Sense of community in Tumut Shire, Australia

Indicator: Sense of community

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What the results tell us for Tumut

Tumut Shire Council reports that there are 68 community organisations that meet in the Shire. The largest involvement seems to be in sporting groups of which there are 23, however, there are also a significance number of service, charity and support groups (13 in all) and this combined with the six landcare groups show a high level of community generated self help in the Shire. Council estimates that approximately 105 members belong to the six Landcare Groups.

Table 1. Type and Number of Community Organisations in Tumut Shire
Type of Organisation	Number of Groups
Environmental/landcare	6
Residential	5
Sporting	23
Welfare Charity	4
Service	5
Social	7
Support	6
Music/craft/art/literature	2
Total	68

The major sporting and cultural events in the Shire are listed in Table 2. The total attendance at these reported by Council at around 10 000 in 1998–99 is close to the total resident population of Tumut, which is 11 000. Presumably there are visitors attracted by these events but strong local support is also evident.

Table 2. Major Sporting Activities, Festivals and Cultural Events and Attendance
MAJOR festivals/cultural events and sporting activities		Approximately attendance or participation in these events		Type of event
1997–98	1998–99	1997–98	1998–99	Type of event
Tumut Show	Tumut Show	2000	2500	Festival/cultural event
Adelong Show	Adelong Show	unknown	unknown	Festival/cultural event
Batlow Show	Batlow Show	800	850	Festival/cultural event
Festival of the falling leaf	Festival of the falling leaf	unknown	unknown	Festival/cultural event
	Tour de snowy	n/a	1500	Sporting event
Tumut Boxing Day races	Tumut Boxing Day races	4000	5000	Sporting event
Total attendances		6800	9850

About the data

Data supplied by Tumut Shire Council based on Council records.

Description: What does 'sense of community' measure?

Which data are collected?

number, types and membership of community organisations per '000 population
community participation in major festivals, sporting activities and other cultural events

Why do we report this indicator?

Societies that can give people a sense of belonging and of being valued are likely to be healthier places than those in which people feel excluded, disregarded and used. For this reason, the sense of community in a settlement is an important indicator of quality of life, and human well-being. A society with a strong sense of community is one in which people are more likely to care for each other and for common property resources such as green space and other infrastructure.

The level of community involvement in activities and organisations is a crude measure of the sense of community. Community organisations could include: sporting bodies, churches, expert committees, interest groups, action groups, charity groups, volunteer groups, parent groups, Landcare groups, Waterwatch groups, and any other relevant groups.

Some of these groups are formed with the aim representing specific interests with respect to government policy, planning and development decisions. The opportunities provided to these groups to exert that influence provides people with a sense of control over their environment, leading to improved health and social outcomes. Where community and individual interests are not explicitly included as part of planning and development decisions, appeal provisions should be incorporated.