Armidale Dumaresq Shire

The Armidale Dumaresq Council is a former local government area in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2000 from the merger of the original City of Armidale with the surrounding Dumaresq Shire and abolished on 12 May 2016, where the council, together with Guyra Shire, was subsumed into the Armidale Regional Council with immediate effect.The combined former area covered the urban area of Armidale and the surrounding region, extending primarily eastward from the city through farming districts to the gorges and escarpments that mark the edge of the Northern Tablelands.The last Mayor of the Armidale Dumaresq Council was Cr. Herman Beyersdorf until the council was abolished on 12 May 2016, amalgamating with Guyra Shire to form the Armidale Regional Council.Main towns and villagesVillages located in the former area included Kellys Plains, Dangarsleigh, Wollomombi and Hillgrove.DemographicsAt the, there were people in the Armidale Dumaresq local government area, of these 47.8% were male and 52.2% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 6.3% of the population which is nearly three times higher than both the national and state averages. The median age of people in the Armidale Dumaresq Council area was 35 years; slightly below the national median. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.1% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 14.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 42.5% were married and 10.7% were either divorced or separated.