The Shire of Nungarin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, and with a population of 255 as of the, is one of the nation's least populous. It is located about 40 km north of Merredin and about 300 km east of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of 1164 km2, and its seat of government is the town of Nungarin.

History

Initially, Nungarin was governed by the Kellerberrin Road Board. In 1911, responsibility for the area was transferred to the Merredin Road Board. The Shire of Nungarin originated as the Nungarin Road District, which was gazetted on 24 March 1921. It was originally much larger, extending north into what is now the Shire of Mount Marshall until losing a section to that road board on 6 July 1923. In 1933, it included the Bonnie Rock, Campion, Lake Brown, Mukinbudin, and Wilgoyne districts, with an area of 1708 square miles. In that year, it faced pressure to relocate the board seat to Mukinbudin as a more central location; however, instead, the Nungarin Road District was split into two and the Mukinbudin Road District formed on 1 September 1933, resulting in the Nungarin District losing over three-quarters of its land area. On 1 July 1961, it became the Shire of Nungarin under the Local Government Act 1960, which reformed all remaining road districts into shires.

Wards

The Shire has been divided into 3 wards. Prior to the elections in May 2003, there were 7 wards.

Towns and localities

The towns and localities of the Shire of Nungarin with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census:

Heritage-listed places

As of 2023, 64 places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Nungarin, of which eight are on the State Register of Heritage Places, among them the Mangowine Homestead.