City of Shellharbour is a Local Government Area located in the Illawarra

Illawarra

Illawarra is a region in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a coastal region situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the Shoalhaven or South Coast region. It encompasses the cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven and the town of Kiama. The central region contains Lake...

 region, on the east coast of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, about 100 km south of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. It covers southern suburbs of the Wollongong

Wollongong, New South Wales

Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...

 urban area centred around Shellharbour

Shellharbour, New South Wales

Shellharbour is a southern beachside suburb of Wollongong, located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the Local Government Area, City of Shellharbour....

, and has an estimated population of 66,905.

The area is bordered by the City of Wollongong

City of Wollongong

The City of Wollongong is a Local Government Area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It is on the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Freeway and the South Coast railway line....

 to the north, with the boundary being the Lake Illawarra

Lake Illawarra

Lake Illawarra is a large coastal lagoon located in the city of Wollongong about 100 km south of Sydney, New South Wales.The lake receives runoff from the Illawarra escarpment through Macquarie Rivulet and Mullet Creek, and has a narrow tidal entrance to the sea at Windang...

 entrance (and the suburb of Lake Illawarra

Lake Illawarra, New South Wales

Lake Illawarra is a southern suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia located on the southern side of the Lake Illawarra entrance....

) and Macquarie Rivulet

Macquarie Rivulet

Macquarie Rivulet is a river in New South Wales which is 23 kilometres long. It rises near Robertson, New South Wales and drains the eastern edge of the Southern Highlands plateau and part of the Illawarra escarpment. It flows through Albion Park Rail, then goes into Lake Illawarra and indirectly...

 (Albion Park Rail

Albion Park Rail, New South Wales

Albion Park Rail is a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia in the Local Government Area of Shellharbour. The South Coast railway line was opened to the railway station and Bombo in 1887. At the time the nearest town was Albion Park, several kilometres away...

). To the south lies the Municipality of Kiama.

History

Indigenous occupation of the area, particularly of Bass Point, can be traced back to 17,000 BP. The area was discovered by Bass

George Bass

George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...

 and Flinders

Matthew Flinders

Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...

in 1796. Free settlers began arriving between 1817 and 1831 and the township was founded in 1851.

The Shellharbour (Municipal) Council was constituted on 4 June 1859, and was gazetted as a City in 1996. In May 2009, Shellharbour City Council celebrated its 150th birthday.

Public inquiry

A public inquiry into Shellharbour City Council was instigated by the Department of Local Government on the 31st of March 2008. The inquiry concluded on 11 June 2008 with the Commissioner of the Inquiry due to report in early July to the Department of Local Government.

On 9 July 2008, the Commissioner, Richard Colley, recommended to the Department of Local Government that all civic offices at the council should be declared vacant. The Hon. Paul Lynch, the Minister for Local Government, announced the dismissal of Shellharbour City Council later the same day.

Attractions

Shellharbour City has many attractions for family entertainment and recreation.
In Albion Park Rail there is a Light Rail Museum and steam trains, Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Museum, and Albion Oval; a local sports ground. Shellharbour Village, the beach and playground are also popular attractions.
A cycleway goes from Oak Flats to Barrack Point.

External links

Local tourist information