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North Sydney Council

North Sydney Council is a local government area on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, established on 29 July 1890 through the amalgamation of three boroughs.

North Sydney Council
New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates33°50′S 151°12′E / 33.833°S 151.200°E / -33.833; 151.200
Population68,950 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density6,326/km2 (16,380/sq mi)
Established29 July 1890 (1890-07-29)
Area10.9 km2 (4.2 sq mi)
MayorZoë Baker
Council seatCouncil Chambers
ParishWilloughby
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)
WebsiteNorth Sydney Council
LGAs around North Sydney Council:
Willoughby Willoughby Northern Beaches
Lane Cove North Sydney Council Mosman
Inner West Sydney Woollahra

The area is bounded by Willoughby to the north and north-west, Northern Beaches to the north-east, Mosman to the east, Lane Cove to the west and Sydney Harbour to the south. It covers an area of approximately 10.9 square kilometres (4.2 sq mi) and as at the 2016 census had an estimated population of 67,658.[2] The administrative seat of North Sydney Council is located in the suburb of North Sydney, approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of the Sydney central business district.

The mayor of North Sydney Council is Cr. Zoë Baker, an independent politician, first elected on 10 January 2022.[3]

Suburbs and localities in the local government area

Suburbs serviced by North Sydney Council are:

History

The 1925 extension of the Council Chambers, c. 1930.

The area now covered by North Sydney Council originally comprised three municipalities: the Borough of East St Leonards from 1860 (Kirribilli, Cremorne Point, Milsons Point), the Borough of St Leonards from 1867 (Cammeray, Mosman, Waverton, Wollstonecraft) and the very small Borough of Victoria from 1871 (McMahons Point and parts of North Sydney and Lavender Bay). These boroughs lasted until 29 July 1890 when they merged to form the "Borough of North Sydney".[4]

Following a petition submitted by residents in 1892, on 11 April 1893 the Mossman Ward of North Sydney confirmed its separation as the Borough of Mosman, being proclaimed by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Frederick Darley.[5] From 28 December 1906, following the passing of the Local Government Act, 1906, the council was renamed as the "Municipality of North Sydney".

North Sydney Municipal Council first met in the 1885 East St Leonards Town Hall on Alfred Street, Milsons Point, that had been built for the Borough of East St Leonards, and took up residence in the North Sydney Council Chambers on Miller Street, North Sydney, from 12 July 1926.[6][7]

Post-war council history and Mack era

With the completion of the Warringah Expressway in 1968, a construction that involved the wide-scale demolition of areas in the centre of the municipality, North Sydney was split in two and development in the North Sydney central business district took off. With this development resulting in the destruction of the heritage streetscape of the North Sydney CBD, threatening the character of surrounding areas, several movements of North Sydney residents formed to oppose and manage the pace and extent of development.[8] One prominent group was the North Sydney Civic Group, which came to prominence in the late-1970s amid dissatisfaction with the North Sydney Council. The Council's plans for the demolition of the historic Council Chambers following a fire in 1976, led to further tensions and resulted in the council being turned out at the 1980 elections, replaced by a North Sydney Civic Group-aligned council and Ted Mack elected mayor.[8]

Mack's term as mayor, was marked by a single-minded and innovative approach to the local governance issues facing North Sydney at the time. Mack began his term as mayor by selling the mayoral car to help buy community buses. During his term as mayor, North Sydney Council introduced the "open government policy" which honoured a promise of openness and transparency of council decisions, and established a precinct committee system, which allowed for greater citizen input in council issues. The pioneering North Sydney Heritage Study was released in 1982 and in 1989 the new Local Environmental Plan was gazetted.[8]

With an increase in council revenues, Mack reinvested the funds in a public works program into several new and renovated parks, car parks, childcare facilities, community and sports centres, and major extensions and renovations to the Stanton Library and North Sydney Oval. Infrastructure also took on a distinct local identity, with Council investment on new street signs, bus shelters, colour schemes of public buildings, paving and street furniture.[8] In 1982, council voted to popularly elect the mayor, with Mack being directly elected twice to the position in 1983 and 1987 before retiring in 1988.

