# Blacktown City Council

Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blacktown Shire and becoming the Municipality of Blacktown in 1961 before gaining city status in 1979, the City occupies an area of 246.9 square kilometres (95.3 sq mi) and has a population of 410,419, making it the most populous local government area in Sydney. It is a member council of the Hawkesbury River County Council.
The Mayor of Blacktown City Council is Councillor Michael Bunting following the death of then-mayor Tony Bleasdale OAM, a member of the Australian Labor Party who died 3 May 2024.

## Suburbs and localities in the local government area

These are the suburbs and localities in the local government area:
* Acacia Gardens
* Angus
* Arndell Park
* Bidwill
* Blackett
* Blacktown
* Bungarribee
* Colebee
* Dean Park
* Dharruk
* Doonside
* Eastern Creek
* Emerton
* Glendenning
* Glenwood
* Grantham Farm
* Hassall Grove
* Hebersham
* Huntingwood
* Kellyville Ridge
* Kings Langley
* Kings Park
* Lalor Park
* Lethbridge Park
* Marayong
* Marsden Park
* Melonba
* Minchinbury
* Mount Druitt
* Nirimba Fields
* Oakhurst
* Parklea
* Plumpton
* Prospect (shared with Cumberland Council)
* Quakers Hill
* Richards
* Riverstone
* Ropes Crossing
* Rooty Hill
* Rouse Hill (shared with The Hills Shire)
* Schofields
* Seven Hills (shared with City of Parramatta Council)
* Shalvey
* Shanes Park (shared with City of Penrith)
* Stanhope Gardens
* St Marys (shared with City of Penrith)
* Tallawong
* The Ponds
* Toongabbie (shared with City of Parramatta Council and Cumberland Council)
* Tregear
* Vineyard (shared with City of Hawkesbury)
* Whalan
* Willmot
* Woodcroft

## History

The first road from Prospect to Richmond became known as the "Black Town Road" and in 1860 the Railway Department gave the name of "Black Town Road Station" to the railway station at the junction of the railway and the Black Town Road, with the name shortening to "Blacktown" by 1862. The Blacktown area was first incorporated on 6 March 1906 as the "Shire of Blacktown" alongside 132 other new shires across the state as a result of the passing of the Local Government (Shires) Act, 1905. The first five-member temporary council was appointed on 15 May 1906 and first met on 20 June in the Rooty Hill School of Arts. The Blacktown Shire became the "Municipality of Blacktown" on 17 June 1961 and was granted city status on 9 March 1979, becoming the "City of Blacktown".

## Blacktown Council Chambers and Civic Centre

In 1937 Blacktown council discussed the need for new Council Chambers, with the present arrangements seen as inadequate and unable to accommodate growing staff needs. In August 1938, the council discussed two schemes from architect Leslie J. Buckland for the new council chambers, with the scheme that created a new wing facing Flushcombe Road while retaining the old council chambers for other uses being the most favoured. Designed in the modernist Inter-war Functionalist style by Buckland and constructed by J. H. Abbey of Epping at a cost of £7,000, the Council Chambers were officially opened on 29 July 1939 by the Minister for Public Works and Local Government, Eric Spooner.
By the early 1960s, Blacktown Council resolved to develop a new council seat and 'civic centre' and an International style design by Parramatta architects, Leslie J. Buckland & Druce (George Harley, project architect), for a multi-storey administration building, a performance hall, library and basement parking was accepted at a cost of £500,000. Built of concrete and brick, with decorative facade panels and glass curtain walling, the Civic Centre was constructed by S. J. Wood & Co Lty Ltd, with A. S. Nicholson as the consulting engineer.
The foundation stone for the Civic Centre was laid by Premier of NSW, Bob Heffron, on 17 June 1961, on the same occasion marking the change of Blacktown from a Shire to a Municipality. The Civic Centre was officially opened on 25 October 1965 by the Minister for Local Government and Highways, Pat Morton, with the mayor, Alfred Ashley-Brown, declaring "It is my sincere wish we will as a council cherish the heritage which brings us here tonight – that this chamber will be a place wherein good government within our sphere of responsibility will be made manifest, and that all decisions which are made shall be for the good of the people of the Municipality of Blacktown". On 10 April 1967, the old 1939 Council Chambers were transformed into the first Blacktown Municipal Library, which was later demolished and became the Max Webber Library from 1980.
In 1984, with the Civic Centre being overcrowded and suffering from lack of space, the council approved significant extensions to the Civic Centre at a cost of $2,781,550 that added 2,000 square metres of office floor space and enabled the consolidation of all council departments in a single location. The extensions were constructed by McNamara Constructions Pty Limited.

