Bayswater Council

The City of Bayswater is a local government area located about 7 kilometers (4 miles) northeast of Perth’s central business district in Western Australia. Covering an area of 34.6 square kilometers (13.4 square miles), it had a population of 69,283 according to the 2021 Census. The City of Bayswater is a member of the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council.

In the 1890s, Bayswater was a small settlement that straddled the boundaries of the Perth and Swan Road Districts. In December 1894, residents petitioned for their own road board, but the government initially rejected the request. A second petition in 1896 succeeded, leading to the establishment of the Bayswater Road Board, which was officially gazetted on March 5, 1897. This made it one of several new local government areas formed in the 1890s along the railway line. A wooden ratepayers’ hall was built on Guildford Road.

From 1914 to 1983, the Roads Board office served the community before being repurposed as a church. In 1944, during the annual ratepayers’ meeting, a proposal to change the district’s name to “Oakleigh Park Road District” was voted on by the seven attendees, but it was ultimately rejected after public objections.

On July 1, 1961, the area became a shire with the enactment of the Local Government Act 1960. However, in October 1978, the shire council was dismissed by the Government of Western Australia due to mismanagement and corruption, leading to the appointment of a commissioner. A subsequent council election on February 24, 1979, saw a voter turnout of 80%, significantly higher than the usual 30%, with only two previously serving councillors being re-elected.

The area achieved city status on October 29, 1983, and around this time, the administration moved from Bayswater to its current location on Broun Avenue in Morley. In 1998, the suburb of Maylands was incorporated into the City of Bayswater from the City of Stirling. Additionally, on July 1, 2016, the portion of the suburb of Noranda north of Widgee Road was transferred to the City of Bayswater from the City of Swan.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Bayswater