Records of Councils Absorbed by Sydney City Council
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Accessing Building Application Records | Assessment Books 1845 - 1950 | Citations for Archival Records | Demolition Photographs 1900 - 1949 | Records of Councils Absorbed by Sydney City Council | Sydney Reference Collection
This leaflet has been produced to guide researchers in the use of the surviving archival records of the Municipal Councils absorbed by Sydney City Council.
The most complete available set of boundary maps for the City, also showing ward boundaries, is online in the Historical Atlas of Sydney, on our Catalogues & Search Tools page.
Boundary Changes 1909-1989
After Sydney City Council was incorporated in 1842 the
original boundaries remained constant until the early
twentieth century, except for an expansion to take in Moore
Park in 1870. Around the edges of the City, suburban areas
were incorporated as Municipal Councils from 1859 through
the 1860s.
Changes to Sydney City Council's boundaries as a result of
taking over responsibility for these suburban areas began
in 1909. In chronological order, the absorption and
disgorgement of other municipalities by Sydney City Council
has been as follows.
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1909 |
Sydney City Council (known as the Municipal Council of Sydney until 1949) took over the small and struggling Municipality of Camperdown. |
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1949 |
The City expanded further, to take in the surrounding suburban municipalities of The Glebe, Darlington, Newtown, Erskineville, Alexandria, Waterloo, Redfern, and Paddington. |
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1968 |
The City lost most of the areas it had acquired. Paddington (north of Oxford Street) was transferred to the Municipality of Woollahra. The Glebe was transferred to the Municipality of Leichhardt. Part of Camperdown (west of about Church Street/Mallett Street north) and part of Newtown (west of King Street) were transferred to the Municipality of Marrickville. The remaining part of Newtown, part of Darlington, and all of Erskineville, Alexandria, Waterloo and Redfern were combined to form the new Northcott Municipal Council, later re-named the South Sydney Municipal Council. Sydney City Council retained part of Paddington (south of Oxford Street), part of Camperdown (east of about Church Street/Mallett Street north), and part of Darlington (corresponding roughly to the area then occupied by the University of Sydney). |
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1982 |
Northcott/South Sydney Municipal Council was abolished and all the areas lost to Northcott in 1968 returned to Sydney City Council. In addition, the City Council acquired responsibility for the Garden Island naval base. |
|
1989 |
A new South Sydney City Council was created and
Sydney City Council lost responsibility for all the
areas it had acquired since 1909 and which had not
already been transferred to Woollahra, Leichhardt
or Marrickville in 1968. In addition, it lost
responsibility for some areas that had been inside
the original 1842 boundaries, including parts of
Ultimo and most of Surry Hills and the whole
eastern side of the City from the Domain to
Boundary Road, including Woolloomooloo and Kings
Cross, Potts Point and Elizabeth Bay. In 1842 the area covered by Sydney City Council was 11.65 sq km. Since 1989 the City area has been only 6.19 sq km as a result of these changes. |
| 2003 2004 | South Sydney City Council was abolished and re-amalgamated with the City of Sydney in two stages (May 2003 and February 2004). Glebe was transferred from Leichhardt Council back to the City of Sydney (May 2003). |
The maps show the areas absorbed by Sydney City Council in 1909/1949 and in 1982. The map Wards and Boundaries 1949-1959 shows the municipalities absorbed in 1949. Camperdown, absorbed in 1909, is the area of Phillip Ward sandwiched between The Glebe to the north and Newtown/Darlington in the south. The map Wards and Boundaries 1982-1988 shows the area that returned to Sydney City Council after the abolition of Northcott/South Sydney Municipal Council in 1982, marked Newtown, Redfern, Alexandria and Waterloo.
The present boundaries of the City correspond to those shown in the 1982-88 map, plus Glebe.
The History of the Archival Records
Most of the surviving records of the various municipal councils absorbed by Sydney City Council over the years are now held by the City of Sydney Archives. The Northcott / South Sydney Municipal Council records were inherited directly when that Council was abolished and re-absorbed by the City in 1982. Similarly the South Sydney City Council records (and Leichhardt records relating to Glebe) were transferred directly in 2003-2004 as part of the re-amalgamation process.
