The City of Whitehorse is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 64.3 km2 (25 sq mi) and an estimated residential population of 171,167 as of June 2021.[1]

City of Whitehorse
Victoria
Map of Melbourne showing City of Whitehorse
Map
Population171,167 (2021)[1]
 • Density2,662.8/km2 (6,897/sq mi)
Established15 December 1994
Area64.3 km2 (24.8 sq mi)[1]
MayorCr Denise Massoud
Council seatNunawading
RegionGreater Melbourne
State electorate(s)
Federal division(s)
WebsiteCity of Whitehorse
LGAs around City of Whitehorse:
Manningham Manningham Maroondah
Boroondara City of Whitehorse Maroondah
Boroondara Monash Knox
Box Hill Town Hall.

History

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The City of Whitehorse was created in December 1994 following the amalgamation of the former cities of Box Hill and Nunawading.[2] The municipality derives its name and logo from The White Horse Hotel, a popular coaching inn located on the corner of Elgar Road and Whitehorse Road.[3] After its demolition in 1933, the Council acquired the horse and porch from the hotel, and they were erected on Whitehorse Road. In 1986, the monument was relocated to Box Hill Town Hall and a replica was erected in its place.

The City of Whitehorse was originally planned to be formed from the merger of the City of Box Hill and the eastern part of the City of Camberwell.[4]

Council

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The City of Whitehorse is divided into eleven wards: Cootamundra, Eley, Elgar, Kingsley, Lake, Mahoneys, Simpson, Sparks, Terrara, Walker and Wattle.[5] One Councillor is elected to represent each ward, every four years.[6] Council elections are conducted by postal voting and votes are counted using instant-runoff voting. Voting is compulsory for residents who are on the electoral roll for state elections, but voters aged 70 years or over are not obliged to vote at local council elections. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected by the Councillors to serve as the principal ambassador for the city for a twelve-month term.

The current council was elected in November 2020, and its composition is:[7]

Party Councillors
  Liberal[8] 6
  Independent 5
Total 11
Ward Party Councillor Notes
Cootamundra   Liberal Andrew Munroe
Eley   Independent Trudy Skilbeck
Elgar   Liberal Blair Barker
Kingsley   Liberal Amanda McNeill
Lake   Liberal Denise Massoud
Mahoneys   Liberal Mark Lane
Simpson   Independent Prue Cutts
Sparks   Independent Tina Liu
Terrara   Independent Raylene Carr
Walker   Independent Ben Stennett
Wattle   Liberal Andrew Davenport

Past councillors

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2000−2020 (multi-member wards)

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Whitehorse comprised five two-member wards until 2020, when they were replaced by single-member wards.[9][10]

Year Central Elgar Morack Riversdale Springfield
Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor Councillor
2000   Jessie McCallum (Ind)   Peter Allan (Ind)   Bernie Millane (Ind)   Robert Chong (Ind)   Bill Bowie (Ind)   Noel Spurr (Ind)   Helen Buckingham (Ind)   Richard Anderson (Ind)   Chris Aubrey (Ind)   Kaele Way (Ind)
2003   George Droutsas (Ind)   Sharon Ellis (Ind)   John Koutras (Ind)   Sharon Patridge (Ind)
2004   Haley Weller (Ind)
2005   Helen Harris (Ind)   Pauline Richards (Labor)
2006   Ben Stennett (Ind)
2008   Andrew Munroe (Liberal)   Bill Pemberton (Ind)   Mark Lane (Liberal)   Raylene Carr (Ind)   Phillip Daw (Ind)
2012   Denise Massoud (Liberal)   Bill Bennett (Ind)   Andrew Davenport (Liberal)
2016   Tanya Tescher (Liberal)   Tina Liu (Ind)   Prue Cutts (Ind)
2017   Blair Barker (Liberal)

Townships and localities

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The 2021 Census counted 169,346 residents in the City of Whitehorse, up from 162,078 in 2016.[11][12]

Population
Locality 2016 2021
Balwyn North^ 20,406 21,302
Blackburn 13,940 14,478
Blackburn North 7,436 7,627
Blackburn South 10,793 10,939
Box Hill 11,395 14,353
Box Hill North 11,874 12,337
Box Hill South 8,434 8,491
Burwood^ 15,019 15,147
Burwood East 10,273 10,675
Forest Hill 10,626 10,780
Mitcham 16,148 16,795
Mont Albert^ 4,840 4,948
Mont Albert North 5,503 5,609
Nunawading^ 11,876 12,413
Surrey Hills^ 13,605 13,655
Vermont^ 10,442 10,993
Vermont South 11,678 11,954

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

Major thoroughfares

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Picture of Nunawading railway station exterior, taken from across Springvale Road in May 2014.
 
