Between 1997 and 2004, first voluntary and then later forced amalgamation occurred in respect of the five general purpose councils and two specific purpose county councils in the Clarence Valley region of northern NSW. This paper describes the historic evolution of the Clarence Valley Council, which replaced all existing councils in February 2004. The 1998-2000 voluntary structural reform process was a wasted 'one-off' opportunity to secure a better local government structure for the Clarence Valley. In 2003-04, the State Government engineered a forced merger of the six local government entities in the Clarence Valley and forever changed the structure and nature of local government in the Clarence Valley Local Government Area. However, the resulting single entity has achieved significant early success.