The Municipality of Lidcombe was a

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in the

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region 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 ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. The municipality was proclaimed as the Borough of Rookwood on 8 December 1891 and was renamed to the Municipality of Lidcombe, a portmanteau of two mayor's names, in order to differentiate itself from the expanding necropolis, from 15 October 1913. It included the modern suburbs of Rookwood,

Lidcombe Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lidcombe is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Cumberland Council, with a small industrial part in the north ...

, Homebush Bay (now

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and

Wentworth Point Wentworth Point is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, on the eastern edge of the local government area of City of Parramatta. It is on t ...

), Berala and parts of Newington,

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, Homebush West and

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. From 1 January 1949, the council was amalgamated into the Municipality of Auburn, with the passing of the '' Local Government (Areas) Act 1948''.

Council history

Early years and development

The area was first incorporated on 8 December 1891, when the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

, The Earl of Jersey, proclaimed the "Borough of Rookwood". The first council was elected on 16 February 1892, with nine aldermen elected at-large. The Council first met on 24 February 1892, at Gormley's Hall, with Richard Slee having already been elected the first mayor, and William de Burgh Hocter, former Town Clerk of

The Glebe The Glebe is a neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located just south of Ottawa's downtown area in the Capital Ward. According to the Glebe Community Association, the neighbourhood is bounded on the north by the Queensway, on the ...

, appointed first

Town Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a To ...

in March 1892. On 28 November 1896, the foundation stone for the new Town Hall, on Church Street, was laid by the

Mayoress In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, Mrs Lidbury. Designed by J. B. Alderson and built by William Peter Noller of Parramatta, the Town Hall was completed in 1897. From 28 December 1906, following the passing of the ''Local Government Act, 1906'', the council was renamed as the "Municipality of Rookwood".

Name change

With the continuing growth of the

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

in the council area, opinion within the council and ratepayers that the "Rookwood" name was now too closely associated with the cemetery was growing. Several names were suggested, but council did not settle on a choice until in July 1913 when Henry R. Hoebey wrote to council suggesting the name "Lidcombe", a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsNecropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

" to refer to the cemetery was now undesirable, favouring "Rookwood" for the cemetery now only. With the passing of the "Rookwood" name the ''

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'' observed:

Later history

By the end of the Second World War, the NSW Government had realised that its ideas of infrastructure expansion could not be effected by the present system of the patchwork of small municipal councils across Sydney and the Minister for Local Government,

Joseph Cahill John Joseph Cahill (21 January 189122 October 1959), also known as Joe Cahill or J. J. Cahill, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, railway worker, trade unionist and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to his death in 1 ...

, following the recommendations of the 1945–46 Clancy Royal Commission on Local Government Boundaries, passed a bill in 1948 that abolished a significant number of those councils. Under the '' Local Government (Areas) Act 1948'', Lidcombe Municipal Council merged with the Municipality of Auburn, which covered the border to the west.

Council history

Early years and development

Name change

Later history

Mayors

Town Clerks

References

Further reading