City of Blue Mountains

Not to be confused with Greater Blue Mountains Area, Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains National Park, or Electoral district of Blue Mountains.

The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains, on the Great Dividing Range at the far western fringe of the Greater Sydney area. Major settlements include Katoomba, Lawson, Springwood, and Blaxland.

City of Blue Mountains New South Wales
City of Blue Mountains council building in Katoomba
Location in Outer Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°42′S 150°18′E
Population	78,121 (LGA 2021)[1]
Established	1 October 1947 (1947-10-01)[2]
Area	1,430 km2 (552.1 sq mi)
Mayor	Mark Greenhill
Council seat	Katoomba[3]
Region	Blue Mountains, Greater Western Sydney
State electorate(s)	Blue Mountains Penrith
Federal division(s)	Macquarie
Website	City of Blue Mountains
LGAs around City of Blue Mountains: Lithgow Hawkesbury Hawkesbury Lithgow City of Blue Mountains Penrith Oberon Wollondilly Liverpool

The Three Sisters, south of Katoomba, in Blue Mountains National Park, are a major attraction of the city.

The Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum is a tourist destination in the town of Faulconbridge.

The mayor of Blue Mountains City Council is Councillor Mark Greenhill, a member of the Labor Party.

Towns and villages in the local government area

The urban part of the city consists of a ribbon of close or contiguous towns which lie on the Main Western railway line, served by NSW TrainLink's Blue Mountains Line, and Great Western Highway between Emu Plains and Lithgow. About 70% of the city's area is within the Blue Mountains National Park which lies north and south of the ribbon of towns. The National Park is part of the much larger Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site and the city brands itself as "The City Within a World Heritage National Park". The towns and villages are generally grouped into lower, mid, and upper mountains. The economy of the upper mountains is dependent almost entirely on tourism ^{[citation needed]}. The road to Sydney, the Great Western Highway, is mostly dual carriageway but is relatively slow due to the urban development and hilly terrain. The electric train service integrates into Sydney Trains, Sydney's suburban rail network.

The main towns and villages in the City of Blue Mountains are:

• Bell
• Blackheath
• Blaxland
• Bullaburra
• Faulconbridge
• Glenbrook
• Hawkesbury Heights
• Hazelbrook
• Katoomba
• Lapstone
• Lawson
• Leura
• Linden
• Medlow Bath
• Mount Irvine
• Mount Riverview
• Mount Victoria
• Mount Wilson
• Springwood
• Sun Valley
• Valley Heights
• Warrimoo
• Wentworth Falls
• Winmalee
• Woodford
• Yellow Rock

Demographics

Selected historical census data for the City of Blue Mountains local government area
Census year			2001[4]	2006[5]	2011[6]	2016[7]	2021[8]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	73,675	74,067	75,942	76,904	78,121
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		28	27	31
		% of New South Wales population		1.1%	1.09%	0.99%	0.94%
		% of Australian population	0.39%	0.37%	0.35%	0.33%	0.30%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English	n/r	n/r	30.1%	30.5%	44.3%
		Australian	n/r	n/r	28.7%	26.3%	38.1%
		Irish	n/r	n/r	10.2%	11.1%	16.0%
		Scottish	n/r	n/r	8.3%	8.6%	13.3%
		German	n/r	n/r	3.2%	3.3%	4.8%
Language, top responses (other than English)		German	n/r	0.6%	0.6%	0.5%	0.5%
		Spanish	n/r	0.3%	0.4%	0.5%	0.6%
		Italian	0.3%	0.4%	0.3%	0.4%	0.3%
		Mandarin	n/r	n/r	n/r	0.4%	0.3%
		French	n/r	n/r	n/r	0.3%	0.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		No religion (excluding not stated)	18.0%	22.0%	26.8%	35.7%	46.5%
		Catholic	22.6%	22.5%	21.5%	19.7%	17.2%
		Anglican	24.6%	22.5%	20.9%	17.0%	13.5%
		Not stated	n/r	n/r	n/r	8.4%	4.9%
		Christian (nfd)	n/r	n/r	n/r	2.9%	2.9%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income	n/r	$501	$590	$688	$817
		% of Australian median income	n/r	107.5%	102.2%	103.9%	101.4%
Family income		Median weekly family income	n/r	$1,345	$1,624	$1,866	$2,235
		% of Australian median income	n/r	114.9%	109.6%	107.6%	105.4%
Household income		Median weekly household income	n/r	$1,093	$1,270	$1,468	$1,756
		% of Australian median income	n/r	106.4%	102.9%	102.1%	100.5%

Council

Current composition and election method

A map of the four wards, showing party representation as of the 2021 local elections.

