North Sydney Council is 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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

on the Lower North Shore of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, established on 29 July 1890 through the amalgamation of three boroughs. The area is bounded by Willoughby to the north and north-west,

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the ...

to the north-east, Mosman to the east, Lane Cove to the west and ''

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...

'' to the south. It covers an area of approximately and as at the had an estimated population of . The administrative seat of North Sydney Council is located in the suburb of

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

, approximately north of the

Sydney central business district The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or ...

. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of North Sydney Council is Cr. Zoë Baker, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politician, first elected on 10 January 2022.

Suburbs and localities in the local government area

Suburbs serviced by North Sydney Council are:

History

The area now covered by North Sydney Council originally comprised three municipalities: the Borough of East St Leonards from 1860 (Kirribilli, Cremorne Point, Milsons Point), the Borough of St Leonards from 1867 (Cammeray, Mosman, Waverton, Wollstonecraft) and the very small Borough of Victoria from 1871 (McMahons Point and parts of North Sydney and Lavender Bay). These boroughs lasted until 29 July 1890 when they merged to form the "Borough of North Sydney". Following a petition submitted by residents in 1892, on 11 April 1893 the Mossman Ward of North Sydney confirmed its separation as the Borough of Mosman, being proclaimed by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Frederick Darley. From 28 December 1906, following the passing of the ''Local Government Act, 1906'', the council was renamed as the "Municipality of North Sydney". North Sydney Municipal Council first met in the 1885 East St Leonards Town Hall on Alfred Street, Milsons Point, that had been built for the Borough of East St Leonards, and took up residence in the North Sydney Council Chambers on Miller Street, North Sydney, from 12 July 1926.

Post-war council history and Mack era

With the completion of the Warringah Expressway in 1968, a construction that involved the wide-scale demolition of areas in the centre of the municipality, North Sydney was split in two and development in the North Sydney central business district took off. With this development resulting in the destruction of the heritage streetscape of the North Sydney CBD, threatening the character of surrounding areas, several movements of North Sydney residents formed to oppose and manage the pace and extent of development. One prominent group was the North Sydney Civic Group, which came to prominence in the late-1970s amid dissatisfaction with the North Sydney Council. The Council's plans for the demolition of the historic Council Chambers following a fire in 1976, led to further tensions and resulted in the council being turned out at the 1980 elections, replaced by a North Sydney Civic Group-aligned council and Ted Mack elected mayor. Mack's term as mayor, was marked by a single-minded and innovative approach to the local governance issues facing North Sydney at the time. Mack began his term as mayor by selling the mayoral car to help buy community buses. During his term as mayor, North Sydney Council introduced the "open government policy" which honoured a promise of openness and transparency of council decisions, and established a precinct committee system, which allowed for greater citizen input in council issues. The pioneering North Sydney Heritage Study was released in 1982 and in 1989 the new Local Environmental Plan was gazetted. With an increase in council revenues, Mack reinvested the funds in a public works program into several new and renovated parks, car parks, childcare facilities, community and sports centres, and major extensions and renovations to the Stanton Library and North Sydney Oval. Infrastructure also took on a distinct local identity, with Council investment on new street signs, bus shelters, colour schemes of public buildings, paving and street furniture. In 1982, council voted to popularly elect the mayor, with Mack being directly elected twice to the position in 1983 and 1987 before retiring in 1988. With the passing of the ''Local Government Act, 1993'', the Municipality of North Sydney was legally renamed as North Sydney Council and aldermen were renamed councillors.

2016–17 amalgamation proposals

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the

NSW Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the North Sydney Council merge with adjoining councils. The government considered two proposals. The first proposed a merger of the North Sydney and Willoughby Councils to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately 145,000. The alternative, proposed by

Warringah Council Warringah Council was a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Northern Beaches (Sydney), northern beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed on 7 March 1906 as the W ...

on 23 February 2016, was for an amalgamation of the

Pittwater Pittwater is a semi-mature tide dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, located about north of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separate greater Metropolitan Sydney from th ...

, Manly and Warringah councils. As a consequence of Warringah's proposal, the New South Wales Minister for Local Government Paul Toole proposed that the North Sydney, Willoughby and Mosman Councils merge. In July 2017, the Berejiklian government decided to abandon the forced merger of the North Sydney, Willoughby and Mosman local government areas, along with several other proposed forced mergers.

Town Clerks and General Managers

Demographics

At the , there were people in the North Sydney local government area, of these 47.2 per cent were male and 52.8 per cent were female.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups, w ...

made up 0.3 per cent of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The

median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

age of people in the North Sydney Council area was 37 years; slightly below the national average of 38 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 12.6 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 14.4 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 41.9 per cent were married and 16.6 per cent were either divorced or separated. Population growth in the North Sydney Council area between the and the was 5.98%; and in the subsequent five years to the , population growth was 6.92%. At the 2016 census, the population in the North Sydney Council area increased by 8.62 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.8 per cent, population growth in the North Sydney local government area was marginally lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the North Sydney Council area was significantly higher and nearly double the national average.

