Fremantle Council History

Wikipedia:
In 1848 a Town Trust was formed comprising a chairman and a committee of five. For the next twenty-three years they set about constructing roads and many fine public buildings with the use of convict labour. By 1870 the population of Fremantle had reached 3,796 and was a moderately flourishing town. There was a move among the colonists to secure greater control of the management of their affairs and in 1871 the Fremantle Town Council was formed, with a chairman and nine councillors. Two of the major achievements of the Town Council were a reliable supply of pure water and a more efficient system of sanitation. By 1928 Fremantle had a population of 22,340 and an annual revenue of £73,354 - enough to warrant a claim for city status. City status was conferred upon Fremantle on 3 June 1929 as a centenary honour in 1929.
North Fremantle, originally part of Fremantle, broke away in October 1895 to become an independent municipality. The two municipalities were reunited by an order of the Governor in Executive Council as from 1 November 1961. (Wikipedia page for City of Fremantle)

Note that Wikipedia leaves out the Municipal Council, 1883-1929.
Note also that East Fremantle has not been a part of Fremantle since 1897.

First City Council

Here is the list of mayors since 1929. And here is an (incomplete) list of councillors.

[[img/proclamation426.jpg|]]

Proclamation of the City, 3 June 1929. Fremantle Library image #426, photograph by Izzy Orloff.

The first City Council, 1929. Fremantle Library photo #3100 and text:
Members and officers of the Fremantle City Council on 3rd June 1929 when Fremantle was declared a city. Standing: from left: Dr C R Dunkley (Medical Officer of Health); Cr E M Davies; James Shepherd (Town Clerk); Cr Richard Rennie; Cr Fred Hollis; T J Smith (Chief Health Inspector); W Joslin (Works Supervisor). Seated: Cr F W Martin; Cr C D Kerr; Cr George Shepherd; Cr J Stevens; Mayor F E Gibson; Cr W J Sumpton; Cr J E Wilson; Cr A Grigg. Inset: Cr J M Farrell, left; Cr B T Daly, right. Taken 3 June 1929.

Fremantle City Council, 1976. Front row (left to right): Gerard McGill; June Boddy; Les Lauder; Sadie Stone; Mayor Bill McKenzie; Amelie Whittington; Jack Sowden; Esme Fletcher; Oscar Stack. Back row: Frank del Rosso; Kevin Gleeson; Bob Higham; Mark Staniford; Peter Newman; Dick Cotton; John Cattalini; Don Whittington; Joe Minervini; Ron Warren. [source: City of Fremantle Library]

References and Links

Battye, J.S. 1924, Western Australia: A History from its Discovery to the Inauguration of the Commonwealth, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Ewers, John K. 1971, The Western Gateway: A History of Fremantle, Fremantle City Council, with UWAP, rev. ed. [1st ed. 1948].

Hitchcock, J.K. 1929, The History of Fremantle, The Front Gate of Australia 1829-1929, Fremantle City Council.

FCC website, including a large-size ward map.
Wikipedia List of Governors of Western Australia
Wikipedia List of Mayors of Fremantle
Wikipedia List of Mayors of East Fremantle

City online project map.

Freotopia

This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 30 September, 2015 and hosted at freotopia.org/council/fcc.html (it was last updated on 13 March, 2024), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.