City of Boroondara explained

Type:lga
City of Boroondara
State:vic
Pop:167231
Pop Year:2021 census
Poprank:31st
Est:1994
Area:60
Mayor:Cr Felicity Sinfield
Seat:Camberwell
Region:Greater Melbourne
Stategov:Ashwood
Stategov2:Hawthorn
Stategov3:Kew
Fedgov:Higgins
Fedgov2:Kooyong
Url:http://www.boroondara.vic.gov.au
Near-N:Banyule
Near-Ne:Manningham
Near-E:Whitehorse
Near-Se:Monash
Near-S:Stonnington
Near-Sw:Stonnington
Near-W:Yarra
Near-Nw:Yarra

The City of Boroondara is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was formed in June 1994 from the amalgamation of the Cities of Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn.[1]

It has an area of 60km2. In June 2018 the city had a population of 181,289.[2]

City of Boroondara participates in the Victorian Government's state-wide, Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey. This is conducted annually by an independent research company, JWS Research. In 2022 City of Boroondara achieved an index score of 71 on ‘Overall Performance’. This is significantly higher than the average ratings for metropolitan councils (index score of 65) and the state-wide average (index score of 59) and places Boroondara in the top-performing councils metro and state-wide.[3]

History

This area was originally occupied by the Wurundjeri Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation.[4] [5]

In 1837, John Gardiner (after whom Gardiners Creek was named) and his family were the first Europeans to settle in the area.[5] Robert Hoddle surveyed the area in 1837 and declared it the "Parish of Boroondara". The area was densely wooded, so he took a word from the Woiwurrung language (as spoken by the Wurundjeri), meaning "where the ground is thickly shaded".[6]

The first Local Government body was the Boroondara District Road Board, formed on 11 July 1854 and incorporating the areas which were to become the City of Hawthorn, City of Kew and City of Camberwell. Hawthorn and Kew were created as separate municipalities in 1860 and the remaining area of the Road Board became Shire of Boroondara on 17 November 1871, which later became the City of Camberwell.[7]

In the 1990s, the City of Hawthorn, the City of Kew and the western part of the City of Camberwell were originally planned to be amalgamated to form the "City of Riversdale".[8] The three municipalities, including the whole of the City of Camberwell, were eventually amalgamated in June 1994 to create the City of Boroondara.[1] Existing councillors from the three municipalities were replaced initially by three commissioners - David Glanville (chair), David Thomas and Marion Macleod.[9] The commissioners were in turn replaced by ten councillors following elections in 1996.[10]

Council

Boroondara City Council is the third tier of government and deals with services such as waste and recycling collection, leisure centres, building and planning permits and approvals, roads, drainage, health services, youth services, children's services, food safety, parks and gardens, library services, pets, street parking permits and the collection of rates and charges.[11]

Current composition and election method

Boroondara City Council is composed of eleven councillors, each representing one of eleven wards. On Thursday 9 July 2020, the Minister for Local Government formally announced a change to Boroondara's electoral structure. This change follows a review by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), which was completed in June 2019. This change included an increase in ward and councillor numbers from 10 to 11. The new 11th ward is named Riversdale Ward, and is located to the south-west where it shares a boundary with Glenferrie, Junction and Gardiner Wards. This addition resulted in a number of boundary changes across the municipality.[12]

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to disrupt the local elections, with some arguing that the inability to campaign in-person would benefit incumbents with name-recognition, or resource rich candidates who could invest in letter box campaigns with leaflets.[13] A decision was made, on public health grounds, that it was safe to proceed with the elections and voters were only able to return their ballots via postal voting.[14] [15]

All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office, with the most recent election being held in October 2020.[16] [17] Councillors-elect were sworn in at a Special Meeting of Council on Thursday 8 December 2022. The current mayor is Cr Felicity Sinfield.[18]

PartyCouncillors
 Independentalign=right 6
 Liberalalign=right 4
 Greensalign=right 1
Totalalign=right 11
Ward[19] PartyCouncillor[20] Elected
Bellevue IndependentJim Parke2012
Cotham LiberalFelicity Sinfield[21] 2016
Gardiner IndependentVictor Franco2020
Glenferrie GreensWes Gault[22] 2020
Junction IndependentDi Gillies2020
Lynden LiberalLisa Hollingsworth 2016
Maling IndependentJane Addis2012
Maranoa LiberalCynthia Watson2016
Riversdale IndependentSusan Biggar2020
Solway IndependentGarry Thompson2016
Studley LiberalNick Stavrou[23] 2020

Mayors

See main article: List of mayors of Boroondara.

