Key to the city

Those clusters of three names are the times when there were commissioners running things. The position otherwise was Mayor through the nineteenth century, becoming Lord Mayor in 1903 while Thomas Hughes was incumbent.

The names denote the prominent force in the city: Anglo Saxon males who sport no nonsense names that any respectable citizen might possess. What's your name lad? Benjamin Palmer sir. Righto then, in you go.

I was most struck at the thought of becoming mayor of the capital city that bears your own name. Mercifully, Burdekin retreats from the grotto of Parkers and Smiths to deflect some of the overt Sydney-ness.

Another amusing* game is to do a scorecard of any mayors, lord mayors, or deputy commissioners who bear the same name

McDermott (2), Smith (2), Sutherland (2), Moore (2), Harris (2), McElhone (2)

(*or would have been amusing forty years ago when parlour games provided a distraction)