Penrith City Council - History
History of
Local Government development in the Penrith and Surrounding
Districts
The first attempt to
introduce a general system of local government in New South Wales
was inspired by the British Government. The system empowered the
Governor to proclaim District Council areas charged with a variety
of functions ranging from road construction and maintenance to the
establishment of schools.
The first District Council for the Penrith
area was appointed by Governor Gipps in 1843. Experience with
these District Councils soon revealed flaws and almost immediately
attempts were made to remedy them. The New South Wales Legislative
Council, realising the futility of patching up a system incapable
of fulfilling its functions, declared that District Councils were
"totally unsuited to the circumstances of the country, the
districts being unable to meet the additional taxation which would
necessarily be required in carrying out the various objects
contemplated by their constitution and the cost of machinery
requisited for bringing them into operation being in itself an
obstacle fatal to their success". No legislative action was taken
to reform the system and the District Councils quietly
disappeared.
The failure was due
mainly to the legislation, which was based mainly an English
experience and totally unsuited to conditions in the sparsely
populated colonies. There was no Central Government aid and
Councils had insufficient revenue to cover their operations. There
was also an absence of experienced administrators and engineers.The
failures of District Councils led to further neglect of many local
services, particularly the maintenance of streets in country
towns
Because of mounting
concern over the neglect of these areas, Henry Parkes introduced
legislation which became law in 1858.
The
Municipalities Act of 1858, provided for a voluntary
system of incorporation. On receipt of a petition containing the
signatures of at least fifty persons liable for rating assessment,
the Governor was empowered to proclaim the area a Municipality. The
Councils consisted of either six or nine councillors elected by
ratepayers for a term of three years, one third retiring annually.
The Chairman was elected annually from and by the councillors.
Revenue was derived from rates levied upon annual values, while
provision was made for Government aid on a sliding scale for a
period of fifteen years.
Functions were
mainly routine, including the care and management of streets,
roads, bridges, ferries and wharves and the provision of water and
sewerage schemes.
Thirty five areas
were incorporated under this Act and there is no doubt that
incorporation as municipalities had brought surprising benefits to
many of the areas. However, there was a serious omission in the Act
-the absence of provision for the enforcement of rate payments.
Advantage was taken by various unscrupulous individuals to avoid
payment of rates in addition many larger landholders were
antagonistic towards the paying of rates an their valuable
properties.
1n 1867, Sir Henry
Parkes secured the passage of the Municipalities Act. The 1858 Act
was repealed and two types of units were set up: Boroughs and
Municipal Districts. Boroughs were to contain at least 1,000 people
and be no more that 9 square miles in area and all existing
Municipalities were classed as Boroughs. For a Municipal District
the qualifications were a population of at least 500 and an area of
50 square miles, no one point to be more then 20 miles from any
other. A system of plurality voting, up to four votes, was
introduced. Two additional functions were included, namely
municipal libraries and the establishment of infants schools for
certain classes of children. Over sixty councils established
libraries aided by a Government subsidy, but there is no evidence
that any municipality established an infants school!
One hundred and
sixty seven citizens of Penrith area presented a petition asking for incorporation as a Municipality in
1860.
A
counter petition was
also presented signed mainly by large landholders in the Greendale
area.
The Government, led
by Premier John Robertson, considered the matter and eventually
agreed to the incorporation and a proclamation of 12th May 1871 was
published in the Government Gazette on Saturday, 13th
May 1871 to form Penrith Municipal
Council .
The First
Council Thomas
Andrews
Donald Beatson
John Matthews
John Reddan
James John Riley (Mayor)
Peter Smeaton
Thomas Smith
Austen Forrest Wilshire
Edwin James Wilshire Town Clerk: John Price
Valuers: J. T Ryan & T. R Smith | James John Riley (Mayor)
|
In 1890, 138 citizens of St Marys petitioned the government
asking for incorporation as a municipality. The government, with
Sir Henry Parkes as Premier, agreed to this request and on March 3,
1890, proclaimed the Municipality of St Marys. In 1894, there was a
further proclamation with new boundaries to the south and in 1906
there was a further addition in the southern section.
Following a further petition, the
Municipality of Mulgoa was
proclaimed on 26 July 1893. The new area of the Municipality
of Penrith was divided into 3 Wards North, South and Castlereagh
(see the Proclamation for details).
Another petition resulted in the Municipality of Castlereagh on
9 September 1895. With the passing of the Local
Government Act in 1906, the Nepean Shire, south of Mulgoa
Municipality, was created and it absorbed Mulgoa Municipality in
1913.
| Municipal Boundaries changed very little from 1913-1949. The map
on the left (1946) shows the boundaries of all the Municipal areas
that form the present Penrith City Council. In 1949 the Municipalities of Penrith, Castlereagh, St Marys and
the 'A' Riding of the Shire of Nepean were amalgamated into much
large Municipality of Penrith.
|
Blue Mountains Shire was created to
cover the area to the west of the Nepean River, including Emu
Plains.
On January 1, 1949 the former
municipalities of Penrith, St
Marys and Castlereagh and a portion of Nepean Shire joined to
form a new and larger municipality. The Municipality of Penrith was
proclaimed a city on 21 October 1959. On 25 October 1963 the
Emu Plains area was transferred from the Blue Mountains City
Council to Penrith City Council.
Please e-mail your
comments to Lorraine Stacker, including the web address of this
page.
Penrith City Council Library Service
Copyright © Penrith City Council. All rights reserved.
Revised: 25 May 2009