# List of mayors and lord mayors of Wollongong

This is a list of the mayors, lord mayors and administrators of Wollongong City Council and its predecessors, a local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The official title of a lord mayor while holding office is The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Wollongong.

## History of the office

First incorporated on 28 February 1859 as the 'Municipality of Wollongong', the council became known as the 'City of Wollongong' on 11 September 1942. On 3 September 1947, the City of Wollongong, the Shire of Bulli (established 1906) and the Municipalities of Central Illawarra (established 1859) and North Illawarra (established 1868) amalgamated to form the 'City of Greater Wollongong' under the Local Government Act 1919. On 10 April 1970 the council was granted the title of 'Lord Mayor' by Queen Elizabeth II. On 30 October 1970 the official title of the council reverted to become the 'City of Wollongong'. On 1 July 1993 following the enactment of a new Local Government Act, elected representatives of the council were to be known as 'Councillor', replacing the former title of 'Alderman'. Originally nominated annually by the council, the mayor is now popularly elected for a four-year term.
On 4 March 2008, following recommendations from Independent Commission Against Corruption Commissioner Jerrold Cripps QC, the Minister for Local Government requested the Governor of New South Wales to dismiss the council and install a panel of administrators (Gabrielle Kibble AO, Dr Colin Gellatly and Robert McGregor AM) for four years citing clear evidence of systemic corruption in the Council.
The panel of administrators ran Wollongong City Council until the elections held on the 3 September 2011, when Councillor Gordon Bradbery (Independent) was elected as Lord Mayor. Bradbery was re-elected in 2017 for a further three-year term and continued to serve as Lord Mayor.
In the most recent council elections held in September 2024, Tania Brown (Labor) was elected as Lord Mayor of Wollongong, succeeding Bradbery after his decision not contest the elections.

## List of incumbents
### Wollongong Municipal/City Council, 1859–1946

| Years | Mayors | Notes |
| 1859–???? | John Garrett | |
| 9 December 1946 – 3 September 1947 | Charles Dawson | |

### Central Illawarra Shire Council, 1859–1947

| Years | Shire Presidents | Notes |
| | | 1912-13, 1920-22, 1925-28, 1931-33 1937 James William Gorrell | 3 December 1945 – 3 September 1947 | Harry Graham |

### North Illawarra Municipal Council, 1868–1947

| Years | Mayors | Notes |
| ???? | Andrew Lysaght Snr. | |
| 1886, 1887 and 1894 | Patrick Lahiff | |
| 1901–1902 | Andrew Lysaght Jnr. | |
| c. 1915 | William Maurice Madden | [15] [16] |
| 8 December 1944 – 3 September 1947 | Oscar James Thomas Murphy | |

### Bulli Shire Council, 1906–1947

| Years | Shire Presidents |
| 8 December 1906 – 10 February 1908 | William P. Mitchell |
| 10 February 1908 – 1 February 1909 | James Davidson |
| 1 February 1909 – 14 February 1910 | John Stephen Kirton |
| 14 February 1910 – 13 February 1911 | Phillip Spiller |
| 13 February 1911 – 9 February 1914 | John Stephen Kirton |
| 9 February 1914 – 7 February 1916 | James Davidson |
| 7 February 1916 – 4 February 1918 | John Stephen Kirton |
| 4 February 1918 – 5 February 1920 | James Davidson |
| 5 February 1920 – 7 December 1922 | W. H. Tresidder |
| 7 December 1922 – 14 December 1925 | H. McNaughton |
| 14 December 1925 – 13 December 1926 | A. Southern |
| 13 December 1926 – 9 December 1929 | Alfred Herbert Fackender |
| 9 December 1929 – 9 December 1931 | Laurie Kelly Snr. |
| 9 December 1931 – 14 December 1936 | Arthur Frederick Morrison |
| 14 December 1936 – 12 December 1938 | Edward James Ryan |
| 12 December 1938 – 11 December 1939 | John Clowes |
| 11 December 1939 – 10 December 1941 | Robert Thompson |
| 10 December 1941 – 3 December 1945 | Con Quilkey |
| 3 December 1945 – 3 September 1947 | Laurie Kelly Snr. |

