Municipality of Strathfield

This article is about the local government area. For the suburb, see Strathfield, New South Wales.

Strathfield Council New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Coordinates	33°52′18″S 151°5′24″E
Population	35,188 (2011 census)
• Density	2,617.8/km2 (6,780/sq mi)
Established	1885
Area	14.1 km2 (5.4 sq mi)
Mayor	Gulian Vaccari(Liberal)
Council seat	Strathfield
Region	Metropolitan Sydney
State electorate(s)	Electoral district of Strathfield Electoral district of Drummoyne Electoral district of Bankstown Electoral district of Auburn
Federal Division(s)	Reid Watson
Website	Strathfield Council
LGAs around Strathfield Council: Parramatta Canada Bay Auburn Strathfield Council Burwood Bankstown Canterbury

Strathfield Council is a local government area of the Inner West of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Strathfield Council was incorporated in 1885. The Council area originally included the suburbs of Redmire, Homebush and Druitt Town. The name "Strathfield" was adopted as the name of the new council upon incorporation. In 1886, the suburb of Redmire was renamed Strathfield, as did the railway station. The area of Druitt Town became known as Strathfield South in the early 1890s. Only Homebush survives as an original location name. Since that time, Strathfield has become an important multicultural centre (for Korean, Chinese and Sri Lankan minority populations).

Strathfield Council today comprises over 14.1 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi) of land and has around 35,200 residents and is made up of residential neighbourhoods and town centres, with significant local heritage, open space, lifestyle amenities, a highly educated, professional and diverse local workforce, public and private schools and access to tertiary institutions such as the Australian Catholic University, the University of Sydney and TAFE Sydney Institute.

The Mayor of Strathfield Municipal Council is Cr. Gulian Vaccari, a member of the Liberal Party.

Suburbs and localities in the local government area

The Strathfield Local Government Area comprises:

• Belfield (with parts within the City of Canterbury)
• Flemington
• Greenacre (with parts within the City of Bankstown)
• Homebush
• Homebush West
• Strathfield (with parts within the Burwood Council and the City of Canada Bay)
• Strathfield South

Demographics

Overseas-born birthplaces based on 2001 Australian Census data for the Strathfield local government area.

At the 2011 Census, there were 35,188 people in the Strathfield local government area, of these 50.2% were male and 49.8% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.3% of the population. The median age of people in the Strathfield Local Government Area was 33 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 16.3% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.0% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 52.3% were married and 7.0% were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the Strathfield Local Government Area between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 15.14%; while in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 10.02%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Strathfield local government area was significantly higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Municipality of Strathfield was on par with the national average,

Historical census data for Strathfield local government area
Census year			2001	2006	2011
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	27,777	31,983	35,188
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales
		% of New South Wales population			0.51%
		% of Australian population	0.15%	0.16%	0.16%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			39.8%
		Chinese (excludes SARs and Taiwan)			9.3%
		Indian			8.0%
		South Korean			7.5%
		Sri Lankan			4.0%
		Vietnamese			2.0%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Korean	7.0%	8.4%	8.9%
		Cantonese	8.7%	8.4%	8.0%
		Mandarin	4.2%	6.4%	8.0%
		Arabic	5.8%	5.8%	5.7%
		Tamil	6.4%	5.8%	5.3%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	34.0%	30.7%	27.5%
		No religion	10.2%	12.3%	15.0%
		Hinduism	9.0%	10.3%	13.2%
		Buddhism	n/c	6.4%	6.8%
		Anglican	9.4%	7.0%	5.3%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$458	A$558
		% of Australian median income		98.3%	96.7%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$458	A$1,595
		% of Australian median income		106.4%	107.7%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,256	A$1,421
		% of Australian median income		107.3%	115.2%

Amalgamations

Traditionally, Strathfield Council has fought amalgamation of their area with other councils, though additional land has been added to the Council since 1885 such as annexure of the unincorporated area of Flemington in 1892, merger with the west ward of the abolished Enfield Council in 1949 and merger with the Municipality of Homebush in May 1947. However, Strathfield Council strenuously objected to a push to amalgamate the councils into one mega-council, known as The Greater Sydney Movement, that happened from the early part of the 1890s till the later half of the 1930s.

In 1983 it was recommended by the State Boundaries Commission that Strathfield be amalgamated into Burwood, however a great deal of uproar greeted this plan and after the then mayor, Clarrie Edwards, spoke in well attended public meetings the state government abandoned the plan due to a great deal of opposition from residents of the area. In 1999 another proposal was made to merge the Municipality of Burwood with Strathfield Council. However, the residents of Strathfield did not support this proposal and the merger never proceeded. A proposal was lodged by Auburn Council for a boundary change, which had the effect of a takeover of Strathfield Council. This was heavily objected to by residents of Strathfield and did not proceed.

Throughout its history, there have been movements to amalgamate local councils in the Sydney area: the first major 'threat' was with the 'royal commission for a greater Sydney (1913)', known as 'The Greater Sydney Movement'. The Royal Commission brought together British Politician Sidney Webb and Australian Politician John Fitzgerald, amongst others, who believed that Sydney should be merged into a single local government area. In 1947 Homebush and Strathfield councils merged and part of Enfield was added in 1949.

In 1974 two reports, one by J.C. Barnett and the other from the State Boundaries Commission, recommended that Ashfield, Drummoyne, Burwood and Concord should amalgamate with Strathfield. This was energetically opposed by residents and council alderman and this amalgamation also did not come to fruition.

In 1992, a section of the northern part of the Municipality was transferred to the Auburn Council area. In return, the area of and between Boundary Creek and the railway line, occupied by the former Ford factory building, was transferred from Auburn to Strathfield Council.

Current composition and election method

Strathfield Municipal Council Chambers, located in Strathfield.

Strathfield Municipal Council is composed of seven Councillors elected proportionally as one entire ward. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council is as follows:

The current Council as at September 30, 2014 are:

Cr Gulian Vaccari - Mayor

Cr Andrew Soulos - Deputy Mayor

Cr Daniel Bott

Cr Sang Ok

Cr Raj Datta

Cr Stephanie Kokkolis

Cr Helen McLucas

See also: List of mayors of Strathfield

History

Strathfield Saye Plaque

Main article: History of the Strathfield area

Strathfield Council was proclaimed on 2 June 1885 by the NSW Governor, Sir Augustus Loftus. The Council was incorporated following petitions by residents of the Redmire area to form local government. This move was opposed by residents of Homebush and Druitt Town, possibly fearing the dominance of the more affluent and politically connected residents of Redmire. Despite counter petitions, the Municipality was incorporated in 1885.

Strathfield Council built the current Council Chambers in 1887. Between 1885 and 1887 the Council operated from various private homes in Strathfield, pending the building of a permanent Council Chambers. Until 1923, when the current Strathfield Town Hall was built, the Council Chambers building was used between meetings of Council as a community hall.

The Strathfield Council area has expanded in geography and population over time and now includes the suburbs of Strathfield, Homebush and Homebush West, Flemington, Greenacre, Strathfield South, Chullora (part) and Belfield (part).

Alleged corruption

On 20 December 2004, Strathfield council's mayor, Alfred Tsang stepped down over allegations of corruption. Pictures had been published in The Australian of him accepting a wad of $100 bills from a developer, Michael Saklawi. However, it was not clear why the money was given to him, though it was alleged that he was talking to Mr Saklawi about the redevelopment of an 800 m² council-owned carpark. Mr Tsang had previously released a statement that "Councils need to take leadership roles in this area, we simply cannot continue to support unsustainable development, for the sake of our children, grandchildren and the future environment, we need to make changes now." According to the Australian he was heard to have said that "Basically, we get it for nothing," Mr Tsang says. "I am making Strathfield a better place ... I am doing it for the area." Strathfield council soon afterwards released a press statement that it "will not and does not" tolerate misconduct. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) is currently investigating whether claims developers were given inside information about land rezoning proposals put to Strathfield Council have any substance and the pictures taken by The Australian were handed to them for further investigation.

According to Anne Davies, who reports for The Sydney Morning Herald, "behind the Strathfield saga is a ferocious battle among developers for sites. These developers are not from the big end of town; they are locals – many are Lebanese – who regard the inner west as their development playground." She has alleged that more corruption may be revealed as the new year progresses. (Davies, SMH, pg. 4). As the inquiry has progressed, former Mayor John Abi-Saab has also been investigated.

Council facilities

Libraries

The Council operates two libraries: the Central Library in Homebush and a Branch library in Strathfield South. The central library, located in Homebush, was demolished in 2002 and a new library was built and opened in 2004. The Branch Library in Strathfield South was rebuilt and opened in 2008.

Dutton Centre

The former South Strathfield Bowling Club was bought by Strathfield Council and renovated with a grant of $495,00 from the Department of Aging, Disability and Home Care. The building was opened on 3 December 2012 and named in honour of Eve Dutton who was the first female Mayor of Strathfield. It houses Strathfield/Homebush Meals on Wheels and Inner West Community Transport.

Culture

The population of Strathfield is made up of a number of ethnic groups, and about 48% of the population born overseas. As a result there are a number of services for newly arrived immigrants and overseas students who live in the area. Two such organisations are the Russian Ethnic Community Council of NSW Inc (RECNSW), and the Sydney Tamil Resource Centre Inc (STRC). RECNSW provides access to information and referral to mainstream services to recent immigrants of Russian and Russian speaking background and disseminates information to remote and offshore areas on a number of issues. STRC provides resources to Tamil immigrants.

In the 1990s, a large number of South Korean migrants settled in Strathfield Strathfield now has a large number of shops selling Korean food and cultural items.

Strathfield also has a number of community centres, including a Rotary club, Latvian theatre, Lantern Club, and libraries. The local Rotary club provides support to the community and has a number of projects in the area, as well as a Musical Society (part of Rotary?), which normally produces two shows a year in the Latvian Theatre in Strathfield. Their main social activity is rehearsing twice weekly and they present seven performances of their musical production over two weekends. Strathfield Lantern Club Voluntary is located in Strathfield and provides fundraising organisation for raising funds specifically for the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children in North Rocks.

Strathfield has made its own unique contribution to pop. Strathfield was home during part of the 1960s to The BeeGees (Redmyre Road) and several Australian indie rock and indie pop bands have emerged from Strathfield including Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers, Lunatic Fringe, The Upbeat, Women of Troy member Paul O'Reilly, and The Mexican Spitfires. Grant McLennan of The Go-Betweens also lived in Carrington Avenue, Strathfield for a number of years in the 1990s.

The lyrics of the song by Radio Birdman, Murder City Nights refers to Woodward Road, Strathfield:

Cruising down Woodward gotta find me some action

Looking for a lover with a power reaction.

Strathfield has also been home to a number of famous sporting identities including cricketers Bobby Simpson and Alan Davidson and three Prime Ministers, Frank Forde, Billy Hughes and George Reid.

Geography

The Strathfield Council area is located at 33°52'10" North, 151°5'59" West (33.8717, 151.0899). It covers a total area of approximately 14.1 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi) and includes the suburbs of Strathfield, Strathfield South, Homebush, Homebush West, Greenacre, Flemington and part of Belfield (in Australia, a local government area, incorporates many suburbs into its area). Homebush Bay Drive bounds Strathfield Council to the north, Powells Creek, The Boulevarde and Coronation Parade bounds it to the east, Punchbowl Road and Juno Parade form the southern border and Roberts Road, Chullora rail yards, Rookwood Cemetery and the Sydney Olympic Park Rail line bound the Municipality to the west.

For NSW state elections, the Municipality of Strathfield is divided between the Strathfield, Drummoyne, Bankstown and Auburn electorates and for Federal elections it is in the electorates of Reid and Watson.

Further reading

• Australian Bureau of Statistics (2003). The people of New South Wales. Statistics from the 2001 Census. Joint publication of the NSW State Government (Community Relations Commission) & the Australian Federal Government (Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs).
• Davies, Anne (21 December 2004). "Design rules for developments won't block out ground-floor corruption". The Sydney Morning Herald. 
• History Records of Australia, 1/1
• Jones, Cathy (2004). Strathfield - origin of the name. Strathfield District Historical Society. Retrieved 4 October 2004. 
• Jones, Michael (1985). Oasis in the West: Strathfield's first hundred years. North Sydney: Allen & Unwin Australia. ISBN 0-86861-407-6. 
• "About our Local Government Area". Strathfield Municipal Council. Retrieved 8 October 2004. 
• "State Electoral District Of Strathfield". New South Wales State Electoral Office. Retrieved 17 October 2004. 
• "NSW Recorded Crime Statistics - Strathfield LGA" (PDF). Bureau of Crime and Statistics. 
• Ward, Alex (22 July 2010). "Strathfield councillor Danny Lim resigns". Inner West Courier. Retrieved 20 September 2012. 

External links

• Strathfield Municipal Council official website
• Strathfield Heritage