Aerial panorama of Whitehorse LGA facing west towards the Melbourne skyline. April 2023.
  •   Blackburn Road (State Route 13)
  •   Boronia Road (State Route 36)
  •   Burwood Highway (State Route 26)
  •   Canterbury Road (State Route 32)
  •   Elgar Road (B970)
  •   Eastern Freeway (M3)
  •   Highbury Road
  •   Maroondah Highway (Whitehorse Road) (State Route 34)
  •   Middleborough Road (State Route 23)
  •   Mitcham Road (State Route 36)
  •   Riversdale Road (State Route 20)
  •   Springvale Road (State Route 40)
  •   Station Street (State Route 47)
  •   Surrey Road (State Route 13)
  •   Warrigal Road (State Route 15)

Culture

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An episode of Neighbours being filmed at Pin Oak Court

Neighbours is filmed in Vermont South; Pin Oak Court is the real cul-de-sac that has doubled for Ramsay Street since 1985.[13][14] All of the houses featured in the show are real and the residents allow Neighbours to shoot external scenes in their front and back yards and on occasions, in their garages.[15] Owing to its association with the show, Pin Oak Court has become popular with tourists; Tours to the cul-de-sac run throughout the year.[16] The interior scenes are filmed at the Global Television studios in the adjacent suburb of Forest Hill.[17][18]

Box Hill has variously supported an eponymous brass band since 1889.

Sister city relations

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On 12 May 1971, the City of Box Hill established a sister city relationship with Matsudo, in Chiba, Japan.[19] In December 1994, when Box Hill amalgamated with Nunawading, the City of Whitehorse re-affirmed its relationship with Matsudo.[19]

In April 2005, the City of Whitehorse signed a Memorandum of Friendship and Understanding with Shaoxing, in Zhejiang, China. The Memorandum of Friendship and Understanding aims to foster international liaisons and links and facilitate the exchange of information and personal visits, as well as to strengthen economic, tourism and educational connections between the two cities through sharing knowledge and cultural understanding.[20]

Libraries

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All libraries in the City of Whitehorse are operated by the Whitehorse Manningham Regional Library Corporation, which also has 4 branches in the City of Manningham

  •  
    Nunawading Library
    Blackburn Library – Located at Cnr Blackburn and Central Roads, Blackburn.
  • Box Hill Library – Located at 1040 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill.
  • Nunawading Library – Located at 379 Whitehorse Road, Nunawading.
  • Vermont South Library – Located at Pavey Place, Vermont South.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Regional Population, 2021: Population estimates by LGA and Electoral Division (ASGS2021), 2001 to 2021". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 26 July 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  2. ^ "History and Heritage". City of Whitehorse. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  3. ^ Southall, Ivan (1957). A Tale of Box Hill: Day of the Forest. Box Hill, Australia: Box Hill City Council.
  4. ^ "Municipal shake-up". The Age. 9 April 1994. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Whitehorse Wards". City of Whitehorse. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Councillors". City of Whitehorse. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Whitehorse City Council election results 2020". www.vec.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  8. ^ "City of Whitehorse Council – BURWOOD LIBERALS". Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  9. ^ "VEC: Whitehorse City Council Countback results". 2 October 2009. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  10. ^ "Countback results for the Whitehorse City Council 2017 election - Victorian Electoral Commission". 2 April 2019. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Whitehorse, 2021 Census All persons QuickStats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2021. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Whitehorse, 2016 Census All persons QuickStats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  13. ^ "Neighbours: 25 years young". Holy Soap. Channel 5. 18 March 2010. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  14. ^ "Love Thy Neighbour". Backpack Melbourne. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  15. ^ "Neighbours Tour FAQs". Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  16. ^ Conrad, Peter (5 December 2004). "Why everyone wants to be Australian". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  17. ^ "Studios". Global TV. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  18. ^ "Where Is Neighbours Filmed?". Neighbours.com.au. Network Ten. Archived from the original on 6 April 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  19. ^ a b "Matsudo Sister City". City of Whitehorse. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Shaoxing Friendship Exchange Agreement". City of Whitehorse. City of Whitehorse. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
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37°50′S 145°09′E / 37.833°S 145.150°E / -37.833; 145.150