Blue Mountains City Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three councillors. 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 general election was held on 14 September 2024.

Party		Councillors
	Labor Party	9
	The Greens	2
	Independents	1
	Total	12

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
First Ward[9]		Sarah Redshaw	Greens	Elected 2021.
		Suzie van Opdorp	Labor	Elected 2021.
		Suzanne Jamieson	Labor	Elected 2024.
Second Ward[10]		Romola Hollywood	Labor	Elected 2012. Deputy Mayor 2021–date.
		Claire West	Labor	Elected 2021.
		Brent Hoare	Greens	Elected 2016.
Third Ward[11]		Daniel Myles	Independent	Elected 1999. Deputy Mayor 2004–2005.[12] Mayor 2010–2013.
		Darren Rodrigo	Labor	Elected 2024.
		Mick Fell	Labor	Elected 2012.
Fourth Ward[13]		Mark Greenhill	Labor	Elected 1999–2004, 2008–date. Deputy Mayor 2010–2012.[12] Mayor 2013–date.
		Nyree Fisher	Labor	Elected 2021.
		Margaret Buckham	Labor	Elected 2024.

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Outer Sydney § Blue Mountains results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Blue Mountains

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		29,052	63.9	+14.7	9	3
	Greens		11,000	24.2	+9.3	2
	Independents		4,329	9.5	−2.3	1
	Libertarian		1,082	2.4		0
Formal votes			45,463	90.0	−6.5
Informal votes			5,049	10.0	+6.5
Total			50,512

2021

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Outer Sydney § Blue Mountains.[edit]

2021 New South Wales local elections: Blue Mountains^[14]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		24,032	49.2	+11.4	6	1
	Liberal		11,750	24.1	−1.1	3	1
	Greens		7,296	14.9	−4.3	2
	Independent		5,755	11.8	−5.9	1
Formal votes			48,833	96.48
Informal votes			1,784	3.52
Total			50,617	100.00

Mayors

#	Mayor		Party	Term start	Term end	Time in office	Notes
1		William Freelander	Independent	2 October 1947	7 December 1948	1 year, 66 days	[15][16][17]
2		Frank Walford	Independent	7 December 1948	12 December 1950	2 years, 5 days	[18][19]
3		Percy Edward Galwey	Independent	12 December 1950	5 December 1953	2 years, 358 days	[20][21][22]
4		Aubrey Murphy	Independent	15 December 1953	December 1955	1 year, 351 days	[23][24]
–		Frank Walford	Independent	December 1955	December 1956	1 year, 0 days	[25]
–		Aubrey Murphy	Independent	December 1956	December 1959	3 years, 0 days	[26]
5		Leslie Corne	Independent	December 1959	December 1960	352 days	[26]
–		Frank Walford	Independent	December 1960	December 1961	1 year, 0 days
6		Keith Bates	Independent	December 1961	December 1966	4 years, 351 days	[26]
7		Tom Hunter	Independent	December 1966	December 1967	351 days	[26]
8		Ern Lesslie		December 1967	December 1969	1 year, 351 days	[26]
9		Jack Powell		December 1969	September 1971	1 year, 274 days	[26]
10		Ian Dash		September 1971	September 1974	3 years, 0 days	[26]
–		Ern Lesslie		September 1974	September 1976	2 years, 0 days	[26]
11		William Lloyd		September 1976	September 1977	1 year, 0 days	[26]
–		Ern Lesslie		September 1977	19 December 1979	2 years, 109 days	[26]
–	John James Wickham (Administrator)			19 December 1979	December 1981	1 year, 347 days	[26][27][28]
12		Peter Quirk		December 1981	September 1987	5 years, 274 days	[26][29]
13		James C. Angel		September 1987	September 1988	1 year, 0 days	[26]
14		Ralph Williams		September 1988	September 1991	3 years, 0 days	[26]
15		Peter O'Toole		September 1991	February 1992	153 days	[26]
16		Bob Clarke		February 1992	September 1994	2 years, 212 days	[26]
17		Joy Anderson		September 1994	September 1995	1 year, 0 days	[26]
18		Michael Neall		September 1995	September 1999	4 years, 0 days	[26]
19		Jim Angel	Labor	September 1999	13 September 2008	9 years, 12 days	[26]
20		Adam Searle	Labor	30 September 2008	21 September 2010	1 year, 356 days	[26]
21		Daniel Myles	Liberal	21 September 2010	17 September 2013	2 years, 361 days	[26]
22		Mark Greenhill	Labor	17 September 2013	Incumbent	11 years, 333 days	[26][30][31]

