Municipality of Adamstown

Municipality of Adamstown was a Local Government Area of New South Wales from 1886 until 1938 when it became part of the City of Greater Newcastle. It was named after and comprised the township of Adamstown near Newcastle.

Municipality of Adamstown
New South Wales
Adamstown Council Chambers c 1891
Population3,959 (1921 census)[1]
 • Density1,320/km2 (3,420/sq mi)
Established31 December 1885
Abolished2 April 1938
Area3.0 km2 (1.2 sq mi)
RegionHunter Region
CountyNorthumberland
ParishKahibah
LGAs around Municipality of Adamstown:
Lambton Waratah Hamilton
New Lambton Municipality of Adamstown Merewether
Wallsend Lake Macquarie Merewether

The township had been established in 1869. The Municipalities Act of 1857 provided that an area could become a municipality if there was a petition of at least 50 people who would be ratepayers in the district. Most of the nearby towns had become municipalities in the 1870s and 209 people signed a petition for Adamstown that was published in March 1885.[2] The main reason for becoming a municipality was for roads, drains and nightsoil collection.[3] The major employer in town was coal mining. The municipality was proclaimed on 31 December 1885 and its main boundaries were Hamilton and Merewether to the east, while the railway formed the north western boundary separating it from New Lambton.[4]

The first council election was held on Saturday 6 March 1886, electing 9 aldermen to serve a 3-year term,[5] including Alfred Edden, who was President of the Waratah colliery lodge.[6] The aldermen unanimously elected Thomas Weir as the inaugural mayor of Adamstown.[7]

Women were not eligible to serve on the council until 1919, however no women were subsequently elected.[8]

There had been proposals to merge the "pocket-handkerchief municipalities" surrounding Newcastle since 1891, including the Greater Newcastle Royal Commission in 1919, however this did not eventuate until 1937 when the Greater Newcastle Act 1937 merged Adamstown and 9 other municipalities with City of Newcastle to create the City of Greater Newcastle.[9] The date of the amalgamation was 2 April 1938.[10]

Mayors edit

People who served as the mayor of the Municipality of Adamstown are:[8]

 
James Wiggins, Mayor (1928–29)
 
James Bullerwell, Mayor (1909-10)
 
James Gray, Mayor (1899–1900, 1902–03, 1915–16)
 
