# Waverley Council

Waverley Council is a Local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, it is one of the oldest-surviving local government areas in New South Wales. Waverley is bounded by the Tasman Sea to the east, the Municipality of Woollahra to the north, and the City of Randwick in the south and west. The administrative centre of Waverley Council is located on Bondi Road in Bondi Junction in the Council Chambers on the corner of Waverley Park.
The elected Waverley Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally across four wards, each electing three Councillors, and the most recent election was held on 4 December 2021. The current mayor of Waverley Council since September 2024 is Councillor Will Nemesh of Hunter ward, a member of the NSW Liberal Party.

## Suburbs and localities in the local government area

Suburbs within Waverley Council are:
* Bondi
* Bondi Beach
* Bondi Junction
* Bronte
* Clovelly (most is located within City of Randwick)
* Dover Heights
* North Bondi
* Queens Park
* Rose Bay (parts are located within Woollahra Council)
* Tamarama
* Vaucluse (most is located within Woollahra Council)
* Waverley

## History

With the enactment of the Municipalities Act of 1858, which allowed for the creation of Municipalities for areas with over 500 electors, several petitions calling for the incorporation of the Waverley area were received by the Colonial Government and published in New South Wales Government Gazette on 11 November 1858 and 17 May 1859. One of the earliest meetings of local residents formed to call for a "Municipality of Waverley" was held at the Tea Gardens Hotel on Bronte Road on 20 December 1858.
The Governor of New South Wales approved the proclamation establishing the Municipality of Waverley on 13 June 1859, and it was subsequently published in the Government Gazette on 16 June 1859. The first returning officer, Charles St Julian, was appointed to conduct the first meeting of electors a few days later. The first election was held on 14 July 1859, with nine Councillors elected proportionately, and the Council first met on 23 July 1859 at the Tea Gardens Hotel, with John Birrell elected as the first chairman. On 21 February 1860, the council was divided into three wards electing three councillors each: Waverley Ward, Bondi Ward and Nelson Ward. A fourth ward covering the western corner of Waverley, Lawson Ward, was added on 22 April 1887, thereby bringing the number of aldermen to 12.
On 6 October 1944, the recommendation of a 1941 NSW Local Government Department Commission of Inquiry removing the Mill Hill area (37 acres) from the Municipality of Randwick and include it in the Waverley Municipality was proclaimed in the Government Gazette.

### Council chambers

The first council meeting was held on 16 June 1859, but there was no permanent office for the conduct of Council duties some early meetings were held in the Charing Cross Hotel and others in the old School of Arts building in Bronte Road. In December 1860 the Council accepted an offer from Francis O'Brien to donate a site for a Council Chambers on Bondi Road. The cost of building was to be limited to £500, although approximately £700 was eventually spent. The foundation stone was laid in 1861, and a first meeting of Council was held there on 21 November 1861, the first Council building erected by any municipality under the Municipalities Act of 1858.
Discussions were held during the early 1900s over the need for new Council Chambers, and in 1913 a portion of the north-west corner of Waverley Park, which was the first public park in Waverley gazetted in 1880, was dedicated as the site for a new building. A report of the same year stated that the original building was too small for the staff, and had poor ventilation and lighting. It was later sold for £1,600. The new building was completed by the end of 1913, and on 6 January 1914 the Council met for the first time in the new chambers.
Parts of the 1913 chambers still form the shell of the present Council Chambers, although extensive alterations in 1962, and further development in 1976 and 1977 have altered its appearance considerably.

### 2016–17 amalgamation proposals

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Municipality of Waverley merge with the Woollahra and Randwick councils to form a new council with an area of 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 274,000. Following an independent review, in May 2016 the NSW Government sought to dismiss the council and force its amalgamation with Woollahra and Randwick councils. Woollahra Council instigated legal action claiming that there was procedural unfairness and that a KPMG report at the centre of merger proposals had been "misleading". The matter was heard before the NSW Court of Appeal who, in December 2016, unanimously dismissed Woollahra Council's appeal, finding no merit in its arguments that the proposed merger with Waverley and Randwick councils was invalid. In July 2017, the Berejiklian government decided to abandon the forced merger of the Woollahra, Waverley and Randwick local government areas, along with several other proposed forced mergers.

