Wollondilly Shire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wollondilly Shire New South Wales
Location in New South Wales
Population	48,519 (2016 census) 52,230 (2018 est.)
• Density	18.95/km2 (49.1/sq mi)
Established	7 March 1906
Area	2,560 km2 (988.4 sq mi)
Mayor	Matt Gould
Council seat	Picton
Region	Macarthur Blue Mountains Central Tablelands Greater Western Sydney
State electorate(s)	Wollondilly
Federal Division(s)	Hume Cunningham
Website	Wollondilly Shire
LGAs around Wollondilly Shire: Blue Mountains Penrith Camden Oberon Wollondilly Shire Campbelltown Upper Lachlan Wingecarribee Wollongong

Wollondilly Shire is a periurban local government area adjacent to the south-western fringe of Sydney, parts of which fall into the Macarthur, Blue Mountains and Central Tablelands regions in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wollondilly Shire was created by proclamation in the NSW Government Gazette on 7 March 1906, following the passing of the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905, and amalgamated with the Municipality of Picton on 1 May 1940.

Wollondilly Shire is named after the Wollondilly River. The area is traversed by the Hume Highway and the Southern Highlands railway line. Wollondilly Shire contains several small towns and villages broken up by farms and sandstone gorges. To its west is wilderness and includes the Nattai Wilderness and the Burragorang Valley. The majority of the Shire is either national park or forms part of the water catchment for Sydney's water supply. The Shire provides 97% of Sydney's water supply.

The Mayor of Wollondilly Shire Council is Cr. Matt Gould, an independent politician.

Towns and localities

Towns and localities in the Wollondilly Shire are:

Demographics

At the 2016 census, there were 48,519 people in the Wollondilly local government area, with an equal proportion of males and females. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 2.4% of the population which is on par with the national average. The median age of people in the Wollondilly Shire was 36 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 23.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 10.8% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 54.9% were married and 10.4% were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the Wollondilly Shire between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 9.18%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 7.23%. This was higher than the population growth for Australia from 2001 to 2006 (5.78%) but less than the national figure for 2006 to 2011 (8.32%). The median weekly income for residents within the Wollondilly Shire was marginally higher than the national average.

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Wollondilly local government area who stated their ancestry as Australian or Anglo-Saxon was more than 63% (national average was 65.2%). More than 69% of Wollondilly Shire residents nominated a religious affiliation of Christianity at the 2011 Census, which was well above the national average of 50.2%. Compared to the national average, there was a lower than average proportion of households in the Wollondilly local government area (8.3%) where two or more languages were spoken (national average was 20.4%), and a significantly higher proportion (91.2%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 76.8%).

Selected historical census data for Wollondilly local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011	2016
Population		Estimated residents on census night	36,953	40,344	43,259	48,519
		Average population growth p/a		1.84%	1.45%	2.43%
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales		54th	49th	47th
		% of New South Wales population	0.59%	0.62%	0.63%	0.65%
		% of Australian population	0.20%	0.20%	0.20%	0.21%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			33.9%	33.3%
		English			29.2%	28.2%
		Irish			7.9%	7.7%
		Scottish			6.2%	6.4%
		Italian			2.9%	3.4%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Italian	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%	0.7%
		Arabic	0.5%	0.5%	0.4%	0.6%
		Spanish	n/c	n/c	n/c	0.4%
		Maltese	0.5%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
		Greek	n/c	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Anglican	33.4%	32.3%	32.5%	27.5%
		Catholic	29.3%	30.1%	30.9%	30.2%
		No Religion	11.2%	13.7%	15.4%	21.4%
		Uniting Church	5.3%	4.2%	3.8%	3.0%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	3.2%	2.8%	2.4%	2.0%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$502	A$617	A$738
		% of Australian median income		107.7%	106.9%	111.5%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,186	A$1,661	A$2,032
		% of Australian median income		115.5%	112.2%	117.2%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,321	A$1,478	A$1,871
		% of Australian median income		112.8%	119.8%	130.1%

Local attractions