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City of Boroondara

Coordinates: 37°49′S 145°04′E / 37.817°S 145.067°E / -37.817; 145.067
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City of Boroondara
Victoria
Map of Melbourne with the City of Boroondara highlighted in dark green
Map
Population167,231 (2021 census)[1] (31st)
 • Density2,790/km2 (7,200/sq mi)
Established1994
Area60 km2 (23.2 sq mi)[2]
MayorCr Felicity Sinfield
Council seatCamberwell
RegionGreater Melbourne
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)
WebsiteCity of Boroondara
LGAs around City of Boroondara:
Yarra Banyule Manningham
Yarra City of Boroondara Whitehorse
Stonnington Stonnington Monash

The City of Boroondara (/bɒrənˈdɑːrə/) 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.[3]

It has an area of 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi). 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.[4]

History

[edit]

This area was originally occupied by the Wurundjeri Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation.[5][6]

In 1837, John Gardiner (after whom Gardiners Creek was named) and his family were the first Europeans to settle in the area.[6] 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".[7]

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.[8]

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".[9] The three municipalities, including the whole of the City of Camberwell, were eventually amalgamated in June 1994 to create the City of Boroondara.[3] Existing councillors from the three municipalities were replaced initially by three commissioners - David Glanville (chair), David Thomas and Marion Macleod.[10] The commissioners were in turn replaced by ten councillors following elections in 1996.[11]

Council

[edit]

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.[12]

Current composition and election method

[edit]
The Camberwell Town Hall.

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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15][16]

All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office, with the most recent election being held in October 2024.[17][18] Councillors were sworn in at a Special Meeting of Council on Monday 11 November 2024. The Mayor will be decided in a council meeting on the 18th of November.[19]

Party Councillors
  Independent 8
  Liberal 1
  Greens 2
Total 11
Ward[20] Party Name Elected
Bellevue   Independent Michael Nolan 2024
Cotham   Liberal Felicity Sinfield 2012
Gardiner   Independent Victor Franco 2020
Glenferrie   Greens Wes Gault[21] 2020
Junction   Independent Mal Osborne-Smith 2024
Lynden   Independent Lisa Hollingsworth 2016
Maling   Independent Shima Ibuki 2024
Maranoa   Independent Chris Pattas 1996-2004, 2024
Riversdale   Independent Rob Baillieu 2024
Solway   Greens John Friend-Pereira [22] 2024
Studley   Independent Sophie Torney 2024

Mayors

[edit]
Main article: List of mayors of Boroondara

Past councillors

[edit]

1996−present

[edit]
Year Bellevue Cotham Gardiner Glenferrie Junction Lynden Maling Maranoa Riversdale Solway Studley
Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor
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.) 		  Heinz Kreutz
(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    
2024   Michael Nolan
(Ind.) 		  Mal Osborne-Smith
(Ind.) 		  Shima Ibuki
(Ind.) 		  Chris Pattas
(Ind.) 		  Rob Baillieu
(Ind.) 		  John Friend-Pereira (Greens)   Sophie Torney
(Ind.)

Election results

[edit]

2024

[edit]
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 Victorian local elections in Eastern Melbourne § Boroondara results.[edit]
2024 Victorian local elections: Boroondara[23][24][25][26]
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Independents 55,852 57.70 +0.34 8 Increase3
  Independent Liberal 27,946 28.87 –3.73[a] 1 Decrease 4
  Greens 8,155 8.42 +2.99 2 Increase 1
  Independent Labor 3,323 3.43 +1.75 0 Steady
  Victorian Socialists 1,523 1.57 +1.57 0 Steady
 Formal votes 96,799 98.01 +0.16
 Informal votes 1,962 1.99 –0.16
 Total 98,761 100.00 11
 Registered voters / turnout 117,377 84.14