Council

Composition and election methods

Current wards and election method

North Sydney Council is composed of ten

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s operating on a Council–manager system of operation, elected proportionally from two wards, each electing five Councillors. The

is elected by the Councillors for a two-year term and the

deputy mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

for a one-year term. A referendum passed at the same time at the 2012 council elections reduced the number of wards from four to three (Cremorne Ward was abolished) and the number of councillors from 13 to 10, inclusive of the popularly elected mayor, which took effect from the 2017 election. A referendum passed at the 2017 election also altered the system of electing the mayor. Starting in 2020, the mayor was elected by the councillors from among their members for a two-year term. As the wording of this referendum did not specify a reduction in the number of elected positions in the Council (such as from 10 Councillors to 9), the Office of Local Government required council to specify a ward structure of equal numbers to each ward: two wards of five councillors or five wards of two councillors. At its extraordinary meeting held on 20 January 2020, the Council voted to adopt a two-ward model on a north/south boundary with the northern ward named "St Leonards Ward" and the southern ward named "Cammeraygal Ward" from the 2021 election.

Current council

The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024. Councillors were elected in the following order. (See next section for more details and references)

Election results

2024

Heritage listings

North Sydney has a diverse range of heritage listings and conservation areas, including those listed on the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

(SHR)
Section 170 Registers
(s.170), the

Commonwealth Heritage List The Commonwealth Heritage List is a heritage register established in 2003, which lists places under the control of the Australian government, on land or in waters directly owned by the Crown (in Australia, the Crown in right of the Commonwealt ...

(CHL), and th
North Sydney Local Environmental Plan 2013
(LEP), including: * Cammeray, 3 Amherst Street: '' Tarella'' (SHR & LEP) * Cammeray, 143 Bellevue Street: Cammeray Substation (SHR & LEP) * Cremorne, 8 Bannerman Street: ''

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

'' (SHR & LEP) * Cremorne, 380 Military Road: Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace (LEP) * Cremorne, 53–57 Murdoch Street: Cremorne Girls High School (Former) (LEP) * Cremorne, 274 Military Road: SCEGGS Redlands (LEP) * Cremorne, 7 Cranbrook Avenue: '' Belvedere'' (SHR & LEP) * Cremorne, 11 Cranbrook Avenue: '' Egglemont'' (SHR & LEP) * Crows Next, 23 Albany Street: Electricity Power House (SHR, s.170 & LEP) * Crows Nest, 250 West Street: St Thomas Rest Park (LEP) *Kirribilli, 109 Kirribilli Avenue: Admiralty House, Lodge, Garden and Fortifications (CHL & LEP) *Kirribilli, 111 Kirribilli Avenue: Kirribilli House, Garden and Grounds (CHL & LEP) * Lavender Bay, 11 Bay View Street: '' Ildemere'' (SHR & LEP) * Milsons Point, North Shore railway: Milsons Point railway station (SHR, s.170 & LEP) * Milsons Point, 1 Olympic Drive: Luna Park Precinct (SHR & LEP) * Neutral Bay, 2 Hayes Street: ''

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

'' * Neutral Bay, 146 Kurraba Road: '' Hollowforth'' (SHR & LEP) * Neutral Bay, 5 Wallaringa Avenue: '' Nutcote'' * Neutral Bay, Yeo Street: St John's Uniting Church and Pipe Organ * Neutral Bay, Kurraba Road: Anderson Park * Neutral Bay, Kurraba Road: Former Neutral Bay tram depot and water tower * North Sydney, 36 Blue Street: Former North Sydney Technical High School (now Greenwood Hotel) * North Sydney, 20 Edward Street: '' Graythwaite'' * North Sydney, Falcon Street: North Sydney Sewer Vent * North Sydney, 283a Miller Street:

St Leonards Park St Leonards Park is a heritage-listed bowling club, urban park, rugby field and cricket oval at 283a Miller Street, North Sydney, New South Wales, North Sydney, North Sydney Council, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by William Tunks ...

* North Sydney, 6 Napier Street: '' Don Bank'' * North Sydney, 92–94 Pacific Highway: North Sydney Post Office (CHL, SHR & LEP) * North Sydney, 44 Union Street: '' Kailoa'' * North Sydney, 105-153 Miller Street: MLC Building (LEP) * North Sydney, 128 Miller Street: Monte Sant Angelo Group (LEP) * North Sydney, 127 Falcon Street:

North Sydney Boys High School North Sydney Boys High School (abbreviated as NSBHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded, Single-sex school, single-sex, Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary day school for boys, loc ...

(LEP) * North Sydney, 200 Miller Street: North Sydney Council Chambers and Wyllie Wing (LEP) * North Sydney, Miller Street: North Sydney Oval (LEP) * North Sydney, William Street: Sydney Church of England Grammar School (LEP) * North Sydney, 34 McLaren Street: St Thomas' Church, Rectory, Kindergarten Hall and Memorial Hall (LEP) * Waverton, North Shore railway: Waverton railway station (SHR & s.170)

Council facilities

* Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre * North Sydney Olympic Pool * North Sydney Oval * Stanton Library * Don Bank Museum * Clark Park

References

External links

North Sydney Council
{{Authority control Local government areas in Sydney

North Shore (Sydney)