Municipality of Woollahra

This article is about the Australian local government area. For the Sydney suburb, see Woollahra, New South Wales.
Woollahra Municipal Council
New South Wales

Coordinates 33°53′S 151°15′E / 33.883°S 151.250°E / -33.883; 151.250Coordinates: 33°53′S 151°15′E / 33.883°S 151.250°E / -33.883; 151.250
Population 59,307 (2015 est)[1]
 • Density 4,942/km2 (12,800/sq mi)
Area 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi)
Mayor Toni Zeltzer (Liberal)
Council seat Double Bay
Region Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)
Federal Division(s) Wentworth
Website Woollahra Municipal Council
LGAs around Woollahra Municipal Council:
Sydney Harbour Sydney Harbour Tasman Sea
Sydney Woollahra Municipal Council Waverley
Sydney Randwick Waverley
Woollahra Council Chambers

Woollahra Municipal Council (or Woollahra Council) is a local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is bounded by Sydney Harbour in the north, Waverley Council in the east, Randwick City in the south and the City of Sydney in the west.

The administrative centre of Woollahra Municipal Council is located in Double Bay. The Mayor of Woollahra Municipal Council is Cr. Toni Zeltzer, a member of the Liberal Party.

The community is culturally diverse, creative and well educated, featuring a skilled and varied business community. Woollahra is an area with extensive natural beauty and heritage appealing to residents, visitors and tourists who enjoy its parks, waterfront locations and historical buildings.

History of Woollahra

The name 'Woollahra' is thought to be derived from an Aboriginal word meaning 'camp' or 'meeting ground'.[2]

A petition was submitted in 1859 with 144 signatures of local residents from Darling Point, Paddington and Watsons Bay for the formation of the Municipality. With no petition against formation of the Municipality, Woollahra was proclaimed to be named so on 17 April 1860, and gazetted on 20 April 1860. At the first meeting, The Hon. George Thornton was elected as the first Chairman of Woollahra.[2]

In 1947, after previously acquiring 'Iron House' on Ocean Street, in the 1860s, Council transferred to the current site at Redleaf.[2]

Woollahra largely developed as a residential locality. A few small local industries were established in Woollahra, Double Bay and Paddington; but with the residential gentrification of Paddington and Woollahra in the 1960s, most of these cottage industries had vanished by the end of the 20th century.

Woollahra's cultural heritage has been enriched by the influx of people from many different cultural backgrounds. Some of the influential immigrants to Woollahra have been the Chinese market gardeners, who began leasing land in Double Bay gully and Rose Bay in the 1880s; the Portuguese whalers who settled at Watsons Bay in the 19th century, building a church and becoming a part of the village life, and the many Europeans who migrated after World War II and helped change the face of commercial centres such as Double Bay.

Proposed amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Municipality of Woollahra merge with the Waverley and Randwick councils to form a new council with an area of 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 274,000.[3] The outcome of an independent review is expected to be completed by mid–2016.

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs in the area include:

Demographics

At the 2011 Census, there were 52,158 people in the Woollahra local government area, of these 47.1% were male and 52.9% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.2% of the population. The median age of people in the Municipality of Woollahra was 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 15.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.3% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 43.1% were married and 10.3% were either divorced or separated.[4]

Population growth in the Municipality of Woollahra between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 0.70%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 3.98%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Woollahra local government area was significantly lower than the national average.[5] The median weekly income for residents within the Municipality of Woollahra was double the national average.[4][6]

At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents who stated a religious affiliation with Judaism was in excess of twenty–eight times the state and national averages.[4]

Selected historical census data for Woollahra local government area
Census year 2001[5]2006[6]2011[4]
Population Estimated residents on Census night 49,814 50,161 52,158
LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 19
% of New South Wales population 1.90% 0.75%
% of Australian population 0.26% Decrease 0.25% Decrease 0.24%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry,
top responses 		English 23.6%
Australian 17.7%
Irish 9.0%
Scottish 6.9%
German 2.7%
Language,
top responses
(other than English) 		Greek1.4% Decrease 1.3% Steady 1.3%
Cantonese1.2% Decrease 1.1% Steady 1.1%
French1.0% Steady 1.0% Increase 1.1%
Italian1.2% Decrease 1.1% Decrease 1.0%
Mandarinn/c n/c Increase 0.8%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation,
top responses 		No religion15.1% Increase 16.7% Increase 21.7%
Catholic19.9% Decrease 19.7% Increase 20.2%
Anglican21.2% Decrease 19.8% Decrease 17.9%
Judaism13.4% Increase 14.1% Increase 14.2%
Eastern Orthodox3.0% Increase 3.1% Increase 3.2%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income Median weekly personal income A$976 A$1,145
% of Australian median income 209.4% 198.4%
Family income Median weekly family income A$1,917 A$2,832
% of Australian median income 186.7% 191.2%
Household income Median weekly household income A$2,654 A$2,398
% of Australian median income 226.6% 194.3%

Woollahra Municipal Council

Current composition and election method

Woollahra Municipal Council is composed of fifteen Councillors elected proportionally as five separate wards, each electing three Councillors. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:[7][8][9][10][11]

PartyCouncillors
  Liberal Party of Australia 9
  Residents First Woollahra 3
  The Greens 1
Total 13

The current Council, elected in 2012, in order of election by ward, is:

WardCouncillorPartyNotes
Bellevue Hill Ward[7]   Greg Levenston Liberal
  Andrew Petrie Liberal
  Jeff Zulman Residents First
Cooper Ward[8]   Katherine O'Regan Liberal
  Luise Elsing Residents First
  Anthony Marano Liberal
Double Bay Ward[9]   Toni Zeltzer Liberal Mayor
  James Keulemans Liberal
  Deborah Thomas Liberal
Paddington Ward[10]   Peter Cavanagh Liberal
  Elena Wise Residents First Resigned in 2015[12]
  Matthew Robertson The Greens
Vaucluse Ward[11]   Anthony Boskovitz Liberal Resigned in 2015[12]
  Ted Bennett Liberal
  Susan Wynne Residents First Deputy Mayor

References

  1. ↑ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2014–15". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Jarvis & Kelly (1960). The History of Woollahra. Sydney: Halstead Press.
  3. ↑ "Merger proposal: Randwick City Council, Waverley Council, Woollahra Municipal Council" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. January 2016. p. 7. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Woollahra (A)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (9 March 2006). "Woollahra (A)". 2001 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  6. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Woollahra (A)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 "Woollahra Municipal Council - Bellevue Hill Ward". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Woollahra Municipal Council - Cooper Ward". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Woollahra Municipal Council - Double Bay Ward". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Woollahra Municipal Council - Paddington Ward". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  11. 1 2 "Woollahra Municipal Council - Vaucluse Ward". Local Government Elections 2012. Electoral Commission of New South Wales. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  12. 1 2 Woollahra Municipal Council (11 May 2015). "Council Meeting Minutes" (PDF). Woollahra Municipal Council. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
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