The Municipality of Balmain was a
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed in February 1860 and, with an area of 3.8 square kilometres, covered the entire peninsula of Balmain north of
Callan Park
Callan Park, with the heritage listed name Callan Park Conservation Area & Buildings, is a heritage listed site in Lilyfield, a suburb in the Inner West Council in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Callan Pa ...
and Foucart Street, including the present suburbs of
Balmain,
Balmain East
Balmain East is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain East is located three kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Inner West Council.
...
,
Birchgrove and
Rozelle. The council was amalgamated with the municipalities of
Leichhardt and
Annandale to the south with the passing of the ''
Local Government (Areas) Act 1948
Local Government (Areas) Act 1948 was a landmark New South Wales statute that was notable for its wide-ranging reforms for and amalgamations of the Local Government Areas of New South Wales within the County of Cumberland. Largely informed by th ...
''.
Council history and location
The Municipality of Balmain was proclaimed on 21 February and Gazetted on 27 February, with the first elections held on 27 March 1860.
The election of the first nine councillors was declared on 5 April 1860, with the first meeting occurring on the first day and the election of the first chairman, Rev.
Ralph Mansfield
Ralph Mansfield (12 March 1799 – 1 September 1880) was a Methodist missionary and newspaper editor in colonial Australia.
Born in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, son of Ralph Mansfield, an earthenware manufacturer, and his wife Ann, ''née'' ...
.
Following the passing of the ''Municipalities Act, 1867'', Chairman was retitled "Mayor" and Councillors became
Aldermen. With this Act, the council also became known as the Borough of Balmain (From 28 December 1906, with the passing of the ''Local Government Act, 1906'', the council was again renamed as the "Municipality of Balmain"). On 3 September 1913, the six acres of land adjoining
Callan Park Asylum grounds, known as
Callan Park
Callan Park, with the heritage listed name Callan Park Conservation Area & Buildings, is a heritage listed site in Lilyfield, a suburb in the Inner West Council in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia.
Callan Pa ...
were transferred from Leichhardt Council to Balmain, bringing the boundaries further south.
![Balmain Town Hall, 3 June 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Balmain_Town_Hall%2C_3_June_2016.jpg)
The council first met on 5 April 1860 in the loft of a warehouse owned by Councillor Thomas Rowntree on
Mort Bay
Mort Bay is a bay located in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It was named after Commander Morton C. Mumma of the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one ...
(now the site of Gilchrist Place), then to rooms rented on the western side of Adolphus Street and thereafter in St Mary's schoolroom at 7 Adolphus Street. From 1862 to 1876, the council met in the Balmain School of Arts on 142 Darling Street. The current site of the
Balmain Town Hall on Darling Street was purchased in 1876 and the existing stone cottage on the site became the council chambers. The council approved the building of new Council meeting chambers, located as a rear extension to the existing cottage, on 16 March 1880, designed by former Balmain mayor James McDonald, which were completed and opened in June 1881. However the need for large premises and a community hall for public meetings was needed and in 1888 a design by the sitting mayor Edward Harman Buchanan was accepted and demolition of the existing cottage commenced. Buchanan's design in the
Victorian Free Classical style town hall included the centenary hall, a library, mayor's room, several rooms for council officers, and a council clerk's residence.
The council grew a reputation for its strong
Labor councils from the 1920s and in 1942–1944 the council was composed entirely of Labor councillors, which led the council to abolish its committees in favour of a cabinet-style system.
By the end of the Second World War, the NSW Government had come to the conclusion, following the recommendation of the 1945–46
Clancy
Clancy is an Irish name coming from the Gaelic ''Mac Fhlannchaidh/Mac Fhlannchadha'', meaning "Son of the red/ruddy warrior" (Mac being for sons, ''Ní Fhlannchaidh/Ní Fhlannchadha'' would be for daughters), or as a hypocorism for Clarence.
...
Royal Commission on Local Government Boundaries, that its ideas of infrastructure expansion could not be realised by the present system of the mostly-poor inner-city municipal councils and the Minister for Local Government,
Joseph Cahill, pushed through a bill in 1948 that abolished a significant number of those councils. Balmain was abolished and amalgamated with Annandale into the Municipality of Leichhardt following the enactment of the
Local Government (Areas) Act 1948
Local Government (Areas) Act 1948 was a landmark New South Wales statute that was notable for its wide-ranging reforms for and amalgamations of the Local Government Areas of New South Wales within the County of Cumberland. Largely informed by th ...
, which came into effect from 1 January 1949.
Mayors
See also
*
John McMahon, Balmain Alderman (1942–1944), State MP for
Balmain (1950–1968).
*
William O'Connor, Balmain Alderman (1944–1948), Member of the House of Representatives (1946–1969).
References
{{coord missing, New South Wales
1860 establishments in Australia
1948 disestablishments in Australia
Balmain
Balmain
Inner West
Balmain, New South Wales