Hornsby Shire is a local government area situated in Northern Sydney (Upper North Shore), as well as parts of the Hills District, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The shire stretches from the M2 Hills Motorway in the south to the Hawkesbury River town of Wisemans Ferry, some to the north, making it the largest local government council in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan region by total area. As of the the shire had an estimated population of . The Mayor of Hornsby Shire is Cr Philip Ruddock, a member of the Liberal Party, who was elected on 9 September 2017. Suburbs, towns and localities in the local government area Suburbs in the Hornsby Shire include: Towns and localities in the Hornsby Shire are: Demographics At the , there were people in the Hornsby local government area, of these 48.8 per cent were male and 51.2 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.5 per cent of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the Hornsby Shire was 40 years; slightly higher than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 19.5 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.2 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 58.8 per cent were married and 8.2 per cent were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the Hornsby Shire between the and the was 4.58 per cent and in the subsequent five years to the , population growth was 3.65 per cent. At the 2016 census, the population in the Shire decreased by 9.04 per cent brought about predominately by an adjustment in local government boundaries. The median weekly income for residents within the Hornsby Shire was higher than the national average. Council Current composition and election method Hornsby Shire Council is composed of ten Councillors, including the Mayor, for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is directly elected while the nine other Councillors are elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing three Councillors. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council, including the Mayor, is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by