The Municipality of Bulong was a
local government area in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
centred on the mining town of
Bulong.
It was established on 13 November 1896, separating the Bulong township from the
North-East Coolgardie Road District.
The gazetting of a municipality followed lobbying from the Bulong Progress Committee, which passed on a sum of £217 to the new council upon its establishment.
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The first election was held on 21 December 1896, with E. H. B. Macartney elected the first Mayor of Bulong. The council consisted of a directly elected mayor and six councillors. It initially met in temporary council chambers in Colin Street, before completing construction of permanent chambers in Reid Street in 1897. The council grappled with the issues of establishing many basic amenities for the town, including establishing a cemetery, fire brigade, and recreation reserve, with the recreation reserve formally vested in the council in 1898.
The municipality was enlarged in 1898 due to growth of the township.
Later mayors of Bulong included James Townsend (1900-1903) and R. C. Jones.
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In 1906, amidst declining revenue, it decreased the wages of the town clerk and labourer. In later years, the cessation or removal of public services to the struggling township were a recurring issue for the council.
The municipality ceased to exist on 10 December 1909, when amidst "decreasing population and dying mines", it merged into the surrounding
Bulong Road District
The Bulong Road District was an early form of local government area on the Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding exter ...
, with which it had co-existed since 1899. A petition of ratepayers had been sent to the Colonial Secretary requesting the abolition.
In 1948, the old municipality's
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
was found in the bush and handed to the Eastern Goldfields branch of the
Western Australian Historical Society
Royal Western Australian Historical Society has for many decades been the main association for Western Australians to collectively work for adequate understanding and protection of the cultural heritage of Perth and Western Australia. It was fou ...
and then to the
State Archives
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
.
[ ]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulong, Municipality of
Former local government areas of Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia