	+19.4
	Independent	Allan Ewin (elected)	605	14.1	−3.9
	Independent	David Kingham (elected)	447	10.4	−0.1
	Country Labor	Scott Denton (elected)	418	9.7	+9.7
	Independent	John Newstead (elected)	416	9.1
	Independent	Bruce Reynolds (elected)	393	9.1	+9.1
	Independent	David Somervaille (elected)	311	7.2	−0.1
	Greens		272	6.3	+6.3
	Independent	Nyree Reynolds	139	3.2	+3.2
Total formal votes			4,299	94.82
Informal votes			235	5.18
Turnout			4,784	85.73

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Blayney Shire merge with the Cabonne Shire and the City of Orange to form a new council with an area of 7,833 square kilometres (3,024 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 63,000.^[10] Despite originally planning for the amalgamation to go ahead, the merger scheduled for May 2016 was delayed due to legal action, and in February 2017 the NSW Government decided not to proceed with the amalgamation.^[11][12][13]

See also

• New South Wales portal

• List of local government areas in New South Wales