Past councillors

1996−present

YearBellevueCothamGardinerGlenferrieJunctionLyndenMalingMaranoaRiversdaleSolwayStudley
CouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillor
1996 Eric Risstrom
(Ind.)
 Geoff Hayes (Liberal) Will Charlton
(Ind.)
 Nigel Kirby
(Ind.)
 Lilian Weinberg
(Ind.)
 Ian Wallace
(Ind.)
 Loreto Davey
(Ind.)
 Chris Pattas
(Ind.)
10 wards (1996−2020) Keith Walter
(Ind.)
 Paula Davey (Liberal)
1999 Meredith Butler (Liberal) Martina Hayes
(Ind.)
 Judith Voce
(Ind.)
2002 Coral Ross
(Ind.)
 Jack Wegman
(Ind.)
 Ian Wallace
(Ind.)
 Dennis Whelan
(Ind.)
2003 Gina Goldsmith
(Ind.)
2004 Gina Goldsmith (Liberal) Lachlan Williams (Liberal) Dick Menting
(Ind.)
 Nicholas Tragas (Liberal) Mary Halikias-Byrnes (Labor) Phillip Healey (Liberal)
2007 Phil Meggs
(Ind.)
2008 Brad Miles
(Ind.)
 David Bloom (Liberal) Phil Meggs
(Ind.)
 Kevin Chow (Labor)
2012 Jim Parke
(Ind.)
 Felicity Sinfield (Liberal) Steve Hurd (Ind. Labor) Jane Addis
(Ind.)
 Philip Mallis
(Ind.)
2016 Lisa Hollingsworth
(Liberal/Ind)
 Cynthia Watson (Liberal) Garry Thompson
(Liberal/Ind.)
2020 Victor Franco
(Ind.)
 Wes Gault (Greens) Di Gillies
(Ind.)
 Susan Biggar
(Ind.)
 Nick Stavrou (Liberal)
2021  

Election results

2020

Townships and localities

The 2021 census, the city had a population of 167,900 up from 167,231 in the 2016 census[24]

Population
Locality 2016 2021
7,751 7,952
13,312 13,495
^ 20,406 21,302
22,081 21,965
8,056 7,800
2,035 2,101
^ 25,268 26,131
23,511 22,322
14,321 14,834
24,605 24,499
6,635 6,620
^ 4,840 4,948
^ 13,605 13,655

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

Infrastructure

The council is responsible for the management of stormwater collection and removal. The water supply authority is Yarra Valley Water.

Libraries

The City of Boroondara has five libraries at Camberwell, Ashburton, Balwyn, Kew and Hawthorn, and in 2018 opened a 'library lounge' at the Greythorn Community Hub in Balwyn North.[25] [26]

Local area

Schools

Boroondara has one of the highest concentrations of students in Australia[27] and contains many private schools, including Xavier College, Methodist Ladies' College (MLC), Strathcona Baptist Girls' Grammar School, Camberwell Grammar School, Trinity Grammar School, Ruyton Girls' School, Rossbourne School, Carey Baptist Grammar School, Scotch College, Fintona Girls' School, Genazzano FCJ College, Preshil, and Alia College. It contains Catholic schools such as St Michael's Parish School (Ashburton) Our Lady of Good Counsel (Deepdene) and St Bede's School (Balwyn North) and a number of public schools, including Canterbury Girls' Secondary College, Balwyn High School, Kew High School, Auburn High School and Camberwell High School.

