The City of Richmond was a local government area about 2 kilometres (1 mi) east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of 6.12 square kilometres (2.36 sq mi), and existed from 1855 until 1994.

City of Richmond
Victoria
Location in Melbourne
Richmond Town Hall
Population22,900 (1992)[1]
 • Density3,742/km2 (9,691/sq mi)
Established1855
Area6.12 km2 (2.4 sq mi)
Council seatRichmond
RegionInner Melbourne
CountyBourke
LGAs around City of Richmond:
Collingwood Northcote Kew
Melbourne City of Richmond Hawthorn
Melbourne Prahran Malvern

History

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Richmond was incorporated as a municipality on 24 April 1855, having split from the City of Melbourne on the same day as the neighbouring City of Collingwood. It became a town on 28 September 1872, and a city on 17 February 1882.[2]

In 1920, it became the first municipal council in Australia to have a female councillor, when Mary Rogers of the Labor Party was elected.[3][4]

The Richmond council was sacked in 1982 by the State Government following a report which revealed allegations of electoral malpractice and fraud. The council was replaced by a state-appointed commissioner, Alex Gillon, to administer the city in its stead until an elected council was restored in 1988.[5]

On 22 June 1994, the City of Richmond was abolished, and along with the Cities of Collingwood and Fitzroy, and parts of Fairfield and Alphington from the City of Northcote, was merged into the newly created City of Yarra.[6]

Richmond was at one stage divided into wards, but by 1994 the council was represented by nine councillors, each representing all electors in the city. Meetings were held at the Richmond Town Hall, on Bridge Road, Richmond.

Mayors

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Election results

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1931

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East

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1931 Victorian local elections: East Ward[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor Geoffrey O'Connell 599 82.17
Communist C. H. Frank 130 17.83
Total formal votes 729
Labor hold Swing

North

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1931 Victorian local elections: North Ward[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labor R. H. Lightfoot 879 61.00
Independent W. L. Podmore 562 39.00
Total formal votes 1,441
Labor hold Swing

Suburbs

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* Council seat.

Population

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Year Population
1854 7,071
1881 23,405
1911 40,442
1954 35,213
1958 33,100*
1961 33,863
1966 32,521
1971 28,341
1976 26,179
1981 24,506
1986 23,285
1991 22,789

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

References

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  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics, Victoria Office (1994). Victorian Year Book. p. 49. ISSN 0067-1223.
  2. ^ Victorian Municipal Directory. Brunswick: Arnall & Jackson. 1992. pp. 465–466. Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room.
  3. ^ "AUSTRALIA'S FIRST WOMAN COUNCILLOR". The Mercury. Vol. CXIII, no. 15, 921. Tasmania, Australia. 10 November 1920. p. 4. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "LABOR WOMAN'S DEATH". Daily Standard. No. 6156. Queensland, Australia. 8 October 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 20 January 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Slattery, Luke (8 April 1988). "Democracy returns to Richmond". The Age. Melbourne. p. 11.
  6. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (1 August 1995). Victorian local government amalgamations 1994-1995: Changes to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. p. 12. ISBN 0-642-23117-6. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  7. ^ "DEATH OF PIONEER LABOR MAN". Trove. Labor Call.
  8. ^ "Richmond Pre-Selection". Trove. The Age.
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37°49′23″S 144°59′53″E / 37.823°S 144.998°E / -37.823; 144.998