### Greater Wollongong/Wollongong City Council, 1947–present

| Years | Mayors | Notes |
| 12 December 1947 – 7 December 1949 | Harry Graham | |
| 7 December 1949 – 5 December 1951 | Charles Dawson | |
| 5 December 1951 – December 1956 | Jerry Kelly | |
| December 1956 – December 1965 | Albert Squires | |
| December 1965 – December 1968 | Tony Bevan | |
| December 1968 – 10 April 1970 | Ernie Ford | |
| Years | Lord Mayors | Notes |
| 10 April 1970 – September 1971 | Ernie Ford | |
| September 1971 – September 1974 | John Parker | |
| 27 September 1974 – September 1991 | Frank Arkell | |
| September 1991 – March 1999 | David Campbell | |
| March 1999 – September 2002 | George Harrison | |
| 14 September 2002 – 4 March 2008 | Alex Darling | |
| 4 March 2008 – 16 December 2009 | Gabrielle Kibble AO (Administrator) | |
| 16 December 2009 – 2 September 2011 | Richard Colley (Administrator) | |
| 4 March 2008 – 2 September 2011 | Dr Colin Gellatly (Administrator) | |
| 4 March 2008 – 2 September 2011 | Robert McGregor (Administrator) | |
| 3 September 2011 – 14 September 2024 | Rev Gordon Bradbery AM | |
| 14 September 2024 – Present | Tania Brown | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales mayoral elections: Wollongong :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labor | Tania Brown | 51,260 | 41.2 | +12.6 |
| | Greens | Jess Whittaker | 29,479 | 23.7 | +10.7 |
| | Independent | Ryan Morris | 21,705 | 17.4 | +17.4 |
| | Ind. Sustainable Australia | Andrew Anthony | 16,296 | 13.1 | +8.0 |
| | Independent | Suzanne de Vive | 5,751 | 4.6 | +4.6 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 124,491 | 92.6 | −4.0 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 9,949 | 7.4 | +4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 134,440 | 84.4 | −0.8 |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Labor | Tania Brown | 58,936 | 61.2 | +12.6 |
| | Greens | Jess Whittaker | 37,311 | 38.8 | +38.8 |
| | Labor gain from Wollongong Independents | Labor gain from Wollongong Independents | Swing | N/A | |

### 2021

2021 New South Wales mayoral elections: Wollongong :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Wollongong Independents | Gordon Bradbery | 38,741 | 30.4 | −4.7 |
| | Labor | Tania Brown | 36,430 | 28.6 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal | John Dorahy | 24,434 | 19.2 | +2.6 |
| | Greens | Mithra Cox | 16,539 | 13.0 | +2.6 |
| | Sustainable Australia | Andrew Anthony | 6,454 | 5.1 | +3.6 |
| | Independent | Marie Glykis | 4,642 | 3.6 | +3.6 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 127,240 | 96.6 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 4,500 | 3.4 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 131,740 | 85.2 | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Wollongong Independents | Gordon Bradbery | 49,760 | 51.4 | −2.8 |
| | Labor | Tania Brown | 47,094 | 48.6 | +2.8 |
| | Wollongong Independents hold | Wollongong Independents hold | Swing | −2.8 | |

### 2017

2017 New South Wales mayoral elections: Wollongong :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Wollongong Independents | Gordon Bradbery | 41,581 | 35.2 | +0.2 |
| | Labor | David Brown | 32,386 | 27.4 | +8.1 |
| | Liberal | John Dorahy | 19,672 | 16.6 | −6.4 |
| | Greens | Mithra Cox | 12,291 | 10.4 | +4.7 |
| | Independent | John Mullan | 4,037 | 3.4 | +3.4 |
| | Independent | Vicki Curran | 3,280 | 2.8 | +0.4 |
| | Independent | Andrew Anthony | 1,708 | 1.4 | −0.2 |
| | Independent | Greg Petty | 1,660 | 1.4 | −0.7 |
| | Independent | Warwick Erwin | 1,590 | 1.3 | +1.3 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 118,205 | 95.2 | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | | 4.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | 82.4 | |
| Two-candidate-preferred result ||||||
| | Wollongong Independents | Gordon Bradbery | 47,465 | 54.2 | |
| | Labor | David Brown | 40,067 | 45.8 | |
| | Wollongong Independents hold | Wollongong Independents hold | Swing | | |