## Demographics

At the 2011 census, there were 63,487 people in Waverley, of these 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.4% of the population. The median age of people in Waverley Council was 35 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 15.4% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.0% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 37.4% were married and 10.0% were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in Waverley Council between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 3.31%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 4.57%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in the Waverley local government area was a little over half the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the Municipality of Waverley was more than 1.5 times the national average.
The proportion of residents in Waverley who stated their ancestry was Jewish was three times the New South Wales and national averages. The proportion of households where Russian is spoken at home is thirteen times the state and national averages; and of all households where Hebrew is spoken in New South Wales, one third are located in Waverley, and in Australia, one tenth of households where Hebrew is spoken are located in Waverley. The proportion of residents who stated an affiliation with Judaism was in excess of twenty-eight times the state and national averages.
Selected historical census data for Waverley local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 58,769 | 60,715 | 63,487 | 66,812 | 68,605 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 36th | | |
| Population | Population | Percentage of New South Wales population | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| Population | Population | Percentage of Australian population | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Population | Population | Estimated ATSI population on census night | 199 | 196 | 245 | 270 | 279 |
| Population | Population | Percentage of ATSI population to all residents | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | | | 20.9% | 21.2% | 30.8% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | | | 16.1% | 15.3% | 21.3% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | | | 9.3% | 8.9% | 12.0% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | | | 5.5% | 5.4% | 7.7% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Italian | | | | 3.6% | 5.7% |
| Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Russian | 3.2% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.2% | 1.9% |
| Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Spanish | n/c | 1.0% | 1.3% | 2.1% | 2.9% |
| Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Portuguese | n/r | n/r | n/r | 1.9% | 1.8% |
| Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | French | n/c | n/c | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1.9% |
| Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Language used at home, top responses (other than English) | Italian | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 1.6% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion, so described | 16.9% | 18.0% | 24.3% | 33.4% | 41.4% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 22.9% | 20.8% | 22.1% | 19.9% | 18.8% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Judaism | 16.1% | 16.8% | 17.1% | 15.1% | 16.0% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Not stated | n/r | n/r | n/r | 14.4% | 7.6% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 13.5% | 11.7% | 11.0% | 7.9% | 6.7% |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | A$765 | A$973 | A$1,151 | A$1,442 |
| Personal income | Personal income | Percentage of Australian median income | | 164.2% | 168.6% | 173.9% | 179.1% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | A$1,928 | A$2,496 | A$2,917 | A$3,709 |
| Family income | Family income | Percentage of Australian median income | | 134.1% | 168.5% | 168.2% | 174.9% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | A$1,446 | A$1,912 | A$2,308 | A$2,854 |
| Household income | Household income | Percentage of Australian median income | | 140.7% | 154.9% | 160.5% | 163.4% |
| Dwelling structure | Dwelling structure | Dwelling structure | Dwelling structure | | | | |
| Dwelling type | Dwelling type | Separate house | 17.9% | 21.2% | 19.9% | 16.5% | 16.0% |
| Dwelling type | Dwelling type | Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse | 18.7% | 16.7% | 18.8% | 19.0% | 18.1% |
| Dwelling type | Dwelling type | Flat or apartment | 51.7% | 61.3% | 60.5% | 62.6% | 64.1% |

## Council

NSW Local Government Elections are held every four years on the second Saturday of September as stipulated by the Local Government Act 1993.

### Current composition and election method

Waverley Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally from the four separate wards, each electing three Councillors. The mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the council for a two-year term, typically in September, while the Deputy Mayor is elected annually by the councillors. The most recent election for the council was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 6 |
| Australian Labor Party | 3 |
| The Greens | 2 |
| Independent | 1 |
| Total | 12 |
The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election by ward, is:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Bondi Ward | Michelle Stephenson | Liberal | |
| Bondi Ward | Dominic Wy Kanak | Greens | Elected 1999; Deputy Mayor 2007–2008, 2017–2019. |
| Bondi Ward | Margaret Merten | Labor | |
| Hunter Ward | William Nemesh | Liberal | |
| Hunter Ward | T (Dov) Frazer | Liberal | |
| Hunter Ward | Steven Lewis | Ind. | Elected 2017 as Labor Party member |
| Lawson Ward | Paula Masselos | Labor | Elected 2012; Mayor 2019–Oct 2024. |
| Lawson Ward | Katherine Westwood | Liberal | |
| Lawson Ward | Lauren Townsend | Liberal | |
| Waverley Ward | Joshua Spicer | Liberal | |
| Waverley Ward | Ludovico Fabiano | Greens | Deputy Mayor Sep–Oct 2023. |
| Waverley Ward | Keri Spooner | Labor | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Waverley :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Liberal | Liberal | 16,767 | 51.3 | +2.3 | 6 | 1 |
| | Labor | Labor | 6,487 | 19.8 | −7.4 | 3 | 1 |
| | Greens | Greens | 5,465 | 16.7 | −6.5 | 2 | 1 |
| | Independents | Independents | 3,988 | 12.2 | +11.6 | 1 | 1 |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 32,707 | 96.0 | | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 1,347 | 4.0 | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | | | | 15 | |
| Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | | | | | |

## Mayors

| Chairman | Chairman | Party | Term | Notes |
| | John Birrell | No party | 23 July 1859 – 17 February 1860 | |
| | James Vickery | No party | 17 February 1860 – 19 February 1861 | |
| | Charles St Julian | No party | 19 February 1861 – 13 February 1862 | |
| | Edmond John Baily | No party | 13 February 1862 – 29 May 1862 | |
| | Charles Browne | No party | 17 June 1862 – 16 February 1863 | |
| | John Crone Raymond | No party | 16 February 1863 – 29 October 1863 | |
| | Charles Simmons | No party | 29 October 1863 – 20 February 1864 | |
| | William Barker | No party | 20 February 1864 – 14 February 1865 | |
| | John Birrell | No party | 14 February 1865 – 22 February 1866 | |
| | Stephen Dickson | No party | 22 February 1866 – 13 February 1867 | |
| | Charles Kelso Moore | No party | 13 February 1867 – 17 February 1868 | |
| Mayor | Mayor | Party | Term | Notes |
| | David Fletcher | No party | 17 February 1868 – 15 February 1869 | |
| | Stephen Dickson | No party | 15 February 1869 – 15 February 1870 | |
| | Robert Yeend | No party | 15 February 1870 – 14 February 1871 | |
| | William Cary | No party | 14 February 1871 – 13 February 1872 | |
| | John Macpherson | No party | 13 February 1872 – 11 February 1873 | |
| | Stephen Dickson | No party | 11 February 1873 – 12 February 1874 | |
| | William Henderson | No party | 12 February 1874 – 26 February 1875 | |
| | John Macpherson | No party | 26 February 1875 – 13 February 1883 | |
| | William Henry Simpson | No party | 13 February 1883 – 9 February 1886 | |
| | William Martin | No party | 9 February 1886 – 11 February 1887 | |
| | Thomas James Dickson | No party | 11 February 1887 – 12 February 1889 | |
| | Alfred Charles Hewlett | No party | 12 February 1889 – 13 February 1890 | |
| | Frank Guest | No party | 13 February 1890 – 10 February 1891 | |
| | William Henry Simpson | Independent | 10 February 1891 – 21 February 1893 | |
| | William T. Ball | Independent | 21 February 1893 – 13 February 1895 | |
| | Alfred Charles Hewlett | Independent | 13 February 1895 – 14 May 1897 | |
| | Gustavius John Waterhouse | Independent | 14 May 1897 – 15 February 1899 | |
| | Watkin Wynne | Independent | 15 February 1899 – 14 February 1900 | |
| | Harry Charles Evans | Independent | 14 February 1900 – 5 March 1901 | |
| | Walter Carter | Independent | 5 March 1901 – 11 February 1903 | |
| | William John Blunt | Independent | 11 February 1903 – February 1904 | |
| | Joseph Cuthbert Kershaw | Independent | 11 February 1904 – 28 November 1905 | |
| | John Walter Alldis | Independent | 1 December 1905 – 13 February 1906 | |
| | Robert George Watkins | Independent | 13 February 1906 – 7 February 1911 | |
| | John Campbell | Independent | 7 February 1911 – 27 August 1912 | |
| | Leslie James Lamrock | Independent | 27 August 1912 – February 1914 | |
| | Joseph Barracluff | Independent | February 1914 – 8 February 1916 | |
| | Leslie James Lamrock | Independent | 8 February 1916 – 14 December 1916 | |
| | Henry William Frederick Rogers | Independent | 19 December 1916 – February 1920 | |
| | Cornelius William Kavanagh | Independent | February 1920 – December 1925 | |
| | Robert William Jackaman | Independent | December 1925 – December 1927 | |
| | David Hunter | Independent | December 1927 – 5 January 1932 | |
| | Charles Fenton | Independent | 5 January 1932 – December 1932 | |
| | Francis Hamilton Frith | Independent | December 1932 – December 1933 | |
| | William Howe | Independent | December 1933 – 30 January 1934 | |
| | James Wadsley Rupert Fieldhouse | Independent | 26 February 1934 – 6 March 1934 | |
| | David Hunter | Independent | 6 March 1934 – December 1935 | |
| | Raymond Nott | Independent | December 1935 – December 1936 | |
| | James Wadsley Rupert Fieldhouse | Independent | December 1936 – December 1937 | |
| | Raymond Nott | Independent | December 1937 – December 1938 | |
| | Henry Samuel | Independent | December 1938 – 14 December 1939 | |
| | Thomas Hogan | Independent | 14 December 1939 – December 1940 | |
| | James Wadsley Rupert Fieldhouse | Independent | December 1940 – December 1941 | |
| | Leslie James Fingleton | Independent | December 1941 – December 1942 | |
| | Thomas Hogan | Independent | December 1942 – 2 December 1943 | |
| | Gordon Anderson | Labor | 2 December 1943 – December 1945 | |
| | Herbert Sharman | Labor | December 1945 – December 1946 | |
| | Gordon Anderson | Labor | December 1946 – December 1948 | |
| | Thomas Hogan | Independent | December 1948 – December 1949 | |
| | Thomas John Conway | Independent | December 1949 – December 1950 | |
| | Keith Harris Weekes | Independent | December 1950 – December 1951 | |
| | William Aston | Independent | December 1951 – December 1953 | |
| | Carl Jeppesen | | December 1953 – December 1956 | |
| | Keith W. Anderson | | December 1956 – December 1958 | |
| | Dudley G. Page | Independent | December 1958 – December 1959 | |
| | Jack Cole | Independent | December 1959 – December 1960 | |
| | Ray M. O'Keefe | Independent | December 1960 – December 1962 | |
| | Doug J. Morey | | December 1962 – December 1965 | |
| | Ernie Page | Labor | December 1965 – December 1967 | |
| | Doug T. Sutherland | Independent | December 1967 – December 1968 | |
| | Ray A. Farrelly | | December 1968 – September 1970 | |
| | Doug J. Morey | | September 1970 – September 1972 | |
| | Ernie Page | Labor | September 1972 – September 1973 | |
| | James R. Markham | Independent | September 1973 – September 1974 | |
| | Avrom Yossef Singer | | September 1975 – September 1976 | |
| | David Anthony Taylor | | September 1976 – September 1977 | |
| | Ernie Page | Labor | September 1977 – September 1983 | |
| | James R. Markham | Independent | September 1983 – September 1984 | |
| | Ray J. Collins | Independent | September 1984 – September 1985 | |
| | John Douglas Morrison OAM | Independent | September 1985 – September 1986 | |
| | Carolyn Ann Markham | Independent | September 1986 – September 1987 | |
| | Barbara Armitage OAM | Labor | September 1987 – September 1996 | |
| | Paul Pearce | Labor | September 1996 – 8 April 2004 | |
| | Peter Moscatt | Labor | 8 April 2004 – 22 September 2005 | |
| | Mora Main | Greens | 22 September 2005 – 21 September 2006 | |
| | George Newhouse | Labor | 21 September 2006 – 20 September 2007 | |
| | Ingrid Strewe | Labor | 20 September 2007 – 30 September 2008 | |
| | Sally Betts | Liberal | 30 September 2008 – 22 September 2011 | |
| | John Wakefield | Labor | 22 September 2011 – 27 September 2012 | |
| | Sally Betts | Liberal | 27 September 2012 – 26 September 2017 | |
| | John Wakefield | Labor | 26 September 2017 – 27 September 2019 | |
| | Paula Masselos | Labor | 27 September 2019 – present | |