Council services

Cemeteries

The City of Blue Mountains Council maintains cemeteries at Blackheath, Faulconbridge, Katoomba, Lawson, Megalong Valley, Mount Irvine, Mount Victoria, Mount Wilson, Springwood, and Wentworth Falls.^[32]

Libraries

Blue Mountains Library operates three full-time branches, three part-time branches and a service for train commuters at Springwood and Katoomba stations two days a week.^[33]

Leisure centres

Blue Mountains Leisure Centres operate from five locations. All five locations have pools and the Katoomba and Springwood locations have gyms and offer various fitness classes.^[34]

Heritage listings

The City of Blue Mountains has a number of heritage-listed sites, including the following sites listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register:

• Blue Mountains National Park: Blue Mountains walking tracks^[35]
• Blackheath, Main Western railway: Blackheath railway station^[36]
• Faulconbridge, 14-20 Norman Lindsay Crescent: Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum^[37]
• Glenbrook, Great Western Highway: Glenbrook railway residence^[38]
• Glenbrook, Great Western Highway: Glenbrook Tunnel^[39]
• Glenbrook, Mitchells Pass: Lennox Bridge, Glenbrook^[40]
• Katoomba, 10-14 Civic Place: Mount St Marys College and Convent^[41]
• Katoomba, Katoomba Street: Carrington Hotel^[42]
• Katoomba, 59-61 Katoomba Street: Katoomba Post Office^[43]
• Katoomba, 63-69 Katoomba Street: Paragon Cafe, Katoomba^[44]
• Katoomba, Main Western railway: Katoomba railway station^[45]
• Katoomba, 10-16 Panorama Drive: Lilianfels, Katoomba^[46]
• Lawson, Main Western railway: Lawson railway station^[47]
• Leura, 37 – 49 Everglades Avenue: Everglades, Leura^[48]
• Linden, 91 – 111 Glossop Road: Linden Observatory Complex^[49]
• Linden, off Railway Parade: Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Linden, Linden Precinct^[50]
• Medlow Bath, Beauchamp Road: Medlow Dam^[51]
• Medlow Bath, Great Western Highway: Medlow Bath railway station^[52]
• Mount Victoria, Main Western railway: Mount Victoria railway station^[53]
• Mount Victoria, Mount York Road (off): Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Mount York, Cox's Pass Precinct^[54]
• Mount Wilson, 68-78 The Avenue: Wynstay Estate^[55]
• Springwood, 345-347 Great Western Highway: Christ Church Anglican Church, Springwood^[56]
• Springwood, 39 Hawkesbury Road: Buckland Convalescent Home^[57]
• Springwood, Main Western railway: Springwood railway station^[58]
• Valley Heights, 110 and 112 Green Parade: Valley Heights railway gatehouse^[59]
• Valley Heights, Main Western railway: Valley Heights railway station^[60]
• Warragamba, Coxs River Arms: Coxs River track^[61]
• Wentworth Falls, 63-67 Falls Road: Davisville, Wentworth Falls^[62]
• Wentworth Falls, 1-15 Matcham Avenue: Weatherboard Inn archaelological site^[63]
• Woodford, 90-92 Great Western Highway: Woodford Academy^[64]
• Woodford, Old Bathurst Road: Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Woodford, Old Bathurst Road Precinct^[65]
• Woodford, The Appian Way (off): Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Woodford, Appian Way Precinct^[66]

Sister cities

The City of Blue Mountains has sister city relationships with the following cities:^[67]

• Sanda, Hyōgo, Japan
• Flagstaff, Arizona, US

See also

• New South Wales portal

• List of local government areas in New South Wales