The history of the records of the other Councils is more complex and not all the facts are known.
Very few Camperdown records have survived, and it is possible this is connected to the circumstances in which the City took over responsibility in 1909. Camperdown was in serious financial difficulties. The Town Hall had been sold off in a sheriff's sale and many records were in the hands of the official receiver. Sydney City Council officials soon complained about inadequate records. It seems the poor survival of Camperdown records is due to a combination of poor record-keeping by Camperdown officials and the dispersal of records resulting from the financial crisis.
The records of the municipalities absorbed in 1949 were transferred to Sydney City Council, and seem to have been more or less dumped in the Queen Victoria Building, which by then was being used largely for Council offices and storage space. Eventually these records were transferred to the Manuscripts department of the Mitchell Library, from where they were transferred back to the City of Sydney Archives in 1992 and 2003. Some Glebe Municipal Council records also turned up in Leichhardt Council storage during the 2003 re-acquisition of Glebe.
The records that have come to the City of Sydney Archives, from the municipalities absorbed in 1949, are not complete. For example we have very few subject and correspondence files. The principal series of records that we do have are the Minute Books, and Rate and Valuation Books. Even some of these are missing - for example there are no Redfern rate or valuation books earlier than 1917. We cannot now say for certain when the missing records were lost. The records of the Northcott / South Sydney Municipal Council, 1968-1982, by contrast are extensive and fairly complete.
Using the Archives
To make effective use of the archival records of absorbed Councils, your research must begin by determining which municipal council was responsible for the area you wish to look at, at the time the records would have been created. The table above, the maps below and in the Historical Atlas of Sydney, and the notes about each municipality on the following pages can help you, as a starting point.
Maps:
The City of Sydney
Wards and Boundaries 1949-1959
The City of Sydney
Wards and Boundaries 1982-1988
In using the maps, remember that they are based on a
modern street grid. A century ago street alignments and
grids were different. Many streets did not yet exist,
others had different names or even ran in different
directions. Street numbers also changed sometimes, when
either whole streets were renumbered or new numbers were
added within a street as new buildings were constructed.
Click here to see a map of Newtown in 1886, which illustrates the differences in street layouts a century ago and today. The Historical Atlas of Sydney includes a set of 1880s maps of all the municipalities absorbed to the end of 1948. Researchers can use them to identify nineteenth-century addresses and locations. They also show the boundaries of Wards (electoral areas) within the municipalities, which is vital information for making successful use of many of the Valuation and Rate Books which are arranged according to Wards.
Some areas have changed hands several times. Two examples are shown in this table.
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221 King Street Newtown
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1862-1948 1948-1968 1968+ |
Newtown Municipal Council Sydney City Council Marrickville Municipal Council |
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476 Gardeners Road
Beaconsfield
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1859 1860-1868 1868-1948 1949-1968 1968-1982 1982-1988 1989-2004 2004+ |
Redfern Municipal Council Waterloo Municipal Council Alexandria Municipal Council Sydney City Council Northcott/South Sydney M C Sydney City Council South Sydney City Council Sydney City Council |
Once you have discovered which municipality had the responsibility, you can use Archives Investigator to find out about the admistrative history of the municipality and what records are available in the Archives.
Use the Advanced Search option and search using either the name of the Council or it's agency number, and select the option "view records series created by this agency".
CA 62, Alexandria Municipal Council (1868-1948)
CA 63, Camperdown Municipal Council (1862-1908)
CA 64, Darlington Municipal Council (1864-1948)
CA 65, Erskineville Municipal Council (1893-1948)
CA 66, Glebe Municipal Council (1859-1948)
CA 67, Macdonaldtown Municipal Council (1872-1893)
CA 68, Newtown Municipal Council (1862-1948)
CA 69, Redfern Municipal Council (1859-1948)
CA 70, Paddington Municipal Council (1860-1948)
CA 71, Waterloo Municipal Council (1860-1948)
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CO 11, Northcott / South Sydney Municipal Council
Founded in 1968 and reabsorbed in to Sydney City
Council in 1981.
