Central Darling Shire is a local government area in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located adjacent to the Barrier Highway. Central Darling Shire was constituted in 1959 and at 53,511 square kilometres (20,661 sq mi), it is the largest incorporated local government area in New South Wales.

The Central Darling Shire Council has been under administration since 2014 with an Administrator taking the place of the mayor and councillors.

The Shire includes the towns of Ivanhoe, Menindee, Wilcannia and White Cliffs.

This section needs expansion with: 2016 census data. You can help by adding to it. (July 2017)

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics during 2003-04 there:^[6]

• were 509 wage and salary earners (ranked 162nd in New South Wales and 525th in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's 2,558,415 and Australia's 7,831,856)
• was a total income of $18 million (ranked 159th in New South Wales and 522nd in Australia, less than 0.1% of both New South Wales's $107 billion and Australia's $304 billion)
• was an estimated average income per wage and salary earner of $34,391 (ranked 82nd in New South Wales and 268th in Australia, 83% of New South Wales's $41,407 and 89% of Australia's $38,820)
• was an estimated median income per wage and salary earner of $31,477 (ranked 84th in New South Wales and 284th in Australia, 89% of New South Wales's $35,479 and 92% of Australia's $34,149).

More information Selected historical census data for Central Darling Shire local government area, Census year ...

Selected historical census data for Central Darling Shire local government area
Census year			2011[7]	2016[1]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	1,991	1,833
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales	128th	127th
		% of New South Wales population	0.03%
		% of Australian population	0.01%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian	32.5%	27.5%
		English	20.7%	19.6%
		Australian Aboriginal	19.1%	20.7%
		Irish	5.9%	4.7%
		Scottish	5.3%	5.4%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Paakantyi (Darling language)	0.9%
		Italian	0.3%
		Tongan	0.3%	0.6%
		German	0.2%	0.4%
		French	0.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	37.9%	29.5%
		Anglican	18.8%	14.1%
		No religion	16.8%	22.3%
		Uniting Church	6.2%	4.5%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	3.6%
		Not Stated		23.3%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income	A$387	A$460
		% of Australian median income	67.1%	69.3%
Family income		Median weekly family income	A$889	A$1075
		% of Australian median income	60.0%	62.0%
Household income		Median weekly household income	A$787	A$901
		% of Australian median income	63.8%	62.7%

Close

The principal economic activities within the Shire include pastoral, horticultural, agricultural, mining and tourism. Rural grazing properties represent the largest land use within the Shire, accounting for 97% of the entire area. Major horticultural and agricultural production is centred on Menindee. The relative ease of access to water from the Darling River and Menindee Lakes Storage Scheme enables producers to grow a large variety of crops and fruits.

Opal mining has been the predominant mining industry within the Shire. Opal was discovered in White Cliffs in 1884 and the first commercial opal field commenced operation in 1890, reaching its peak in 1899.^[11]

• List of local government areas in New South Wales