The Municipality of Coolgardie 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 ...

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 town of Coolgardie. It was established on 4 July 1894. It initially met in premises on Hunt Street, but these became too small in two years and a replacement council chambers was built in Bayley Street in 1896. The council was responsible for the construction of the Coolgardie Mechanics' Institute in 1894-96; it gave Coolgardie a library "claimed as one of the best in the colony outside Perth" as well as a concert hall and reading room, but resulted in the council incurring a £900 debt. The boundaries of the municipality were expanded on 13 September 1895, with the additional land including the Coolgardie suburb known as "Toorak". The council opened the Coolgardie Municipal Baths on 11 January 1897, making Coolgardie the first Western Australian town with a public swimming pool. However, it proved to be a financial failure and closed in 1916. It was divided into a system of four wards on 12 October 1898, but these were abolished in 1901 due to a decline in population; the number of councillors was also dropped from twelve to nine at the same time. It was involved in the staging of the Coolgardie International Mining and Industrial Exhibition in 1899, with the ''

Coolgardie Miner The ''Coolgardie Miner'' (18 April 1894 – 16 June 1911) was a weekly newspaper established in Coolgardie, Western Australia, at a time when Coolgardie was the prominent town in the goldfields region of Western Australia. The subsequent publi ...

'' crediting the "liberality of the Municipal Council" as one of the factors involved in successfully getting the exhibition underway. The council chambers were damaged by fire in 1903, and the mechanics' institute committee folded in the same year. The two buildings were moved to a new site on Bayley Street and united with a new frontage. The council operated out of them for the rest of its existence. The 1903 building survives today and was listed on the former

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

. The municipality ceased to exist on 20 May 1921 when it was merged into the surrounding Coolgardie Road District. Politicians

George Bellingham George Henry John Bellingham (15 February 1862 – 28 July 1932) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1900 to 1908, representing South Province. Bellingham was born in Maldon, Vict ...

, William Eddy,

Henry Augustus Ellis Henry Augustus Ellis (24 July 1861 – 3 October 1939) was an Irish Australian physician and federalist, important in the promotion of federation in Western Australia. Ellis, was the fourth son of Colonel Francis Ellis of County Tyrone, Ireland, ...

, John Hardwick and

Charles McDowall Charles McDowall (c. 1862 – 13 July 1916) was an Australian businessman and politician who was a Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch), Labor Party member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly of We ...

served on the council, with McDowall also serving as mayor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coolgardie, Municipality of Former local government areas of Western Australia Coolgardie, Western Australia