Jeremiah Robinson, Mayor (1897–98, 1904)
No Mayors Start End Time in office Notes
1 Thomas Weir 10 March 1886 9 February 1887 336 days [7]
2 Henry Evans 10 February 1887 14 February 1888 1 year, 4 days [11]
3 Thomas Hetherington 15 February 1888 11 February 1889 362 days [12]
4 Alfred Edden 12 February 1889 10 February 1890 363 days [13]
5 Thomas Frith 11 February 1890 9 February 1891 363 days
(4) Alfred Edden 10 February 1891 5 July 1891 145 days
6 John Sheedy 6 July 1891 8 February 1892 217 days
7 Richard Adams 9 February 1892 13 February 1893 1 year, 4 days
8 John Carr 14 February 1893 12 February 1894 363 days
9 John Thwaites 13 February 1894 11 February 1895 363 days [14]
(6) John Sheedy 12 February 1895 26 July 1895 164 days
9 John Thwaites 27 July 1895 10 February 1896 198 days
10 Jeremiah Jennings 11 February 1896 8 February 1897 363 days
11 Jeremiah Robinson 9 February 1897 7 February 1898 363 days [15]
12 Matthew Lydon 8 February 1898 13 February 1899 1 year, 5 days
13 James Gray 14 February 1899 12 February 1900 363 days
14 William Court 13 February 1900 13 February 1901 1 year, 0 days
(9) John Thwaites 14 February 1901 11 February 1902 362 days
(13) James Gray 12 February 1902 9 February 1903 362 days
(12) Matthew Lydon 10 February 1903 8 February 1904 363 days
(11) Jeremiah Robinson 9 February 1904 9 February 1905 1 year, 0 days
15 Stephen Powell 10 February 1905 12 February 1906 1 year, 2 days
(14) William Court 13 February 1906 4 February 1907 356 days
16 Thomas Rutherford 5 February 1907 6 February 1908 1 year, 1 day
17 Theophilus Robin 7 February 1908 7 February 1909 1 year, 0 days
18 James Bullerwell 8 February 1909 10 February 1910 1 year, 2 days
19 John Gellately 11 February 1910 2 February 1911 356 days
20 William Angus 3 February 1911 4 February 1912 1 year, 1 day
21 Anthony Shaw 5 February 1912 2 February 1913 363 days
(17) Theophilus Robin 3 February 1913 7 February 1915 2 years, 4 days
(13) James Gray 8 February 1915 8 February 1916 1 year, 0 days
(17) Theophilus Robin 9 February 1916 5 February 1918 1 year, 361 days
22 Allan Cameron 6 February 1918 24 February 1920 2 years, 18 days
23 Benjamin Saunders 25 February 1920 21 December 1920 300 days
24 Joshua Arthur 22 December 1920 11 December 1923 2 years, 354 days
25 James Cousins 12 December 1923 9 December 1924 363 days
26 Robert Coote 10 December 1924 7 December 1926 1 year, 362 days
27 Frank Moxey 8 December 1926 4 December 1928 1 year, 362 days
(25) James Cousins 7 December 1927 4 December 1928 363 days
28 James Wiggins 5 December 1928 3 December 1929 363 days
29 David Lloyd 4 December 1929 2 December 1930 363 days
(22) Allan Cameron 3 December 1930 7 December 1931 1 year, 4 days
30 John Williams 8 December 1931 3 December 1932 361 days
31 Albert Bartley 4 December 1932 9 December 1934 2 years, 5 days
(29) David Lloyd 11 December 1933 9 December 1934 363 days
(22) Allan Cameron 10 December 1934 8 December 1936 1 year, 364 days
25 James Cousins 14 April 1936 8 December 1936 238 days
32 William Warnock 9 December 1936 1 April 1938 1 year, 113 days

References edit

  1. ^ Docherty, James (1977). The Second City: Social and Urban Change in Newcastle, New South Wales 1900 - c. 1929 (PDF) (Thesis). Australian National University. p. 299. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Adamstown: petition for a municipality (102)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 13 March 1885. p. 1637. Retrieved 3 October 2021 – via Trove.
  3. ^ Docherty (1977), p. 246.
  4. ^ "Proclamation (10)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 8 January 1886. p. 161. Retrieved 27 November 2018 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "Municipal election: Adamstown". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 8 March 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 3 October 2021 – via Trove.
  6. ^ McMinn, W G. "Edden, Alfred (1850–1930)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Adamstown council". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 11 March 1886. p. 5. Retrieved 3 October 2021 – via Trove.
  8. ^ a b "Adamstown Aldermen (1886-1938)". Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  9. ^ Greater Newcastle Act 1937 (NSW)
  10. ^ "Greater Newcastle Act 1937 - Proclamation (5)". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 14 January 1938. p. 82. Retrieved 3 October 2021 – via Trove.
  11. ^ "Mr Henry Evans, Mayor of Adamstown". Australian Town and Country Journal. 30 July 1887. p. 10. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via Trove.
  12. ^ "Mr Thomas Hetherington, Mayor of Adamstown". Australian Town and Country Journal. 15 September 1888. p. 28. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via Trove.
  13. ^ "Mr Alfred Edden, Mayor of Adamstown". Australian Town and Country Journal. 17 August 1889. p. 28. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via Trove.
  14. ^ "John Thaites, Mayor of Adamstown". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 17 October 1894. p. 5. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via Trove.
  15. ^ "Jeremiah Robinson, mayor of Adamstown". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. 22 May 1897. p. 5. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via Trove.

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