## Blacktown City Libraries

In 1947, Blacktown Shire Council formally adopted the Library Act 1939, which had been passed to encourage (including by giving financial subsidies to) local governments to establish free public libraries, but no further action was taken due to a lack of finance. However it was not until the 1960s, with the significant growth in the area's population, the Council identified a clear need for a library service, and when the Civic Centre opened in 1965, council appointed the first Chief Librarian in 1966 and resolved to establish the first library in the old 1939 Council Chambers building on the opposite side of Flushcombe Road. The first Blacktown Municipal Library was officially opened on 10 April 1967.
The Blacktown City Libraries service expanded with the opening of Library Branches at Lalor Park (1968), Mount Druitt (1977) and Riverstone (1978). In 1979, Blacktown council commissioned a new Blacktown branch library, with the old library and 1939 Council Chambers building demolished and replaced by a new building designed by architects Allen Jack & Cottier, and constructed by R. W. Tims (Builders) Pty Ltd. On 31 October 1979, Council resolved to name this new library after the Town Clerk of Blacktown, Max Webber, and the Max Webber Library was officially opened by the Deputy Premier Jack Ferguson on 8 March 1980. A new branch library, the Dennis Johnson Branch Library (named after a former Town Clerk), opened in Stanhope Gardens on 7 August 2009.

## Demographics

At the 2021 census, there were 396,776 people resident in the Blacktown local government area, of these 49.9 per cent were male and 50.1 per cent were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.0 per cent of the population, similar to the NSW and Australian averages of 3.4 and 3.2 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the City of Blacktown was 34 years, which was slightly lower than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 22.7 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 11.0 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 52.6 per cent were married and 9.5 per cent were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Blacktown between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 6.47 per cent; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 10.82 per cent. At the 2016 census, the population in the local government area increased by 11.91 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same period, being 8.8 per cent, population growth in Blacktown local government area was in excess of 35% more than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Blacktown was generally on par with the national average.
At the 2021 census, the proportion of residents in the Blacktown local government area who stated their ancestry as Filipino, was in excess of five times the national average. The proportion of residents who stated a religious affiliation with Hinduism was in excess of four times the national average; the proportion of Catholics was 4.7 per cent above the national average; and the proportion of residents with no religion about half the national average. Meanwhile, as at the census date, the area was linguistically diverse, with Tagalog, Hindi, Punjabi, or Gujarati languages spoken in households, and ranged from two times to five times the national averages.
Selected historical census data for Blacktown local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | 2021 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 255,195 | 271,709 | 301,099 | 336,962 | 396,776 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | | 1st | 2nd | 1st |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | 3.88% | 4.41% | 4.35% | 4.50% | 4.91% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 1.36% | 1.37% | 1.40% | 1.44% | 1.56% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | 30.0% | 29.6% | 25.5% | 17.8% | 29.9% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | 24.8% | 21.5% | 21.7% | 16.2% | 33.0% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Indian | 3.7% | 5.2% | 7.3% | 8.9% | – |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Filipino | 6.7% | 7.7% | 8.6% | 7.0% | – |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | 6.7% | 5.4% | 5.7% | 4.4% | 9.5% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | – | – | – | – | 8.6% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Chinese | – | – | – | – | 5.5% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Tagalog | 5.1% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 4.0% | 3.8% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Hindi | 1.8% | 2.6% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 4.4% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Punjabi | 0.8% | 1.1% | 2.3% | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Arabic | 2.9% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.0% | 2.9% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Filipino | n/c | 2.1% | 2.1% | 1.9% | – |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Gujarati | – | – | – | – | 2.4% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 36.3% | 34.8% | 33.3% | 29.2% | 24.7% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Islam | 3.6% | 4.6% | 5.8% | – | 8.0% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion, so described | 8.4% | 9.6% | 10.7% | 15.0% | 18.1% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 19.6% | 17.1% | 14.9% | 13.3% | 7.3% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Hinduism | 2.3% | 3.7% | 5.8% | 8.5% | 13.1% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Not stated | – | – | – | 7.6% | – |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | $473 | $565 | $672 | $831 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 101.5% | 97.9% | 101.5% | 103.2% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | $1,105 | $1,492 | $1,817 | $2,251 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 107.6% | 100.7% | 104.8% | 106.1% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | $1,188 | $1,388 | $1,711 | $2,107 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 101.5% | 112.4% | 119% | 120.6% |