## Town Clerks and General Managers

| Officeholder | Term |
| William James Hamburger | 1859 – 18 October 1859 |
| William Mortimer | 25 October 1859 – 9 February 1872 |
| Jonathan Wiley | 12 March 1872 – 31 December 1875 |
| William Wiley | 1 January 1876 – 10 January 1882 |
| Robert Thomas Orr | 10 January 1882 – 18 May 1897 |
| John Clubb | 29 May 1897 |
| Arthur Kyron | February 2014 – 29 April 2016 |
| Peter Brown | 29 April 2016 – 15 February 2017 |
| Cathy Henderson (acting) | 15 February 2017 – 14 February 2018 |
| Peter Monks (acting) | 14 February 2018 – 20 March 2018 |
| Ross McLeod | 20 March 2018 – 26 February 2021 |
| Emily Scott | 26 February 2021 – present |

## Heritage listings

The Waverley Council area has a number of heritage-listed items and conservation areas, including those listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register:
* Bondi, 36 Anglesea Street: Electricity Substation No. 269
* Bondi, Blair Street: Bondi Ocean Outfall Sewer
* Bondi, 60 Blair Street: St Anne's Catholic Church, Bondi
* Bondi, Military Road: Bondi Sewer Vent
* Bondi Beach, Queen Elizabeth Drive: Bondi Beach Cultural Landscape
* Bondi Junction and Waverley, Paul Street: Waverley Reservoirs
* Bronte, 470 Bronte Road: Bronte House
* Bronte, St Thomas Street: Waverley Cemetery
* North Bondi, Ben Buckler Gun Battery
* Vaucluse, 793 Old South Head Road: South Head General Cemetery
* Waverley, 240 Birrell Street: St Mary's Anglican Church, Waverley
* Waverley, 11 Victoria Street: Charing Cross (homestead)
* Waverley, 45 Victoria Street: Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Waverley

## The Nib Literary Award

The Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award, formerly The Nib Waverley Library Award for Literature, is organised and supported by the council, and the awards ceremony held in Waverley Library each year.