17-459: The City of Fremantle is a local government area in the south of Perth , Western Australia. The City covers an area of 19.0 square kilometres (7.3 sq mi), and lies about 19 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of the Perth central business district . The City of Fremantle is named after Charles Fremantle , who in 1829 claimed for George IV "all that part of New Holland (Australia) which
34-466: A claim for city status. The City of Fremantle assumed its current name when city status was conferred upon Fremantle on 3 June 1929 as a Centenary of Western Australia honour. North Fremantle , originally part of Fremantle, broke away in October 1895 to become an independent municipality . The first mayor of North Fremantle was Daniel Keen Congdon . The two municipalities were reunited by an order of
51-443: A significant reduction in the number of decisions requiring ministerial approval which allowed for streamlined decision-making and greater local government autonomy. Although successive state governments have periodically promoted municipal amalgamation, only a small number of local governments have merged over the course of Western Australia's history. Historically most local governments have strongly resisted forced amalgamations and
68-536: A tax on private allotments to fund the construction and maintenance of "roads, paths and plantations". As the Colony began to develop, the first form of local government was established in some areas under the Towns Improvement Act of 1838. These trusts were empowered to elect ratepayers as Trustees and assess and collect a property tax for the construction of roads. Many of these town trusts, including
85-427: Is not included within the territory of New South Wales ". In 1848 a town trust was formed comprising a chairman and a committee of five. For the next twenty-three years they set about constructing roads and many public buildings with the use of convict labour. By 1870 the population of Fremantle had reached 3,796 and it was a moderately flourishing town, resulting in a move among the colonists to secure greater control of
102-782: The Indian Ocean Territories Administration of Laws Act , which allows the Western Australian Local Government Act to apply "on-island" as though it were a Commonwealth act. Nonetheless, Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands are not parts of Western Australia. The most recent local government elections were held in 2023 . Land was originally granted in the Swan River Colony under regulations which allowed for land commissioners to assess
119-619: The Greater Perth Movement around this time led to the amalgamation of inner city local governments to create a greatly expanded City of Perth until 1993, when the City was broken up once again. The first local government department was established by the state in 1949 to guide local government authorities. Following the war local governments increasingly expanded their services from property, health and local infrastructure (roads, drainage) to community and social services. This
136-513: The Perth Town Trust , experienced severe administrative and financial difficulties, and in some cases barely functioned at all. The Guildford Town Trust lasted only a couple of years before ceasing to function until it was reconstituted in 1863. The District Roads Act and Municipal Institutions Act , both of 1871 improved matters by allowing for the establishment of Roads Boards and Municipal Corporations. Municipal Corporations had
153-473: The most recent Australian census : East Fremantle has its own town council and is not governed by the City of Fremantle. The economy of the city is highly stable and diversified with various local businesses trading successfully in the vicinity. The key industries include port and shipping, regional and state government services, hospital and community services, tourism, education, retail, etc. In 2014, over 4,472 registered businesses were operating in
170-640: The Governor in Executive Council as from 1 November 1961. The City is divided into six wards, each electing two councillors. Each councillor serves a four-year term, and half-elections are held every two years. The mayor is directly elected. The mayor of Fremantle as of October 2021 is Hannah Fitzhardinge, who is a member of the Australian Labor Party . The suburbs of the City of Fremantle with population and size figures based on
187-627: The capacity to levy property taxes, pass municipal by-laws and undertake various local regulatory services previously carried out by colonial officials and other central bodies. Corporations could also establish civic institutions and facilities with the governors' consent, including libraries and botanical gardens. Road Boards where strictly limited to the construction of roads, could not levy property taxes and depended on colonial government grants for any expenditures. Women were permitted to be elected to Road Boards from 1911 and to Municipal Corporations from 1919. The influence of town clerk W.E. Bold and
SECTION 10
#1732791151121204-650: The city and the size of the workforce in the city centre had reached 8,849 in 2011. Fremantle has sister city relationships with five other cities. They are (in chronological order): Fremantle also has friendship-city relationships with three cities: 32°03′25″S 115°44′38″E / 32.0569°S 115.7439°E / -32.0569; 115.7439 Local government areas of Western Australia There are 137 local government areas (LGAs) in Western Australia , which comprise 27 cities, 102 shires, and 8 towns that manage their own affairs to
221-657: The extent permitted by the Local Government Act 1995 . The Local Government Act 1995 also makes provision for regional local governments (referred to as "regional councils", established by two or more local governments for a particular purpose. There are three classifications of local government in Western Australia: The Shire of Christmas Island and the Shire of Cocos (Keeling) Islands are federal external territories and covered by
238-404: The management of their affairs. The Municipality of Fremantle was formed on 21 February 1871, with the new council having a chairman and nine councillors. Two of the major achievements of the town council were a reliable supply of pure water and a more efficient system of sanitation. By 1928 Fremantle had a population of 22,340 and an annual revenue of £ 73,354 – enough to warrant
255-455: The present day. In the 1970s, the scope of local government services expanded to encompass the provision of nursing homes and other forms of aged care. During the late 1980s, and early 1990s a bi-partisan reform process led to the Local Government Act 1995 , which amongst other changes, established for the first time a clear separation of responsibility between elected councillors and local government administration. Other key changes included
272-783: The total number of authorities has declined only marginally over the last century. The most recent state government led effort to encourage the voluntary amalgamation of 30 metropolitan local governments into 16 was abandoned by the Barnett government in 2014. In 2017, the McGowan government initiated a review process to reform the Local Government Act 1995. The 30 metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 20 cities, 3 shires, and 7 towns. The 107 non-metropolitan local government areas (LGAs) comprise 7 cities, 99 shires, and 1 town . The Shire of Christmas Island and
289-414: Was termed the “New Order” at the time, and encompassed the development of community centres, infant health clinics and sporting facilities. Only a few cities – Fremantle , Nedlands , Perth , South Perth , and Subiaco – existed prior to 1961. On 1 July 1961, all road districts became shires, and all municipalities became towns or cities. This structure has continued till
#120879