← Carrathool Shire Council
Area profile

Area profile

A quick snapshot of Carrathool Shire, drawn from official ABS estimates and the NSW Government's council data. This is one of the largest local government areas in NSW by land area and one of the smallest by population: roughly 2,800 people spread over nearly 19,000 square kilometres of the western Riverina, reaching from the Murrumbidgee River in the south to the Lachlan and Lake Brewster in the north. Note that the shire's administrative centre is Goolgowi, not the village of Carrathool that gives the shire its name — the council chambers are in Goolgowi and the larger town is Hillston.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English
Local Government Area (LGA)
The official area a council governs.
Estimated Resident Population (ERP)
The official population count for an area.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
The national statistics agency behind population figures.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

The area at a glance

Population (ERP, 2023–24)
2,767ABS Estimated Resident Population, per OLG time-series data. Council's own Delivery Program 2026–2029 cites approximately 2,719 residents.
Area
18,934.5 km²Council describes the shire as covering almost 19,000 square kilometres, one of the largest local government areas in NSW.
Population density
~0.15 people per km²Roughly one resident for every 7 square kilometres.
Region
Western Riverina, NSW — between the Murrumbidgee and the LachlanCouncil describes the shire as about 680 km west of Sydney. Carrathool village sits on the Murrumbidgee; Hillston and Lake Brewster sit in the shire's Lachlan catchment to the north.
Council classification
Rural (OLG group 9)
Main centres
Hillston (largest town), Goolgowi (council chambers), Carrathool, Merriwagga and Rankins SpringsCouncil offices are at Goolgowi (9-11 Cobram Street) and Hillston (139-145 High Street); the W.G. Parker Memorial Library is in Hillston. Council also runs the swimming pools, caravan parks, halls, cemeteries, aerodromes and the water and sewer schemes for these towns.
What the economy runs on
Irrigated horticulture, broadacre cropping, grazing and poultryCouncil's Delivery Program describes land used largely for agriculture and horticulture — sheep and cattle grazing, poultry farming, cotton and rice growing, with citrus and other fruit, nuts, olives and vegetables contributing strongly. Goolgowi's district includes chicken farms, olives, walnuts, grapes, almonds, citrus and a large cattle feedlot. Council also notes that solar farms are increasing in prevalence across western NSW.
Heritage worth knowing
The 1924 Carrathool Bridge over the MurrumbidgeeA heritage-listed bascule lift-span bridge — the last of its kind in Australia. Its lift span last opened for river traffic in 1961; a new bridge opened alongside it in 2019, named for Councillor Margaret Merrylees. Council recognises the Wiradjuri people as the traditional custodians of the land.

Suburbs & postcodes

On the map

The shaded area is the official Local Government Area boundary.

The suburb list and postcodes are a selection of the localities in the Carrathool Shire LGA, cross-checked against the NSW Police suburb list for the Murrumbidgee Police District. The shaded area on the map is the official Local Government Area boundary. The shire's name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning 'native companion'; Hillston began as 'Daisy Plains' and then 'Redbank' before being renamed in 1869, Goolgowi was first settled for farming in 1926 after the Griffith–Hillston railway arrived in 1923, and Merriwagga was gazetted in 1924.

Sources — check it yourself

Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.