## Council

Blacktown City Council is composed of fifteen councillors elected proportionally as five separate wards, each electing three councillors. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. Following the passing of Cr Tony Bleasdale, Cr Brad Bunting was elected Mayor in 2024.

### Current composition

The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, The makeup of the Council by ward, is as follows:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Ward 1 | Jess Diaz | Liberal | First elected 2008. |
| Ward 1 | Allan Green | Liberal | |
| Ward 1 | Moninder Singh | Labor | First elected 2016. |
| Ward 2 | Mohit Kumar | Liberal | |
| Ward 2 | Julie Griffiths | Labor | First elected 2008; Deputy Mayor 2019–2022, 2022–2023. |
| Ward 2 | Damien Atkins | Greens | First Elected 2024. |
| Ward 3 | Pradeep Pathi | Liberal | |
| Ward 3 | Carol Israel | Labor | |
| Ward 3 | Susai Benjamin | Labor | First elected 2012. |
| Ward 4 | Peter Camilleri | Liberal | Ward 5 Councillor 2016–2021; Ward 4 Councillor 2021–Present |
| Ward 4 | Bob Fitzgerald | Labor | Deputy Mayor |
| Ward 4 | Dorothy Del Villar | Labor | |
| Ward 5 | Jugandeep Singh | Liberal | |
| Ward 5 | Brad Bunting | Labor | Elected 2016; Deputy Mayor Jan–Sep 2022. Mayor 15 May 2024 – present |
| Ward 5 | Talia Amituanai | Labor | |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Blacktown :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 96,925 | 47.4 | -5.8 | 8 | 2 |
| | Liberal | Liberal | 80,601 | 39.4 | +8.4 | 6 | 3 |
| | Greens | Greens | 20,334 | 9.9 | +7.4 | 1 | 1 |
| | Animal Justice | Animal Justice | 6,263 | 3.1 | +3.1 | 0 | |
| | Independents | Independents | 390 | 0.2 | -11.7 | 0 | 2 |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 204,513 | 94.0 | +0.5 | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 12,968 | 6.0 | -0.5 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 217,481 | 100% | N/A | 15 | |
| Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | Registered voters / turnout | | | | | |

### 2021

The Liberal Party did not endorse any candidates, including its five councillors elected in 2016.
2021 New South Wales local elections: Blacktown :
| Party | Party | Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats | Change |
| | Labor | Labor | 98,633 | 53.6 | +1.8 | 10 | |
| | Blacktown Coalition Team | Blacktown Coalition Team | 33,720 | 18.3 | +18.3 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | 32,747 | 17.8 | | 3 | 3 |
| | Your Community Coalition | Your Community Coalition | 9,104 | 4.9 | +4.9 | 1 | 1 |
| | Greens | Greens | 4,632 | 2.5 | | 0 | |
| | Blacktown Matters Independents | Blacktown Matters Independents | 4,335 | 2.4 | | 0 | |
| | Independent | Independent | 981 | 0.5 | | 0 | |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes | 184,152 | 93.47 | | | |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 12,862 | 6.53 | | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 197,014 | 100.0 | | | |

