, built in 1903.
Early history The traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the lands now known as the
Brisbane Water were the
Guringai people of the
Eora nation. The Darkingung people occupied large areas inland west towards
Rylstone, and north to
Cessnock and
Wollombi. The area now known as Wyong Shire developed alongside
Putty Road, connecting Sydney and the
Hunter Valley, with agriculture and timber forming the early industries. On the opening of the railway in 1889 to
Newcastle the focus of commercial activity shifted eastward to the Town of Wyong. By 1903 the Norah Head Lighthouse was built and the first few houses and tourist accommodations began to appear along the coast. In 1811, the
Governor of New South Wales,
Lachlan Macquarie, gave the first
land grant in the region to William Nash, a former marine of the
First Fleet. No further grants were made in the area until 1821. In 1840, the Brisbane Water Police District was proclaimed covering the area from the Hawkesbury River to Lake Macquarie and which administered local government under the control of magistrates. In 1843, the Brisbane Water District Council was proclaimed on the same boundaries as the Police District, and replaced the appointed magistrates with an elected council as part of an early attempt to establish local government administration throughout the colony. This experiment in local government was not very successful, with much public opposition focused on the issue of increased taxation, and a lack of oversight and faulty administration led to the collapse of many of these District Councils. The Brisbane Water District Council had ceased to exist by 1855, and the NSW Parliament passed the
Municipalities Act in 1858, which allowed for the creation of Municipalities and Boroughs if a petition of as few as 50 signatures was presented to the government. However, no petition was ever sent from the residents of Brisbane Water to the government under this act, and local matters reverted to the police magistrates for determination.
Erina Shire On 11 November 1886, the Town of Gosford was incorporated as the "Borough of Gosford", with an area of 1,840 acres in and around Gosford. The remaining area of the Brisbane Water Police District outside of Gosford continued to be administered by the police magistrates until 1906. On 16 May 1906, the Shire was divided in to three Ridings (A, B, C) and five temporary Councillors were appointed (John Bourke of Kincumber, John Martin Moroney of Woy Woy, Harold Stanley Robinson of Penang, Manasseh Ward of Gosford, and Alexander Wilkinson of Wyong). The Temporary Council first met at Gosford Courthouse on 13 June 1906 and Manasseh Ward was elected as the chairman. Following desire from Gosford to merge with Erina Shire, a proposal for a six-ward Erina Shire with Gosford becoming F Riding was subsequently proclaimed and came into effect on 23 January 1908. The new Shire Council Chambers on Mann Street, Gosford, were officially opened on 4 May 1912. On 27 April 1928 a proposal for the separation of the Woy Woy peninsula was received and the
Shire of Woy Woy was subsequently proclaimed on 1 August 1928. Following a January 1936 petition from Gosford and Point Clare residents and a public inquiry that recommended a new Gosford municipality, Erina Shire was divided again to re-form the Municipality of Gosford on 24 October 1936, including the areas of the former Gosford Municipality abolished in 1908 and also new areas from Narara to Woy Woy and Point Clare. Following significant debate about the provision of electricity undertakings across the Central Coast, including over the split between Erina Shire and Gosford, on 16 October 1942 Gosford Municipality combined with the Shires of Erina and Woy Woy to form the
Brisbane Water County Council to provide electricity to the combined area of the three councils. The County Council operated as an
electricity and gas supplier and retailer and was managed by representatives of the three councils. The County Council operated until its amalgamation with the
Sydney County Council from 1 January 1980.
Wyong Shire In June 1945, Erina Shire resolved to investigate the reconstitution of local government on the Central Coast into two shires and following further discussions a formal proposal was presented to the Minister for Local Government,
Joseph Cahill, in October 1945. Nevertheless, the proposal proved divisive, with Gosford and the Wyong section of Erina Shire in favour and the rest of Erina Shire and Woy Woy Shire opposed. The formal government inquiry subsequently supported the proposal and in April 1946, Cahill notified the councils of his intention to proceed. On 1 January 1947, part of Erina Shire, all of Woy Woy Shire and the Municipality of Gosford formed
Gosford Shire, and the remainder of Erina Shire north and east of Kulnura, Central Mangrove and Lisarow formed Wyong Shire. Following the changes, the new Wyong Shire Council initially rented the old Erina Shire offices in Gosford, but soon acquired some army huts from Cowra and had them moved to Wyong to serve as temporary Council Chambers, which were officially opened by Minister Joseph Cahill on 4 February 1948. These chambers were later replaced by a more substantial Council Administration Building at 2 Hely Street Wyong completed in 1959. With Gosford establishing a Library Service in 1948, Wyong Shire took longer to deliver its own Library Service by 1959, having delayed a proposal on cost grounds in 1951, and held a referendum on the question in December 1953 which was resolved in favour of adopting the
Library Act, 1939. Wyong Shire Council formally adopted the act in 1958 and opened the first public library service on the ground floor of the Council Chambers in May 1959. The Wyong Library Service eventually expanded to five branches at Toukley, The Entrance, Tuggerah (1995), Lake Haven (2002), and Bay Village.
Establishment of Central Coast Council and abolition of Wyong Shire Council In 2015 a
review of local government boundaries by the
NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that Wyong Shire and Gosford City councils merge to form one single council with an area of and support a population of approximately 331,007. This proposal was supported Wyong Shire and Gosford City councils, who had submitted the proposal to merge as part of the NSW Government's
Fit for the Future reform process. On 12 May 2016, with the release of the
Local Government (Council Amalgamations) Proclamation 2016, the Central Coast Council was formed from Wyong Shire and Gosford City councils. The first meeting of the Central Coast Council was held at the Wyong Civic Centre on 25 May 2016, with meetings alternating between Gosford and Wyong. ==Water supply==