Shire retiring

Who knew Blue Mountains residents were so close to Bogan's. Forever Young except when we were Lambing Flats. Bland next to Blacktown. Uppers. Corowa Cowra  where you're central darling
Harden up Tumburumba down
The ghost that posts about each town
Uralla and Urana
You're not sure where or when
the municipal memo
moved its own amendments

Seeking council

Albury City Council
Armidale Dumaresq Council
Ashfield Council
Auburn City Council
Ballina Shire Council
Balranald Shire Council
Bankstown City Council
Bathurst Regional Council
Bega Valley Shire Council
Bellingen Shire Council
Berrigan Shire Council
Blacktown City Council
Bland Shire Council
Blayney Shire Council
Blue Mountains City Council
Bogan Shire Council
Bombala Council
Boorowa Council
The Council of the City of Botany Bay
Bourke Shire Council
Brewarrina Shire Council
Broken Hill City Council
Burwood Council
Byron Shire Council
Cabonne Council
Camden Council
Campbelltown City Council
City of Canada Bay Council
Canterbury City Council
Carrathool Shire Council
Central Darling Shire Council
Cessnock City Council
Clarence Valley Council
Cobar Shire Council
Coffs Harbour City Council
Conargo Shire Council
Coolamon Shire Council
Cooma-Monaro Shire Council
Coonamble Shire Council
Cootamundra Shire Council
Corowa Shire Council
Cowra Shire Council
Deniliquin Council
Dubbo City Council
Dungog Shire Council
Eurobodalla Shire Council
Fairfield City Council
Forbes Shire Council
Gilgandra Shire Council
Glen Innes Severn Council
Gloucester Shire Council
Gosford City Council
Goulburn Mulwaree Council
Great Lakes Council
Greater Hume Shire Council
Greater Taree City Council
Griffith City Council
Gundagai Shire Council
Gunnedah Shire Council
Guyra Shire Council
Gwydir Shire Council
Harden Shire Council
Hawkesbury City Council
Hay Shire Council
The Hills Shire Council
Holroyd City Council
The Council of the Shire of Hornsby
The Council of the Municipality of Hunters Hill
Hurstville City Council
Inverell Shire Council
Jerilderie Shire Council
Junee Shire Council
Kempsey Shire Council
The Council of the Municipality of Kiama
Kogarah City Council
Ku-ring-gai Council
Kyogle Council
Lachlan Shire Council
Lake Macquarie City Council
Lane Cove Municipal Council
Leeton Shire Council
Leichhardt Municipal Council
Lismore City Council
City of Lithgow Council
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool Plains Shire Council
Lockhart Shire Council
Maitland City Council
Manly Council
Marrickville Council
Mid-Western Regional Council
Moree Plains Shire Council
Mosman Municipal Council
Murray Shire Council
Murrumbidgee Shire Council
Muswellbrook Shire Council
Nambucca Shire Council
Narrabri Shire Council
Narrandera Shire Council
Narromine Shire Council
Newcastle City Council
North Sydney Council
Oberon Council
Orange City Council
Palerang Council
Parkes Shire Council
Parramatta City Council
Penrith City Council
Pittwater Council
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council
Port Stephens Council
Queanbeyan City Council
Randwick City Council
Richmond Valley Council
Rockdale City Council
Ryde City Council
Shellharbour City Council
Shoalhaven City Council
Singleton Council
Snowy River Shire Council
Strathfield Municipal Council
Sutherland Shire Council
Council of the City of Sydney
Tamworth Regional Council
Temora Shire Council
Tenterfield Shire Council
Tumbarumba Shire Council
Tumut Shire Council
Tweed Shire Council
Upper Hunter Shire Council
Upper Lachlan Shire Council
Uralla Shire Council
Urana Shire Council
Wagga Wagga City Council
The Council of the Shire of Wakool
Walcha Council
Walgett Shire Council
Warren Shire Council
Warringah Council
Warrumbungle Shire Council
Waverley Council
Weddin Shire Council
Wellington Council
Wentworth Shire Council
Willoughby City Council
Wingecarribee Shire Council
Wollondilly Shire Council
Wollongong City Council
Woollahra Municipal Council
Wyong Shire Council
Yass Valley Council
Young Shire Council

My Sweet Lord Mayor

There are special challenges to looking up Ernie Ford, David Campbell and George Harrison. But, yes, there was not only the inimitable "Tennessee" Ernie Ford; a Wollongong version also exists. No sweeter voiced scion of any Working Class Man ever got civic in the Illawarra or knocked around with a Working Class Hero.

Going, going, 'gong

Mayor

John Garrett 1859
Dr George Prowd Lambert 1863
George Warina 1864 [Waring variation]
JW Wilshire 1865, 1874

FR Cole 1871,1872
Patrick Lahiff 1873
George Osborne 1875, 1878

Charles Throsby Smith (1876?)

WL Howarth
George Hewlett
William McKenzie
Armstrong
William Wiley

Whew! This is a lot of work. I'm moving on to the Lord Mayors. Sod it.

Lord Mayor

Ernie Ford
John Parker
Frank Arkell
David Campbell
George Harrison
Alex Darling

Defining Parramattas

That list of Lord Mayors is unreliable as there was so many second terms in office that it suited the post better to mention them only once. So misleading is this that the two lady Lord Mayors did not serve consecutive terms as they do here.

Wollongong's list has yet to appear. There is a partial one that comes in at some point in the twentieth century but I'm having to do real research to see who was around in 1859.

Parramatta's after all

[thanks to parababble]

Mayor

John Williams

James Byrnes

James Pye

Richard Harper

John Good

Charles Joseph Byrnes

Thomas Wheaton Bowden
Hugh Taylor
Samuel Burge
Charles Joseph Byrnes
Frederick Charles Cox
Joseph Smith
Charles Joseph Byrnes
Frank Beames
William John Ferris

Over the next century there were repeat mayors such as Byrnes (Charles not James) and Beames, William Peter Noller (1901, 1903-06, 1907-08), Arthur Henry Collett (1912, 1927-30) and Eric Arthur Mobbs (1949-53, 1959)

Lord Mayor

Alan Hyam (incumbent mayor)

John Haines

Paul Garrard

John Books

David Borger
John Harris
Lorraine Wearne
Julia Finn
Paul Barber
Tony Issa
John Chedid

Leaving bad luck behind me (bye '13)

The year two thousand and thirteen was a bad year at work. It was the year that Nelson Mandela and Lou Reed died. Syria would have thought it a year of bad luck as they continued to kill each other.

Triumphalist Labor voters who thought their Party had done enough positive spadework to ward off the efforts of the yellow press were proven wrong much to wide dismay.

So we had nine months of good government at least.

The gossip was ghastly and the reality stars and celebrities who seemed to be so solely on the strength of their being horrible, took a disproportionate amount of the wealth.

Some memorable series came to an end. Television is now paradoxically at its zenith and its nadir.

Though there were some harrowing events - and this is typical of recent years with their count of natural disasters and homegrown tragedy - there were many wonderful events and much satisfaction. '13 was far from being a write-off.