Heritage controversy

In 2023, Boroondara implemented a "community heritage nomination process"[28], allowing residents to lodge nominations for properties to be heritage listed, limiting the ability for the owners of those properties to renovate or demolish their property. The community nominated eight properties to heritage list, seven of which were listed without the consent of the owner.[29] This was a highly controversial change, and some residents were concerned that the process would be weaponised by community members to heritage list properties owned by people in ethnic minorities. The council rejected a proposal to pause the process until the next council election.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History and heritage. City of Boroondara. 13 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130410221103/http://www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/our-city/history. 10 April 2013. dead.
  2. Web site: 3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018 . Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  3. Web site: Victorian Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey . 2023-01-17 . JWS Research . en-AU.
  4. Web site: Ancestors & Past . Wurundjeri . 5 July 2020.
  5. Web site: History of Gardiners Creek . City of Boroondara . 23 January 2017 . 5 July 2020.
  6. Web site: City of Boroondara. Local History and Heritage. 22 September 2007. https://archive.today/20070503220921/http://boroondara.mylithio.com/about/historyandheritage. 3 May 2007. dead.
  7. Book: Victorian Municipal Directory. 1992. Arnall & Jackson. Brunswick. 327–328, 393, 406. Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.
  8. Web site: Municipal shake-up. The Age. 9 April 1994. 23 April 2023.
  9. News: 170 councillors sacked as 17 local councils cease to exist, Seven super-cities from today. 24 April 2016. Canberra Times. 22 June 1994.
  10. Web site: First Council of City of Boroondara. Monument Australia. 24 April 2016.
  11. Web site: City of Boroondara . City of Boroondara . 23 November 2020.
  12. Web site: Council elections . City of Boroondara . 11 January 2017 . 24 October 2020.
  13. Web site: Victorian council elections likely to be postponed amid COVID-19 risks . 13 August 2020.
  14. Web site: Council elections to go ahead despite COVID-19 campaigning curbs. 13 August 2020.
  15. Web site: Providing safe elections .
  16. Web site: Council elections . City of Boroondara . 11 January 2017 . 23 November 2020.
  17. Web site: Past Councillors . City of Boroondara . 11 January 2017 . 24 October 2020.
  18. Web site: Cr Garry Thompson elected Mayor of City of Boroondara . City of Boroondara . 24 November 2020 . 25 December 2020.
  19. Web site: City of Boroondara. Councillors and wards. 2013-02-13.
  20. Web site: Australian Electoral Commission. Results for Boroondara City Council Elections 2012. 2012-10-28. 6 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160306013100/http://vec.vic.gov.au/results/boroondararesult2012.html. dead.
  21. Web site: Tracking Victorian Crs who are members of a political party. The Mayne Report. 11 November 2016.
  22. Web site: Wes Gault. 2020-11-11. Australian Greens Victoria. en.
  23. Web site: Boroondara City Council – BURWOOD LIBERALS . https://web.archive.org/web/20201111002550/https://www.burwoodliberals.org/boroondara-city-council#bad_date . 11 November 2020 . 2020-11-11 . en-US . dead .
  24. Web site: Census Australian Bureau of Statistics . www.abs.gov.au . en . 11 January 2023.
  25. Web site: Libraries. City of Boroondara. 19 April 2012.
  26. Web site: A visit to Greythorn Library Lounge. Boroondara. City of. 2018-09-18. City of Boroondara. en-AU. 2019-03-10.
  27. Web site: Headspace Hawthorn doors open. headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation. 16 March 2014. 16 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140316122944/http://www.headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/headspace-hawthorn/news-and-events/headspace-hawthorn-doors-are-open!. dead.
  28. Web site: Boroondara . City of . 2023-06-22 . Nominate a heritage place . 2024-08-15 . City of Boroondara . en-AU.
  29. Web site: Cowie . Tom . 2024-08-06 . ‘Racism, vigilantes’: Backlash over letting the public nominate homes for heritage protection . 2024-08-15 . The Age . en.