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CO 12, South Sydney City Council Founded 1989 and re-amalgamated with the City 2003-2004. Researchers who need further advice about records of this Council should contact the Archives. |
Records Series Details
Some of the records series we hold, for the pre-1949 municipalities, are described generically in this table. For more information aboiut particular series, see Archives Investigator.
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Minute Books
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These records contain the records of business transacted at meetings of the Councillors. They generally include notes of: which Councillors were present, election of the Mayor, correspondence received and sent, reports submitted by Council officers about what they have been doing, discussion about current local issues of concern to the Council, and decisions reached about particular matters. The extent to which discussion among the Councillors is recorded in the Minutes varies from Council to Council. The reports by Council officers are mostly not recorded in any detail. The Minute books record meetings chronologically, and they are not generally indexed. |
Assessment and Valuation Books |
Assessment (also called valuation) of properties was carried out in order to determine how much each property was worth (usually improved or unimproved capital value: ICV or UCV) so that the right amount of rates could be levied in the following years. Properties were not always assessed/valued every year. Assessment books are records created by the municipal councils themselves, while Valuation books are copies of the records compiled by the NSW Valuer-General. Many Councils had given up doing their own assessments by 1949, and made use of the VG's records instead. These records are generally arranged by street addresses of the properties, not by names of property owners. They are sometimes also divided by Wards. They usually note: the property address, brief description (eg "house"), the name of the owner, occupier and/or lessee, and details of the valuation figures. Valuation books also usually give the dimensions of the land. |
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Rate Books |
Rates are taxes levied annually on real property by local government. The tax is assessed as a percentage of the value of the property. Rate books were usually compiled every year. They are usually arranged in street address order, and sometimes also divided by Wards. These records note much the same sort of details as Assessment books: the property address and brief description, name of owner, occupier or other person responsible for paying the rates, and the financial details of the rate levied and payments received. House names, where these were in use, are sometimes recorded in Rate books and/or Assessment books. |
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Letter Books |
Letter books are volumes in which the Council officers made copies of the letters sent by the Council to other parties (including other Councils, the NSW government, and private persons and organisations). The practise of maintaining Letter books had mostly ceased by the 1920s. The letters are copied into the books in chronological order according to the dates the originals were prepared. The books are generally indexed by the names of the persons to whom letters were addressed, and sometimes by the subject-matter of the letters as well. Letters received by the Councils were maintained in separate files, and few now survive, although the receipt of important letters (and occasionally an abstract of the contents) is generally recorded in the Minute books. |
Municipal Responsibilities
In New South Wales, local government was introduced with the Sydney Corporation Act 1842. However this legislation applied only to the City of Sydney. Municipal government for other areas of the Colony was only introduced with the passage of the Municipalities Act 1858. This Act was replaced by new Municipalities Acts in 1867 and 1897, and by the Local Government Act 1919, each of which clarified anomalies, and provided new powers and responsibilities.
From 1842 until 1948, the City of Sydney remained subject to its own special legislation, while all other local governments in NSW were subject to the successive Municipalities Acts and the Local Government Act. From 1949 the City of Sydney lost its special status and came under the Local Government Act 1919. This Act was replaced by the Local Government Act 1993 which now governs all local governments in New South Wales.
In addition to the major pieces of legislation discussed above, the NSW Parliament has passed (and continues to pass) many other laws relating to local government. These can broadly be divided into two categories: those affecting particular municipalities (for example the Borough of Redfern Electric Lighting Act 1895) and those affecting a number of municipalities in a particular way (for example the Municipal Baths Act 1896, or the Local Government Areas Act 1948). There continue to be laws affecting only the City of Sydney, such as the City of Sydney Act 1988.
For a searchable listing of all historical and current local government legislation in NSW, search the legislation "as made" database.
The major responsibilities and powers of municipal councils (other than the City of Sydney) for the period before 1949 are listed in the table below. It is important to understand that the creation of records by a municipality is directly related to the carrying out of its powers and responsibilities. The table is not a complete listing.
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Municipalities Act 1858
In the following sections, powers and responsibilities first established in 1858 (or later) are not repeated under later Acts if they carried forward essentially unchanged. |
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Municipalities Act 1867
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Municipalities Act 1897
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Local Government Act 1919 (including amendments to 1949)
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