Proclaimed on 7 March 1906 with the enactment of the Local Government (Shires) Act 1905, the first temporary Coonabarabran Shire Council of five councillors was appointed on 15 May 1906 until elections were held:[3]
The first meeting of the temporary Council was held at the Court House on 14 May 1906, with Alfred Brown elected the first Shire President.[5][6] The first elections were held on 24 November 1906 for six Councillors elected to three two-member ridings (A, B, C), with William Nash being the only returning Councillor.[7]
Although first incorporated in 1906, much of the growth and development in the Shire was due to two First World War-era State Government projects: the construction of the railway line through Binnaway to Coonabarabran in 1917 (extended to Baradine and Gwabegar in 1923) and the establishment of the Forestry Commission in 1916, both of which facilitated the growth of agriculture and forestry as the primary industries of the region.[8]
As electricity generation and supply was the responsibility of local councils before 1950, in 1929 the Coonabarabran Shire Council voted to purchase land at 15 Castlereagh Street for a power station with diesel generators and supply infrastructure for the town of Coonabarabran. Power was supplied to the town by 1930, with the network extended to Baradine and Binnaway by 1937, and ever-increasing demand led to the purchase of another power plant in 1938.[9] In September 1942, the 1929 Power Station at Coonabarabran was destroyed by fire caused by a faulty switch.[10]
However, even though the Power Station was rebuilt by 1943, increasing demand and concerns over the reliability of supply led Council in 1948 to investigate the creation of a County Council to facilitate an expansion of supply and lowering of costs.[9] As a result, the Ulan County Council was proclaimed on 23 July 1948, covering the area of the Coonabarabran Shire, the Municipality of Mudgee, Coolah Shire, Cudgegong Shire, Gulgong Shire, "A" Riding of Cobbora Shire, and the "C" Riding of Merriwa Shire. With the establishment of the County Council on 1 January 1949, all of Coonabarabran's electricity generation and supply assets were transferred over, with the County Council continuing the expansion of supply to the rest of the Shire.[11]
^"PROCLAMATION". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 121. New South Wales, Australia. 7 March 1906. p. 1606. Retrieved 10 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ abcde"PROCLAMATION". Government Gazette Of The State Of New South Wales. No. 161. New South Wales, Australia. 16 May 1906. p. 2979. Retrieved 10 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 21, 484. New South Wales, Australia. 27 November 1906. p. 9. Retrieved 10 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"POWER HOUSE DESTROYED". Gilgandra Weekly And Castlereagh. New South Wales, Australia. 17 September 1942. p. 3. Retrieved 10 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"LOCAL BREVITIES". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. Vol. XIV, no. 1448. New South Wales, Australia. 21 February 1907. p. 9. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Death of M D. I Watt". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. New South Wales, Australia. 27 March 1924. p. 25. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"LOCAL GOVERNMENT". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 21, 863. New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1908. p. 12. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PROMINENT MEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. Vol. XIV, no. 1642. New South Wales, Australia. 25 February 1909. p. 21. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Outside District News". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. Vol. XIV, no. 1639. New South Wales, Australia. 11 February 1909. p. 23. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENT ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 22, 493. New South Wales, Australia. 16 February 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"DR. F. G. FAILES". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 218. New South Wales, Australia. 27 August 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"New Presidents and Mayors". The Land. Vol. 1, no. 4. New South Wales, Australia. 17 February 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE AND MUNICIPAL". The Daily Telegraph. No. 10202. New South Wales, Australia. 6 February 1912. p. 6. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MAYORS AND SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Daily Telegraph. No. 10, 519. New South Wales, Australia. 10 February 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 23, 745. New South Wales, Australia. 16 February 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"District News". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. New South Wales, Australia. 18 February 1915. p. 28. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Coonabarabran Shire Presidency". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. No. 2344. New South Wales, Australia. 17 February 1916. p. 18. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Shire President". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. No. 2401. New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1917. p. 22. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"OBITUARY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 404. New South Wales, Australia. 17 January 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 24, 994. New South Wales, Australia. 13 February 1918. p. 13. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Coonabarabran Council". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. New South Wales, Australia. 6 December 1920. p. 9. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 26, 191. New South Wales, Australia. 14 December 1921. p. 14. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Daily Telegraph. No. 13, 605. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 26, 811. New South Wales, Australia. 10 December 1923. p. 12. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Dispute Between Councils". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. New South Wales, Australia. 27 August 1925. p. 4. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 446. New South Wales, Australia. 22 December 1925. p. 7. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"General". The Daily Telegraph. No. 14, 680. New South Wales, Australia. 28 December 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Shire Presidents". The Land. Vol. XVII, no. 883. New South Wales, Australia. 23 December 1927. p. 15. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"CR. A. J. SULLIVAN". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. New South Wales, Australia. 24 November 1930. p. 19. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 683. New South Wales, Australia. 9 December 1929. p. 13. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 001. New South Wales, Australia. 16 December 1930. p. 15. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 319. New South Wales, Australia. 23 December 1931. p. 12. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"COONABARABRAN SHIRE". The Labor Daily. No. 3130. New South Wales, Australia. 15 December 1933. p. 16. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 251. New South Wales, Australia. 17 December 1934. p. 11. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 560. New South Wales, Australia. 13 December 1935. p. 18. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 877. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1936. p. 19. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 188. New South Wales, Australia. 17 December 1937. p. 21. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SHIRE PRESIDENTS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 503. New South Wales, Australia. 20 December 1938. p. 11. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RESIGNS POSITION". Gilgandra Weekly And Castlereagh. New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 10 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"COONABARABRAN SHIRE COUNCIL". Government Gazette Of The State Of New South Wales. No. 114. New South Wales, Australia. 5 September 1941. p. 3166. Retrieved 11 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.