## Office-holders
### Shire Presidents and Mayors

| # | Shire President | Shire President | Party | Term | Notes |
| 1 | | Richard Joseph Sherlock (chairman) | Independent | 20 June 1906 – 10 December 1906 | |
| 2 | | Thomas Willmot | Independent | 10 December 1906 – 2 February 1910 | |
| – | | Richard Joseph Sherlock | Independent | 2 February 1910 – 9 February 1911 | |
| – | | Thomas Willmot | Independent | 9 February 1911 – 4 February 1914 | |
| 3 | | George Best | Independent | 4 February 1914 – 1 March 1915 | |
| 4 | | Adam Thomson Pringle | Independent | 1 March 1915 – 9 February 1916 | |
| 5 | | John Henry Smith Angus | Independent | 9 February 1916 – 10 February 1920 | |
| 6 | | John Charles Page | Independent | 10 February 1920 – 14 December 1920 | |
| 7 | | George Alfred Lalor | Independent | 14 December 1920 – 12 December 1922 | |
| 8 | | Arthur Moorehead | Independent | 12 December 1922 – 21 December 1926 | |
| 9 | | William Thomas Cable | Independent | 21 December 1926 – 20 December 1927 | |
| – | | George Alfred Lalor | Independent | 20 December 1927 – 4 December 1928 | |
| 10 | | Arthur Leonard Francis | Independent | 4 December 1928 – 23 December 1930 | |
| 11 | | John McMurtrie | Independent | 23 December 1930 – 14 January 1932 | |
| – | | John Charles Page | Independent | 14 January 1932 – 4 December 1934 | |
| – | | Arthur Leonard Francis | Independent | 4 December 1934 – 8 December 1938 | |
| 12 | | Thomas Russell Stone | Independent | 8 December 1938 – 13 December 1945 | |
| 13 | | John Alexander Fyall | Independent | 13 December 1945 – 20 December 1950 | |
| 14 | | John Sidney Bromfield | | 20 December 1950 – December 1956 | |
| 15 | | Wally Payne | | December 1956 – December 1957 | |
| 16 | | George Alexander Dryden | | December 1957 – December 1958 | |
| 17 | | Gordon Archibald Baker | | December 1958 – December 1959 | |
| 18 | | Alfred Ashley-Brown | Labor | December 1959 – 17 June 1961 | |
| # | Mayor | Mayor | Party | Term | Notes |
| – | | Alfred Ashley-Brown | Labor | 17 June 1961 – December 1965 | |
| 19 | | Victor John Corcoran | | December 1965 – December 1966 | |
| 20 | | Hilton Robinson | Independent | December 1966 – December 1967 | |
| – | | Alfred Ashley-Brown | Labor | December 1967 – December 1968 | |
| – | | Victor John Corcoran | | December 1968 – 10 December 1969 | |
| 21 | | Col Holden | | 10 December 1969 – 2 December 1970 | |
| – | | Alfred Ashley-Brown | Labor | 2 December 1970 – September 1971 | |
| 22 | | Peter Richard Stone | | September 1971 – September 1974 | |
| 23 | | George Nicolaidis OAM | Independent | September 1974 – September 1976 | |
| 24 | | Peter James Shinnick | | September 1976 – September 1977 | |
| 25 | | John Aquilina | Labor | September 1977 – September 1981 | |
| 26 | | James Patrick Lynch | Labor | September 1981 – September 1985 | |
| 27 | | Leo Kelly | Labor | September 1985 – September 1987 | |
| 28 | | Russ Dickens OAM | Independent | September 1987 – September 1988 | |
| 29 | | Bob Sinclair | Independent | September 1988 – September 1990 | |
| – | | Leo Kelly | Labor | September 1990 – September 1991 | |
| 30 | | Jim Anderson | Labor | September 1991 – 5 April 1995 | |
| 31 | | Charlie Lowles | Labor | 5 April 1995 – 20 September 1995 | |
| 32 | | Michael Corbin | Labor | 20 September 1995 – September 1996 | |
| – | | Charlie Lowles | Labor | September 1996 – September 1999 | |
| 33 | | Alan Pendleton | Labor | September 1999 – 14 April 2004 | |
| – | | Leo Kelly OAM | Labor | 14 April 2004 – September 2008 | |
| – | | Charlie Lowles OAM | Labor | September 2008 – September 2010 | |
| – | | Alan Pendleton OAM | Labor | September 2010 – 26 September 2012 | |
| 34 | | Len Robinson | Liberal | 26 September 2012 – 17 September 2014 | |
| 35 | | Stephen Bali | Labor | 17 September 2014 – 9 October 2019 | |
| 36 | | Tony Bleasdale OAM | Labor | 9 October 2019 – 3 May 2024 | |
| 37 | | Brad Bunting | Labor | 15 May 2024 – present | |

### Shire/Town Clerks and General Managers

| Name | Term |
| Matthew W. Hawkings (Interim) | 20 June 1906 – 31 December 1906 |
| Hugh Reid | 1 January 1907 – 1 February 1914 |
| George Davis | 1 February 1914 – March 1916 |
| Eric H. Croxon | 28 March 1916 – May 1920 |
| T. B. Webster | 24 May 1920 – 30 May 1922 |
| George Nixon Stewart | 30 May 1922 – 12 September 1943 |
| Herbert K. Pollack | 29 May 1944 – 1959 |
| W. A. C. Dale | 1959–1969 |
| Max Webber | 1969–1984 |
| Dennis G. Johnson | 1984–1996 |
| Terry McCormack | 1996–2000 |
| Ian Reynolds | 2000–2005 |
| Ron Moore | 2005 – 17 April 2013 |
| Kerry Robinson OAM | July 2013 – present |

## Coat of arms

After becoming a city in 1979, the council resolved to investigate and if possible obtain a coat of arms, making a request to the Chester Herald of Arms, Hubert Chesshyre. With the design completed by March 1981, Council resolved to adopt the coat of arms at its meeting on 1 April 1981.
Coat of arms of Blacktown City Council :
* Adopted1 April 1981 (Grant of Arms: 4 June 1981)
* CrestA Kookaburra proper supporting with its dexter claw a Boomerang Gold
* TorseWreath Or and Sable
* HelmA closed Helm
* EscutcheonPer chevron Sable and Or in chief two sprigs of Sunshine wattle (Acacia discolor) and issuant in base the head of an Australian Aborigine Sable.
* SupportersDexter a large Grey Kangaroo and sinister a Chestnut Trotting Horse proper
* MottoProgress
* Other elementsMantling Sable doubled Or
* SymbolismThe symbols are representative of Australian native flora and fauna which, before colonisation, would have been abundant in the Blacktown area. The Aboriginal image depicts the population of the area pre-colonisation. The horse, or bush brumby, relates to the years 1810–1850 when the breeding of horses was the single most prolific industry in the Blacktown area.

## Heritage listings

The City of Blacktown has a number of heritage-listed sites, including those on the New South Wales State Heritage Register:
* Prospect, Upper Canal System
* Prospect, Great Western Highway: Veteran Hall Remains
* Prospect, Ponds Road: St Bartholomew's Anglican Church and Cemetery
* Prospect, Reservoir Road: Former Great Western Road Alignment, Prospect
* Prospect, Reservoir Road: Prospect Reservoir
* Prospect, East of Reservoir: Prospect Reservoir Valve House
* Prospect, 385 Reservoir Road: Royal Cricketers Arms Inn
* Prospect, 23 Tarlington Place: Prospect Post Office

## Sister cities

Blacktown City Council has sister city relations with the following cities:
* Porirua, Wellington Region, North Island, New Zealand, since 1984
* Suseong-gu, Daegu, South Korea, since 1994
* Liaocheng, Shandong, China, since 2003
* Liverpool Plains, New South Wales, Australia, since 2005