2020

[edit]
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2020 Victorian local elections in Eastern Melbourne § Boroondara results.[edit]
2020 Victorian local elections: Boroondara[27][28]
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Independent 60,052 57.36 5 Steady
  Burwood Liberals 31,700 30.28 5 Steady
  Greens 5,999 5.43 1 Increase 1
  Independent Liberal 2,745 2.32 0 Steady
  Animal Justice 2,122 2.03 0 Steady
  Independent Labor 1,929 1.68 0 Decrease 1
  Independent Greens 990 0.90 0 Steady
 Formal votes 104,695 97.85
 Informal votes 2,295 2.15
 Total 106,990 100.00 11 Increase 1

Townships and localities

[edit]

The 2021 census, the city had a population of 167,900 up from 167,231 in the 2016 census[29]

Population
Locality 2016 2021
Ashburton 7,751 7,952
Balwyn 13,312 13,495
Balwyn North^ 20,406 21,302
Camberwell 22,081 21,965
Canterbury 8,056 7,800
Deepdene 2,035 2,101
Glen Iris^ 25,268 26,131
Hawthorn 23,511 22,322
Hawthorn East 14,321 14,834
Kew 24,605 24,499
Kew East 6,635 6,620
Mont Albert^ 4,840 4,948
Surrey Hills^ 13,605 13,655

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

Infrastructure

[edit]

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

Libraries

[edit]

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.[30][31]

Local area

[edit]

Schools

[edit]
Camberwell High School, one of the City of Boroondara's secondary schools

Boroondara has one of the highest concentrations of students in Australia[32] 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

[edit]

In 2023, Boroondara implemented a "community heritage nomination process",[33] 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.[34] 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

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Compared to the combined Independent Liberal and Burwood Liberals result at the 2020 election.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Boroondara". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 August 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b "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. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b "History and heritage". City of Boroondara. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Victorian Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey". JWS Research. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Ancestors & Past". Wurundjeri. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b "History of Gardiners Creek". City of Boroondara. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Local History and Heritage". City of Boroondara. Archived from the original on 3 May 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
  8. ^ Victorian Municipal Directory. Brunswick: Arnall & Jackson. 1992. pp. 327–328, 393, 406. Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.
  9. ^ "Municipal shake-up". The Age. 9 April 1994. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  10. ^ "170 councillors sacked as 17 local councils cease to exist, Seven super-cities from today". Canberra Times. 22 June 1994. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  11. ^ "First Council of City of Boroondara". Monument Australia. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  12. ^ "City of Boroondara". City of Boroondara. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Council elections". City of Boroondara. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Victorian council elections likely to be postponed amid COVID-19 risks". 13 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Council elections to go ahead despite COVID-19 campaigning curbs". 13 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Providing safe elections".
  17. ^ "Council elections". City of Boroondara. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  18. ^ "Past Councillors". City of Boroondara. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  19. ^ "Past Council Meeting Agendas". City of Boroondara. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Boroondara City Council results". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  21. ^ "Wes Gault". Australian Greens Victoria. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  22. ^ https://greens.org.au/vic/person/john-friend-pereira
  23. ^ "Boroondara City Council results". VEC. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Boroondara City Council election". VEC. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Local Government Elections" (PDF). Eastsider News. October 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Boroondara candidates". Eastsider News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Boroondara City Council election results 2020". Victorian Electoral Commission.
  28. ^ "Boroondara City Council". Burwood Liberals. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
  29. ^ "Census | Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. 11 January 2023.
  30. ^ "Libraries". City of Boroondara. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  31. ^ Boroondara, City of (18 September 2018). "A visit to Greythorn Library Lounge". City of Boroondara. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  32. ^ "Headspace Hawthorn doors open". headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  33. ^ Boroondara, City of (22 June 2023). "Nominate a heritage place". City of Boroondara. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  34. ^ Cowie, Tom (6 August 2024). "'Racism, vigilantes': Backlash over letting the public nominate homes for heritage protection". The Age. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
[edit]
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Boroondara.

Boroondara travel guide from Wikivoyage

37°49′S 145°04′E / 37.817°S 145.067°E / -37.817; 145.067

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