City 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.

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. 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 areaCensus year 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021Population Estimated residents on census night LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales % 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 Englishn/r n/r 30.1% 30.5% 44.3%Australiann/r n/r 28.7% 26.3% 38.1%Irishn/r n/r 10.2% 11.1% 16.0%Scottishn/r n/r 8.3% 8.6% 13.3%Germann/r n/r 3.2% 3.3% 4.8%Language,top responses(other than English) Germann/r 0.6% 0.6% 0.5% 0.5%Spanishn/r 0.3% 0.4% 0.5% 0.6%Italian0.3% 0.4% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3%Mandarinn/r n/r n/r 0.4% 0.3%Frenchn/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%Catholic22.6% 22.5% 21.5% 19.7% 17.2%Anglican24.6% 22.5% 20.9% 17.0% 13.5%Not statedn/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 incomen/r $501 $590 $688 $817% of Australian median incomen/r 107.5% 102.2% 103.9%101.4%Family income Median weekly family incomen/r $1,345 $1,624 $1,866 $2,235% of Australian median incomen/r 114.9% 109.6% 107.6%105.4%Household income Median weekly household incomen/r $1,093 $1,270 $1,468$1,756% of Australian median incomen/r 106.4% 102.9% 102.1%100.5%

Council Current composition and election method

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.

PartyCouncillors Labor Party 9 The Greens 2 Independents 1 Total 12

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

Election results 2024

2021

Mayors # Mayor Party Term start Term end Time in office Notes William Freelander Independent 2 October 1947 7 December 1948 Frank Walford Independent 7 December 1948 12 December 1950 Percy Edward Galwey Independent 12 December 1950 5 December 1953 Aubrey Murphy Independent 15 December 1953 December 1955 – Frank Walford Independent December 1955 December 1956 – Aubrey Murphy Independent December 1956 December 1959 Leslie Corne Independent December 1959 December 1960 – Frank Walford Independent December 1960 December 1961 Keith Bates Independent December 1961 December 1966 Tom Hunter Independent December 1966 December 1967 Ern Lesslie December 1967 December 1969 Jack Powell December 1969 September 1971 Ian Dash September 1971 September 1974 – Ern Lesslie September 1974 September 1976 William Lloyd September 1976 September 1977 – Ern Lesslie September 1977 19 December 1979 – John James Wickham (Administrator) 19 December 1979 December 1981 Peter Quirk December 1981 September 1987 James C. Angel September 1987 September 1988 Ralph Williams September 1988 September 1991 Peter O'Toole September 1991 February 1992 Bob Clarke February 1992 September 1994 Joy Anderson September 1994 September 1995 Michael Neall September 1995 September 1999 Jim Angel Labor September 1999 13 September 2008 Adam Searle Labor 30 September 2008 21 September 2010 Daniel Myles Liberal 21 September 2010 17 September 2013 Mark Greenhill Labor 17 September 2013 Incumbent

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.

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.

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.

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 Blackheath, Main Western railway: Blackheath railway station Faulconbridge, 14-20 Norman Lindsay Crescent: Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum Glenbrook, Great Western Highway: Glenbrook railway residence Glenbrook, Great Western Highway: Glenbrook Tunnel Glenbrook, Mitchells Pass: Lennox Bridge, Glenbrook Katoomba, 10-14 Civic Place: Mount St Marys College and Convent Katoomba, Katoomba Street: Carrington Hotel Katoomba, 59-61 Katoomba Street: Katoomba Post Office Katoomba, 63-69 Katoomba Street: Paragon Cafe, Katoomba Katoomba, Main Western railway: Katoomba railway station Katoomba, 10-16 Panorama Drive: Lilianfels, Katoomba Lawson, Main Western railway: Lawson railway station Leura, 37 – 49 Everglades Avenue: Everglades, Leura Linden, 91 – 111 Glossop Road: Linden Observatory Complex Linden, off Railway Parade: Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Linden, Linden Precinct Medlow Bath, Beauchamp Road: Medlow Dam Medlow Bath, Great Western Highway: Medlow Bath railway station Mount Victoria, Main Western railway: Mount Victoria railway station Mount Victoria, Mount York Road (off): Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Mount York, Cox's Pass Precinct Mount Wilson, 68-78 The Avenue: Wynstay Estate Springwood, 345-347 Great Western Highway: Christ Church Anglican Church, Springwood Springwood, 39 Hawkesbury Road: Buckland Convalescent Home Springwood, Main Western railway: Springwood railway station Valley Heights, 110 and 112 Green Parade: Valley Heights railway gatehouse Valley Heights, Main Western railway: Valley Heights railway station Warragamba, Coxs River Arms: Coxs River track Wentworth Falls, 63-67 Falls Road: Davisville, Wentworth Falls Wentworth Falls, 1-15 Matcham Avenue: Weatherboard Inn archaelological site Woodford, 90-92 Great Western Highway: Woodford Academy Woodford, Old Bathurst Road: Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Woodford, Old Bathurst Road Precinct Woodford, The Appian Way (off): Cox's Road and Early Deviations - Woodford, Appian Way Precinct

Sister cities The City of Blue Mountains has sister city relationships with the following cities: Sanda, Hyōgo, Japan Flagstaff, Arizona, US

City of Blue Mountains

Bron en licentie