The Shire of Ravensthorpe is a local government area in the southern Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, about halfway between the city of Albany and the town of Esperance and about 530 kilometres (329 mi) southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of 13,551 square kilometres (5,232 sq mi), and its seat of government is the town of Ravensthorpe.
History
The Phillips River Road District was gazetted on 9 November 1900. On 1 July 1961, it became the Shire of Ravensthorpe under the Local Government Act 1960, which reformed all remaining road districts into shires.[2]
Wards
As of the 2003 election, the Shire is divided into three wards:
As of 2023, 122 places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Ravensthorpe,[11] of which one is on the State Register of Heritage Places, the Metropolitan Hotel in Hopetoun.[12]
Sex Scandal
In September 2021, Shire of Ravensthorpe chief executive Gavin Pollock was sacked after being accused of spending almost $55,000 of shire money on a sex worker.[13] A report tabled in the Western Australian State Parliament on 22 September 2021 alleges that Mr Pollock was a client of a sex worker named "Ms E", for whom he issued multiple fake invoices and purchase orders on his office computer totalling $54,850. Two further invoices totalling a combined $13,350 were prepared but not paid as a result of the commission investigation.
^* This LGA holds city status under the Local Government Act 1995, ^† This LGA holds town status under the Local Government Act 1995, ^# Western Australian law applies to the Indian Ocean Territories under the Territories Law Reform Act 1992
