Carrathool Shire is a Local Government Area (LGA) in the Far West of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 on the Mid-Western Highway

Mid-Western Highway

The Mid-Western Highway starts at Bathurst New South Wales, where it joins with the Great Western Highway over the Blue Mountains from Sydney.It proceeds via Blayney, Carcoar and Cowra. It then heads west through Grenfell to West Wyalong where it crosses the Newell Highway...

 and north of the Sturt Highway

Sturt Highway

The Sturt Highway is an Australian highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is part of the Auslink National network and is part of the main highway route between Sydney and Adelaide.-Route:...

.

The largest town is Hillston

Hillston, New South Wales

Hillston is a township in western New South Wales, Australia, in Carrathool Shire, built on the banks of the Lachlan River. It was founded in 1863 and at the 2006 census had a population of 1,054.-History:...

 and the council seat is Goolgowi

Goolgowi, New South Wales

Goolgowi is located in western New South Wales, Australia, around west of Sydney via the Mid-Western Highway and is the administrative centre of Carrathool Shire. At the 2006 census, Goolgowi had a population of 287 people....

. The Shire also includes the villages of Merriwagga

Merriwagga, New South Wales

Merriwagga is a rural village community in the northern part of the Riverina. It is situated by road, about 20 kilometres north west from Goolgowi and 42 kilometres south from Hillston on the Kidman Way in NSW. According to the ABS Census 2001 it has a population of 66 people...

, Rankins Springs

Rankins Springs, New South Wales

Rankins Springs is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia.  It is in Carrathool Shire Council and on the Mid-Western Highway...

, Carrathool

Carrathool, New South Wales

Carrathool is a village in the western Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, located in the Carrathool Shire. In 2006, Carrathool had a population of 325 people. It is about north of the Sturt Highway between Darlington Point and Hay...

.

Where once regular droughts made life almost untenable, the area now has irrigated crops, gardens, greened sporting facilities and village verges. Over 15,000 square kilometres are now used in rural pursuits, including more than 600 km² in wheat, rice, vineyards, cotton, potatoes, vegetables and orchard trees. Most of the change was made possible by the widespread use of river and underground water.

Council

Carrathool Shire Council is composed of ten councillors elected preferentially. The shire is divided into five wards, each electing two councillors. The mayor is not directly elected. The current makeup of the council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Unaffiliated	10
	Total	10

The current council, elected in 2008, is:

Ward

A Ward

Darryl Jardine

Unaffiliated

Elected Deputy Mayor in the September 2009 Mayoral elections, defeating the incumbent, Cr Russell Campbell.

Brian Newman

Unaffiliated

B Ward

Margaret Merrylees

Unaffiliated

Russell Campbell

Unaffiliated

C Ward

Bill Kite

Unaffiliated

Jim Caughey

Unaffiliated

D Ward

Peter Kingston

Unaffiliated

David Fensom

Unaffiliated

E Ward

Vince Cashmere

Unaffiliated

Peter Laird

Unaffiliated

Mayor