Shire of Halls Creek

The Shire of Halls Creek is one of the four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of 143,030 square kilometres (55,224 sq mi), most of which is sparsely populated. The Shire's seat of government is the town of Halls Creek. Many Aboriginal communities are located within the shire.

Shire of Halls Creek Western Australia
Location in Western Australia
Population	3,574 (LGA 2021)[1]
Established	1887
Area	143,030 km2 (55,224.2 sq mi)
President	Malcolm Edwards
Council seat	Halls Creek
Region	Kimberley
State electorate(s)	Kimberley
Federal division(s)	Durack
Website	Shire of Halls Creek
LGAs around Shire of Halls Creek: Derby-West Kimberley Wyndham-East Kimberley Victoria Daly (NT) Derby-West Kimberley Shire of Halls Creek Victoria Daly (NT) East Pilbara East Pilbara Central Desert (NT)

The Purnululu National Park, home to part of the Bungle Bungle Range, and Gregory Lake are within the Shire, as is the Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park.

History

The Shire of Halls Creek originated as the Kimberley Goldfields Road District on 10 February 1887. It was renamed the Halls Creek Road District on 8 January 1915. On 1 July 1961, it became a shire following the passage of the Local Government Act 1960, which reformed all remaining road districts into shires.^[2]

Stations

The area is home to many large cattle stations including Bedford Downs Station, which was established some time prior to 1906 by the Buchanan and Gordon brothers. Other properties in the area include Alice Downs, Louisa Downs, Moola Bulla, Springvale and Ruby Plains Station.

Elected council

Councillors are elected at-large to represent the whole shire.

Previously the council consisted of three wards. A review of wards and representation was carried out in late 2008 and, at its December 2008 meeting, the council resolved to recommend to the Local Government Advisory Board that the wards be abolished.^[3]

Ward	Councillor		Position
Unsubdivided		Malcolm Edwards	President	[4]
		Chris Loessl	Deputy president
		Rosemary Stretch
		Virginia O'Neil
		Bonnie Edwards
		Trish McKay
		(Vacant)

Towns and localities

The towns and localities of the Shire of Halls Creek with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census:^[5][6]

Locality	Population	Area	Map
Durack *	169 (SAL 2021)[7]	29,213.7 km2 (11,279.5 sq mi)
Halls Creek	1,572 (SAL 2021)[8]	44 km2 (17 sq mi)
Kundat Djaru Community	141 (SAL 2021)[9]	35 km2 (14 sq mi)
Kupartiya Community	56 (SAL 2021)[10]	6.1 km2 (2.4 sq mi)
Lake Argyle *	205 (SAL 2021)[11]	9,247.2 km2 (3,570.4 sq mi)
McBeath	32 (SAL 2021)[12]	1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi)
Mueller Ranges *	366 (SAL 2021)[13]	37,982.5 km2 (14,665.1 sq mi)
Ord River	158 (SAL 2021)[14]	23,311.1 km2 (9,000.5 sq mi)
Purnululu National Park	13 (SAL 2021)[15]	2,438.4 km2 (941.5 sq mi)
Sturt Creek	330 (SAL 2021)[16]	21,157.6 km2 (8,169.0 sq mi)
Tanami	487 (SAL 2021)[17]	57,896.7 km2 (22,354.0 sq mi)
Warmun Community	457 (SAL 2021)[18][19]	20.3 km2 (7.8 sq mi)

• (* indicates locality is only partially located within this shire)

Indigenous communities

Indigenous communities in the Shire of Halls Creek:

• Balgo
• Billiluna (Mindibungu)
• Halls Creek
• Mulan
• Kundat Djaru (Ringer Soak)
• Warmun (Turkey Creek)
• Yiyili

Heritage-listed places

Main article: List of State Register of Heritage Places in the Shire of Halls Creek

As of 2023, 27 places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Halls Creek,^[20] of which five are on the State Register of Heritage Places.^[21]

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Halls Creek (Local Government Area)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Municipality Boundary Amendments Register" (PDF). Western Australian Electoral Distribution Commission. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
3. "Local Government Advisory Board Annual Report" (PDF).
4. "Councillors - Shire of Halls Creek". www.hallscreek.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
5. "SLIP Map". maps.slip.wa.gov.au. Landgate. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
6. "NationalMap". nationalmap.gov.au. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
7. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Durack (WA) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
8. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Halls Creek (WA) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
9. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Kundat Djaru (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
10. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Kupartiya (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
11. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Lake Argyle (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
12. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "McBeath (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
13. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mueller Ranges (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
14. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Ord River (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
15. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Purnululu (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
16. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Sturt Creek (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
17. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Tanami (WA) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
18. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Warmun (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
19. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Warmun Community (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021. 
20. "Shire of Halls Creek Heritage Places". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
21. "Shire of Halls Creek State Register of Heritage Places". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 22 February 2023.

External links

• Official website

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