User:Hossen27/Sandbox 2

The Australian state of Western Australia is divided into 142 Local Government Areas (including Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands). Their mandate and operations are governed by the Local Government Act 1995.

There are three classifications of local government in Western Australia:
 * City (predominantly urban, some larger regional centres)
 * Town (predominantly inner urban and three medium sized rural centres)
 * Shire (predominantly rural or outer suburban areas)

Historically, two types of local government existed - municipalities, which represented towns or condensed urban areas, and road boards, which represented all other regions. The Perth Road Board, for instance, was the precursor to the City of Stirling. Only a few cities - Perth, Fremantle, Subiaco, South Perth and Nedlands - existed prior to 1961. On 1 July 1961, all road boards became shires, and all municipalities became towns.