With the passing of the Local Government Act, 1993, the Municipality of North Sydney was legally renamed as North Sydney Council and aldermen were renamed councillors.

2016–17 amalgamation proposals

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the North Sydney Council merge with adjoining councils.

The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of the North Sydney and Willoughby Councils to form a new council with an area of 33 square kilometres (13 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 145,000.[9] The alternative, proposed by Warringah Council on 23 February 2016, was for an amalgamation of the Pittwater, Manly and Warringah councils. As a consequence of Warringah's proposal, the New South Wales Minister for Local Government Paul Toole proposed that the North Sydney, Willoughby and Mosman Councils merge.[10]

In July 2017, the Berejiklian government decided to abandon the forced merger of the North Sydney, Willoughby and Mosman local government areas, along with several other proposed forced mergers.[11]

Town Clerks and General Managers

NameTermNotes
William Barnett Smith16 August 1890 – 1 September 1921[12][13][14][15][16]
Percy Augustus TempleSeptember 1921 – February 1923[17][18]
Hubert PerryFebruary 1923 – 10 July 1938[19][20][21]
Leslie Fitzpatrick11 July 1938 – 1966[22]
Don W. Geddes1966 – October 1978[23]
Stuart S. FyfeOctober 1978 – 1981[24]
Ross Kempshall1981 – 14 May 2001[25]
Penny Holloway14 May 2001 – 6 December 2013[26]
Warwick Winn6 December 2013 – April 2016[27][28]
Ken Gouldthorp11 December 2016 – 1 July 2022[29][30]
Robert Emerson (acting)1 July 2022 – 21 November 2022[30]
Therese Manns21 November 2022 – date[31]

Demographics

North Sydney Council signpost at Cammeray

At the 2016 census, there were 67,658 people in the North Sydney local government area, of these 47.2 per cent were male and 52.8 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.3 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 North Sydney Council area was 37 years; slightly below the national average of 38 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 12.6 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 14.4 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 41.9 per cent were married and 16.6 per cent were either divorced or separated.[2]

Population growth in the North Sydney Council area between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 5.98%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 6.92%. At the 2016 census, the population in the North Sydney Council area increased by 8.62 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.8 per cent, population growth in the North Sydney local government area was marginally lower than the national average.[2][32][33] The median weekly income for residents within the North Sydney Council area was significantly higher and nearly double the national average.

Selected historical census data for North Sydney local government area
Census year2001[34]2006[32]2011[33]2016[2]
PopulationEstimated residents on census night54,97058,25762,28967,658
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales39th  37th  36th
% of New South Wales population0.90%  0.90%  0.90%
% of Australian population0.29%  0.26%  0.29%  0.29%
Estimated ATSI population on census night97110134199
% of ATSI population to residents0.2%  0.2%  0.2%  0.3%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses		English25.4%  24.6%
Australian17.9%  16.2%
Irish9.4%  10.0%
Scottish7.5%  7.6%
Chinese5.7%  6.3%
Language,
top responses
(other than English)		Mandarin1.2%  1.7%  2.4%  3.4%
Cantonese2.8%  2.7%  2.7  2.5%
Japanese2.2%  2.1%  1.9%  1.8%
Spanishn/c  0.7%  1.1%  1.4%
French0.7%  0.7%  0.9%  1.1%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses		No religion, self-described20.5%  23.0%  28.9%  37.3%
Catholic23.9%  23.3%  23.0%  21.4%
Anglican22.6%  19.9%  17.4%  13.0%
Not statedn/cn/cn/c  11.8%
Buddhismn/c  2.9%  3.2%  2.7%
Median weekly incomes
Personal incomeMedian weekly personal incomeA$1,010A$1,216A$1,386
% of Australian median income207.8%  210.7%  209.4%
Family incomeMedian weekly family incomeA$1,772A$2,768A$3,210
% of Australian median income172.5%  186.9%  185.1%
Household incomeMedian weekly household incomeA$2,510A$2,205A$2,360
% of Australian median income214.3%  178.7%  164.1%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling typeSeparate house12.3%  13.9%  13.8%  11.0%
Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse15.0%  15.0%  14.7%  14.0%
Flat or apartment70.9%  70.3%  71.0%  74.4%

