Gunnedah Shire is a local government area in the North West Slopes region 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...

, 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...

. The Shire is situated 264 metres above sea level on the Liverpool Plains

Liverpool Plains

The Liverpool Plains is a geographical area and Local Government Area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales.The Shire was formed on 17 March 2004 by the amalgamation of Quirindi Shire with parts of three other shires: Parry, Murrurundi and Gunnedah.- Main towns :* Quirindi* Ardglen*...

 in the Namoi River

Namoi River

The Namoi River is a major tributary of the Darling River in inland New South Wales, Australia.- Course :The headwaters of the Namoi, including the Macdonald River, the Peel River, the Cockburn River and the Manilla River, rise on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range on the Northern...

 valley. It is traversed by the Oxley Highway

Oxley Highway

The Oxley Highway is a rural highway in New South Wales, Australia. It starts at Nevertire where it joins the Mitchell Highway. It links Warren, Gilgandra, Coonabarabran, Gunnedah, Carroll, Tamworth, Bendemeer, Walcha, Yarrowitch, Ellenborough, Long Flat, Wauchope and ends at Port Macquarie on the...

 and the Kamilaroi Highway

Kamilaroi Highway

Kamilaroi Highway is a state highway in New South Wales. It has been given the national route number 37. Its status as a highway is fairly new....

.

The Shire is very flat; the tallest hills are 400 to 500 metres above sea level. The climate is hot in summer, mild in winter and dry, although heavy rain in catchment areas occasionally cause flooding of the Namoi River. Major floods cut transport links to Gunnedah

Gunnedah, New South Wales

Gunnedah is a town and Local government area in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. 7,542 people lived in the town of Gunnedah in 2006, including 931 indigenous people ....

, briefly isolating it from the outside world. The Gunnedah area is noted for its abundance of native wildlife, including kangaroo

Kangaroo

A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...

s, echidna

Echidna

Echidnas , also known as spiny anteaters, belong to the family Tachyglossidae in the monotreme order of egg-laying mammals. There are four extant species, which, together with the platypus, are the only surviving members of that order and are the only extant mammals that lay eggs...

s and koala

Koala

The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....

s. Koalas can often be found in trees within the town, as well as in the surrounding countryside with the help of signs placed by the local tourist centre.

The Shire includes the towns of Gunnedah

Gunnedah, New South Wales

Gunnedah is a town and Local government area in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. 7,542 people lived in the town of Gunnedah in 2006, including 931 indigenous people ....

, Curlewis

Curlewis, New South Wales

Curlewis is a parish and a rural village on the Kamilaroi Highway, 16 kilometres south of Gunnedah, New South Wales in Australia. The village boundaries are in the Gunnedah Shire local government area of the North West Slopes portion of the New England region.-History:Curlewis was founded by...

,
Breeza

Breeza, New South Wales

Breeza is a locality in New South Wales, Australia. In 2006, Breeza had a population of 133 people. It is located about 43 kilometres south of Gunnedah Breeza is located in the Liverpool Plains agricultural region, and the area around Breeza in particular is called the "Breeza Plains"...

, Carroll

Carroll, New South Wales

Carroll is a parish and small village on the Oxley Highway, 20 km east of Gunnedah, New South Wales. In 2006, Carroll had a population of 447 people. The Namoi River runs approximately parallel to the highway which is also the main street there. Periodically this river floods the town and...

, Mullaley

Mullaley, New South Wales

Mullaley is a village on the Oxley Highway, 38km west of Gunnedah. The Coxs Creek runs across the highway on the western side of the village. Mullaley is on the crossroads of the roads from Boggabri in the north, Premer in the south, Gunnedah in the east and Coonabarabran in the west. The...

, Emerald Hill, Tambar Springs

Tambar Springs, New South Wales

Tambar Springs is a town in the North West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Gunnedah Shire Council Local Government area, north west of the state capital, Sydney. At the 2006 census, Tambar Springs and the surrounding area had a population of 201.Tambar Springs was...

 and Kelvin.

Council

Gunnedah Shire Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally. The mayor is not directly elected. The current makeup of the council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...  and Unaffiliated	9
	Total	9

The current council, elected in 2008, is:

Councillor		Party	Notes
	Adam Marshall	Unaffiliated	Mayor
	Colleen Fuller	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	Deputy Mayor
	Stephen Smith	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Kevin Martin	Unaffiliated
	Leon Mills	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Gwen Griffen	Unaffiliated
	Tim Duddy	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Hans Allgayer	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
	Stephen Benham	Unaffiliated