Municipality of Kiama
The Municipality of Kiama is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated south of Shellharbour and the City of Wollongong and is located adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, the Princes Highway and the South Coast railway line.
Towns and localities
The Municipality of Kiama contains the following towns and localities:- Kiama
- * Bombo
- * Kiama Downs
- * Kiama Heights
- * Minnamurra
- Barren Grounds
- Brogers Creek
- Broughton Village
- Budderoo
- Carrington Falls
- Curramore
- Foxground
- Gerringong
- Gerroa
- Jamberoo
- Jerrara
- Knights Hill
- Rose Valley
- Saddleback Mountain
- Toolijooa
- Upper Kangaroo Valley
- Werri Beach
- Willow Vale
Municipal history
The municipality of Kiama was created on 13 August 1859 by proclamation in the New South Wales Government Gazette by the Governor of New South Wales Sir William Thomas Denison. There were three wards: Kiama, Gerringong and Jamberoo. The first council comprised James Colley, John Sharpe and Joseph Pike ; John Hukins, John Colley and John Hanrahan ; and Joseph Blow, Robert Miller and James Robinson. The first mayor of Kiama was James Colley.In 1871, Gerringong separated from the Kiama municipality and Jamberoo in 1892. In 1954, the Gerringong, Jamberoo and Kiama municipalities were amalgamated forming today's current municipal boundaries.
Kiama has had three female mayors: Ruth Devenney, Joyce Wheatley and Sandra McCarthy.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Municipality of Kiama merge with the City of Shoalhaven to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately. The Kiama community along with the Shoalhaven community actively campaigned against any forced council amalgamation between the two councils. Kiama council held a non-compulsory poll on 7 May 2016 to grasp community attitudes to the proposal. The results of the poll concluded that 95% of the community supported remaining an independent council, with a 49.9% turnout. On 12 May 2016, the NSW State Government determined not to amalgamate Kiama and Shoalhaven council areas.
Demographics
At the the total population of the Municipality was people. The median age of the community was 48 years.About 8.2% of the population was born outside of Australia, with the top countries of birth being England at 5.2%, New Zealand at 1.3%, Scotland at 0.6%, the United States of America at 0.6% and Germany at 0.5%. The Indigenous Australian population is 2.3% of the total community population.
English was spoken as a first language by 91.0% of the population. The top response for languages spoken at home other than English was Italian at 0.4%, followed by German at 0.3%, Spanish at 0.3%, Greek at 0.3% and French at 0.3%.
Council
Current composition and election method
The council of the municipality of Kiama is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as a single ward. 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 election was held on 14 September 2024 and the makeup of the council is as follows:The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election, is: