City of Cockburn

City of Cockburn
Western Australia
City of Cockburn; Western Australia
Population	74,472 (2006 census)
• Density	Lua error: Unable to convert population "74472 (2006 census)" to a number.
Area	167.5 km2 (64.7 sq mi)
Mayor	Stephen Lee
Council seat	Spearwood
Region	South Metropolitan Perth
State electorate(s)	Cockburn, Fremantle, Jandakot, Kwinana, Willagee
Federal division(s)	Fremantle
	File:Cockburn city logo.png
Website	City of Cockburn
	LGAs around City of Cockburn:

The City of Cockburn is a Local Government Area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Fremantle and about 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of 167.5 square kilometres (64.7 sq mi) and has a population of 74,472 (2006).

History

Cockburn is named after the Cockburn Sound, which was named in 1827 by Captain James Stirling after Admiral Sir George Cockburn. Sir Cockburn was born in London in 1772 and was a renowned British naval officer, eventually becoming Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord. It was he who took Napoleon to exile on the island of Saint Helena after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

In 1871, the Fremantle Road Board was gazetted to cover the area to the south of Fremantle. The original Roads Board District was bounded on the north by the Swan River from Fremantle to the mouth of the Canning River; on the east by a line from Bull Creek to the junction of the Bunbury (South Western Highway) and Albany Roads (Albany Highway) at the Narrogin Inn (Armadale); on the south by a line from the Narrogin Inn to, and including the Rockingham townsite; and to the west by the Indian Ocean. In the first five years of the Board's existence most of its members served on the Fremantle Town Council. The function of the Roads Board was simply to provide the roads that linked Fremantle to other parts of the Colony. By 1913 the Roads Board was divided into Wards, with representatives from each ward being members of the Board. In 1922 the Fremantle District Roads Board constructed new offices at the corner of Forrest and Rockingham Roads

In July 1923, the Board received a large amount of land (gaining the localities of Atwell and Banjup and 75% of the Jandakot locality) from Jandakot Road Board when that entity was abolished. In 1955, it was renamed to the Cockburn Road Board, when a District referendum favoured the change of name to the Cockburn District Roads Board, underlining the desire for recognition of the District's independence from Fremantle.

On 1 July 1961, Cockburn Road Board became a Shire Council following changes to the Local Government Act. The Shire President during this period was Joseph Cooper (1961-1970).

In February, 1971 the Town of Cockburn was proclaimed (100 years after the formation of the Fremantle Roads Board). The Mayors during this time were Joseph Cooper (1971-72) and Alan Thomas (1972-1977).

On 26 October 1979 the town attained City status.^[1]

A public inquiry into corruption in the City of Cockburn was held in 1999^[2] and the Council was dismissed. In 2007 the City of Cockburn was again embroiled in controversy as alleged evidence of corruption arose at the Western Australian State Government Corruption and Crime Commission.

Wards

The city has been divided into 3 wards, each of 3 councillors. The mayor is directly elected.

East Ward
West Ward
Central Ward

Suburbs

Sister Cities

Mobile, United States - September 28, 2005
Split, Croatia - July 6, 1998
Yueyang, China - November 28, 1998

References

^ WA Electoral Commission, Municipality Boundary Amendments Register (release 2.0), 31 May 2003.
^ Report of Inquiry into the City of Cockburn (April 2000)

External links

City of Cockburn Website

Template:Local Government Areas of Perth

[1] WA Electoral Commission, Municipality Boundary Amendments Register (release 2.0), 31 May 2003.

[2] Report of Inquiry into the City of Cockburn (April 2000)

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