New South Wales County Map

About New South Wales County Map

Explore New South Wales political map to locate 141 counties in New South Wales states of Australia.

List of Counties of New South Wales

S.N.	County	Formed in Year
1	Cumberland	1788
2	Northumberland	1804
3	Camden	1805
4	Westmoreland	1814
5	Argyle	1821
6	Bathurst	1829
7	Bligh	1829
8	Brisbane	1829
9	Cook	1829
10	Durham	1829
11	Georgiana	1829
12	Gloucester	1829
13	Hunter	1829
14	King	1829
15	Murray	1829
16	Phillip	1829
17	Roxburgh	1829
18	St Vincent	1829
19	Wellington	1829
20	Macquarie	1830
21	Auckland	1843
22	Beresford	1848
23	Buccleuch	1848
24	Buckland	1848
25	Clarence	1848
26	Cowley	1848
27	Dampier	1848
28	Dudley	1848
29	Hawes	1848
30	Parry	1848
31	Raleigh	1848
32	Richmond	1848
33	Rous	1848
34	Vernon	1848
35	Wallace	1848
36	Wellesley	1848
37	Ashburnham	1850
38	Buller	1850
39	Clarendon	1850
40	Clive	1850
41	Darling	1850
42	Drake	1850
43	Gordon	1850
44	Goulburn	1850
45	Gowen	1850
46	Gresham	1850
47	Harden	1850
48	Inglis	1850
49	Lincoln	1850
50	Monteagle	1850
51	Napier	1850
52	Pottinger	1850
53	Sandon	1850
54	Wynyard	1850
55	Arrawatta	1862
56	Baradine	1862
57	Benarba	1862
58	Bland	1862
59	Blaxland	1862
60	Bourke	1862
61	Boyd	1862
62	Burnett	1862
63	Cadell	1862
64	Caira	1862
65	Clarke	1862
66	Clyde	1862
67	Cooper	1862
68	Courallie	1862
69	Cowper	1862
70	Cunningham	1862
71	Denham	1862
72	Denison	1862
73	Dowling	1862
74	Ewenmar	1862
75	Fitzroy	1862
76	Flinders	1862
77	Forbes	1862
78	Franklin	1862
79	Gipps	1862
80	Gough	1862
81	Gregory	1862
82	Hardinge	1862
83	Hume	1862
84	Jamison	1862
85	Kennedy	1862
86	Leichhardt	1862
87	Livingstone	1862
88	Menindee	1862
89	Mitchell	1862
90	Murchison	1862
91	Nandewar	1862
92	Narromine	1862
93	Nicholson	1862
94	Oxley	1862
95	Perry	1862
96	Selwyn	1862
97	Stapylton	1862
98	Sturt	1862
99	Taila	1862
100	Tara	1862
101	Townsend	1862
102	Urana	1862
103	Wakool	1862
104	Waljeers	1862
105	Waradgery	1862
106	Wentworth	1862
107	White	1862
108	Windeyer	1862
109	Canbelego	1875
110	Finch	1875
111	Gunderbooka	1875
112	Killara	1875
113	Landsborough	1875
114	Narran	1875
115	Rankin	1875
116	Werunda	1875
117	Yanda	1875
118	Young	1875
119	Barrona	1884
120	Booroondarra	1884
121	Culgoa	1884
122	Delalah	1884
123	Evelyn	1884
124	Farnell	1884
125	Fitzgerald	1884
126	Irrara	1884
127	Kilfera	1884
128	Manara	1884
129	Mootwingee	1884
130	Mossgiel	1884
131	Mouramba	1884
132	Poole	1884
133	Robinson	1884
134	Tandora	1884
135	Thoulcanna	1884
136	Tongowoko	1884
137	Ularara	1884
138	Woore	1884
139	Yancowinna	1884
140	Yantara	1884
141	Yungnulgra	1884

New South Wales Counties

Historical and Legal Significance

In Australia the most populous state is New South Wales (NSW), which has a past use of the division of land called counties, which were originally used in an administrative and land survey sense during the colonial period. Counties are no longer in use for governance, but they are still used as a reference for cadastral and land ownership records. NSW has 141 counties all told, which were proclaimed as far back as the 19th century by the colonial government in order to manage land allocation, surveying, and legal transactions. They have for the most part been made irrelevant by modern local government areas, but they are still relevant for property registration, and historical land use studies.

Geographical Distribution of Counties in NSW

The New South Wales counties are mainly in the eastern and central parts of the state, ranging from the coastal plains to the inland plains. Some of the well-known counties also include Cumberland, which has Sydney, the capital of NSW as its headquarters, and Northumberland which covers the Hunter Valley area. Other colonies like Camden, Durham and Argyle were also important in the early colonial settlements and agricultural developments.

In the western regions of NSW, because of low population density and large land holdings, counties are much bigger. Some of these are huge areas of semi arid and agricultural landscapes, like the counties of Menindee, Yancowinna and Waradgery. The inland counties like these were mainly employed for grazing, sheep stations, and mining activities, not like the eastern counties that were established quite early because of the favorable coastal locations.

Legal and Administrative Role of Counties

However, counties in NSW have no role in modern administrative governance, and local councils and LGAs now administer municipal services, urban planning and infrastructure development. Nevertheless, the legal and cadastral framework set up by these counties is still used for land title registration, mining rights, and rural property transactions. It is in rural and remote areas where land parcels are large and historical documentation is still needed for legal transactions that county divisions are referenced in land ownership records.

Modern Relevance of County Boundaries

Counties are no longer required in governance but are still in use in land surveying, history, and legal property descriptions. Government agencies, surveyors and historians continue to require county divisions in order to document land tenure and property rights as far back as colonial times. These boundaries are still being used in many land maps and historical documents, and are therefore still a vital part of NSW's cadastral system.

The continued reference to counties in legal land descriptions is evidence of their continuing importance in land management and historical research. Studying the part these counties played is helpful in gaining an understanding of how New South Wales was originally divided up and how land administration has changed. Thus, while the administrative roles of counties have ceased, their geographic and historical significance endures. This analysis underscores the enduring importance of grappling with local and state records to fully comprehend the intricacies of colonial expansion and land tenure in New South Wales. The inclusion of county names in legal descriptions, even in modern documents, is a testament to their historical significance and enduring relevance in property law and land surveys. As demonstrated by the examples from New South Wales, these county boundaries continue to shape property lines and influence land management practices in various ways, highlighting the enduring importance of this early system of administrative divisions.