Council

Composition and election methods

TermAldermen/CouncillorsWardsMayor
1890–1891[35]33No wardsAnnual election by Aldermen
1892–1893[36]18 (3 per ward)Victoria Ward
Belmore Ward
Kirribilli Ward
Tunks Ward
Warringa Ward
Mossman's Ward
1893–1956[37][38][39][40][41]15 (3 per ward)Victoria Ward
Belmore Ward
Kirribilli Ward
Tunks Ward
Warringa Ward
1956–1983[42]Victoria Ward
Belmore Ward
Kirribilli Ward
Tunks Ward
East Ward
1983–1995[43]15/16 (3 per ward, 1 Mayor)[44]Direct quadrennial election
1995–201713 (3 per ward, 1 Mayor)Cremorne Ward
Tunks Ward
Victoria Ward
Wollstonecraft Ward
2017–202110 (3 per ward, 1 Mayor)Tunks Ward
Victoria Ward
Wollstonecraft Ward
2021–present10 (5 per ward)St Leonards Ward
Cammeraygal Ward		Biennial election by Councillors

Current composition and election method

A map of the two wards, showing party representation as of the 2021 local elections.

North Sydney Council is composed of ten councillors operating on a Council–manager system of operation, elected proportionally from two wards, each electing five Councillors. The mayor is elected by the Councillors for a two-year term and the deputy mayor for a one-year term. Although the fixed term of the Council is four years, due to delays caused by amalgamations and the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous term lasted from 9 September 2017 to 4 December 2021.[45]

A referendum passed at the same time at the 2012 council elections reduced the number of wards from four to three (Cremorne Ward was abolished) and the number of councillors from 13 to 10, inclusive of the popularly elected mayor, which took effect from the 2017 election.[46] A referendum passed at the 2017 election also altered the system of electing the mayor. Starting in 2020, the mayor was elected by the councillors from among their members for a two-year term.[47] As the wording of this referendum did not specify a reduction in the number of elected positions in the Council (such as from 10 Councillors to 9), the Office of Local Government required council to specify a ward structure of equal numbers to each ward: two wards of five councillors or five wards of two councillors. At its extraordinary meeting held on 20 January 2020, the Council voted to adopt a two-ward model on a north/south boundary with the northern ward named "St Leonards Ward" and the southern ward named "Cammeraygal Ward" from the 2021 election.[48]

The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:

PartyCouncillors
 Independents6
 Labor2
 Sustainable Australia2
Total10

The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is:

WardCouncillorPartyNotes
Cammeraygal Ward[49] Jilly GibsonIndependentMayor 2012–2021; Tunks Ward Councillor 1999–2004; Victoria Ward Councillor 2004–2012.
 Ian MuttonIndependentWollstonecraft Ward Councillor 2017–2021.
 Shannon WelchLabor
 Georgia LambSustainable Australia
 Maryann BeregiIndependentVictoria Ward Councillor 2012–2021; Deputy Mayor 2014–2015.
St Leonards Ward[50] James SpenceleyIndependent
 Godfrey SanterLaborDeputy Mayor 2022–2023.[51]
 Zoë BakerIndependentMayor 2022–date; Wollstonecraft Ward Councillor 2008–2021; Deputy Mayor 2011–2012.[3][52]
 William BourkeSustainable AustraliaDeputy Mayor Jan–Sep 2022, 2023–Mar 2024.[3][52]
 John LepourisIndependentAlanya Drummond resigned on 11 January 2023.[53] A countback election was held on 21 February.[54]

Heritage listings

The heritage-listed Don Bank Museum is the oldest-surviving wooden house in North Sydney and is owned by North Sydney Council.
The home of May Gibbs, Nutcote (1925) in Kurraba Point, was designed by B. J. Waterhouse and is owned by North Sydney Council under the management of a trust.
The "Sexton's Cottage" (c. 1850) in the Council-owned St Thomas Rest Park is now a museum of the former cemetery.

North Sydney has a diverse range of heritage listings and conservation areas, including those listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register (SHR), Section 170 Registers (s.170), the Commonwealth Heritage List (CHL), and the North Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2013 (LEP), including:

Council facilities

References

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