# Randwick City Council

The City of Randwick is a local government area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1859, Randwick is the second-oldest local government area in New South Wales, after the City of Sydney. It comprises an area of 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi) and as per the 2021 census had a population of 134,252.
The mayor of the City of Randwick is Cr. Dylan Parker, a member of the Australian Labor Party, who was elected on 8 October 2024.

## Suburbs and localities in the local government area

Suburbs and localities in the City of Randwick are:
* Centennial Park (most is located in City of Sydney council)
* Chifley
* Clovelly (minor part located in Waverley Council)
* Coogee
* Coogee Beach
* Kensington
* Kingsford
* La Perouse
* Little Bay
* Malabar
* Maroubra
* Maroubra Junction
* Matraville (minor part located in Bayside Council)
* Pagewood (most is located in Bayside Council)
* Phillip Bay
* Port Botany
* Randwick
* South Coogee
* University of New South Wales
These localities are also serviced by Randwick Council:
* The Spot
* Maroubra Beach
* Clovelly Beach

## History

The name Randwick comes from the village of Randwick in Gloucestershire, England, birthplace of the district's first mayor Simeon Henry Pearce. The area was home to a few wealthy landowners and the poor residents of several shantytowns until the 1880s, when the coming of trams from Sydney brought extensive suburban development. The New South Wales University of Technology opened at Kensington in 1949 on the site of Kensington Racecourse, eventually becoming the University of New South Wales.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the City of Randwick merge with the Waverley and Woollahra 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 Waverley 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.

### Town Clerks and General Managers

| Name | Term |
| George Edson | 1858 – 1862 |
| Henry Hamburger | 1863 – 1 April 1868 |
| Edwin T. Sayers | 1 April 1868 – 3 August 1870 |
| Joseph Carroll | 3 August 1870 – 7 November 1871 |
| William Charles Norris | 7 November 1871 – 18 July 1872 |
| George Bond Gough | 18 July 1872 – December 1875 |
| James Edwin Graham | 1 January 1876 – 6 February 1878 |
| William Bethune | 6 February 1878 – 21 October 1885 |
| Cecil William Edward Bedford | 21 October 1885 – 20 April 1898 |
| Ernest Henry Strachan | 27 April 1898 – January 1912 |
| William Kirby Percival | 8 February 1912 – 25 June 1937 |
| Harry C. Rourke | 25 June 1937 – 15 November 1938 |
| Richard Thomas Latham | 15 November 1938 – 1963 |
| R. A. Woodward | 1963–1982 |
| Geoff J. Rose | 1982–1991 |
| A. V. Burgess | 1991–1997 |
| Gordon Messiter | 1997 – July 2004 |
| Ray Brownlee | 2004 – 28 September 2018 |
| Therese Manns | 1 November 2018 – 10 October 2022 |
| Kerry Kyriacou (Acting) | 10 October 2022 – March 2023 |
| Ray Brownlee PSM | March 2023 – present |

## Demographics

At the 2016 census, there were 140,660 people in the Randwick local government area, of these 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.5% of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the City of Randwick was 34 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 14.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 38.5% were married and 9.1% were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Randwick between the 2001 Census and the 2006 census was 1.10%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 7.59%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Randwick local government area was lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Randwick was higher than the national average.
Selected historical census data for Randwick local government area :
| Census year | Census year | Census year | 2001 | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 |
| Population | Population | Estimated residents on census night | 118,580 | 119,884 | 128,989 | 140,660 |
| Population | Population | LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales | | 19th | | |
| Population | Population | % of New South Wales population | | 1.90% | 1.86% | 1.88% |
| Population | Population | % of Australian population | 0.63% | 0.60% | 0.60% | 0.60% |
| Population | Population | Estimated ATSI population on census night | 1,351 | 1,474 | 1,842 | 2,144 |
| Population | Population | % of ATSI population to residents | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.5% |
| Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | Cultural and language diversity | | | | |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Australian | | | 17.5% | 15.3% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | English | | | 18.5% | 18.5% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Chinese | | | 9.4% | 10.9% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Irish | | | 9.2% | 9.8% |
| Ancestry, top responses | Ancestry, top responses | Scottish | | | 4.9% | 5.0% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Mandarin | 2.7% | 3.5% | 4.8% | 7.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Greek | 4.8% | 4.3% | 3.8% | 3.2% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Cantonese | 4.2% | 3.8% | 3.4% | 3.0% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Indonesian | 2.6% | 2.0% | 1.9% | 1.6% |
| Language, top responses (other than English) | Language, top responses (other than English) | Spanish | n/c | n/c | 1.5% | 1.6% |
| Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | Religious affiliation | | | | |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Catholic | 31.6% | 30.2% | 29.4% | 26.5% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | No religion | 14.6% | 17.5% | 22.3% | 31.5% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Anglican | 15.6% | 14.0% | 12.4% | 8.9% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Eastern Orthodox | 7.3% | 7.1% | 6.5% | 5.4% |
| Religious affiliation, top responses | Religious affiliation, top responses | Judaism | n/c | 3.6% | 4.2% | n/c |
| Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | Median weekly incomes | | | | |
| Personal income | Personal income | Median weekly personal income | | A$593 | A$718 | A$834 |
| Personal income | Personal income | % of Australian median income | | 127.3% | 124.4% | 126.0% |
| Family income | Family income | Median weekly family income | | A$1,185 | A$2,066 | A$2,421 |
| Family income | Family income | % of Australian median income | | 115.4% | 139.5% | 139.6% |
| Household income | Household income | Median weekly household income | | A$1,579 | A$1,577 | A$1,916 |
| Household income | Household income | % of Australian median income | | 134.8% | 127.8% | 133.2% |
| Dwelling structure | Dwelling structure | Dwelling structure | | | | |
| Dwelling type | Dwelling type | Separate house | 30.2% | 32.3% | 30.6% | 26.4% |
| Dwelling type | Dwelling type | Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse | 15.8% | 14.7% | 15.6% | 16.5% |
| Dwelling type | Dwelling type | Flat or apartment | 51.7% | 52.1% | 53.3% | 55.8% |

## Council

| Mayor | Mayor | Term | Notes |
| Mayor | Dylan Parker | 8 October 2024 – present | |
| Deputy Mayor | Marea Wilson | 8 October 2024 – present | |
| General Manager | General Manager | Term | Notes |
| Ray Brownlee | Ray Brownlee | March 2023 – present | |

### Current composition and election method

Randwick 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 for a two-year term, with the deputy mayor for one year, by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
| Party | Councillors |
| Australian Labor Party | 6 |
| Liberal Party of Australia | 5 |
| The Greens | 3 |
| Independent | 1 |
| Total | 15 |
The current Council, elected in 2024, in order of election by ward, is:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes |
| Central Ward | Daniel Rosenfeld | Liberal | |
| Central Ward | Dylan Parker | Labor | Elected 2017; Mayor 2021–2023; Mayor 2024- |
| Central Ward | Dexter Gordon | Labor | |
| East Ward | Marea Wilson | Labor | Deputy Mayor 2024- |
| East Ward | Masoomeh Asgari | Greens | |
| East Ward | Carolyn Martin | Liberal | |
| North Ward | Clare Willington | Greens | |
| North Ward | Christie Hamilton | Liberal | Elected 2017. |
| North Ward | Aaron Magner | Labor | |
| South Ward | Noel D'Souza | Independent | Elected 2012; Mayor 2015–2017; Deputy Mayor 2012–2013. |
| South Ward | Danny Said | Labor | Elected 2017; Deputy Mayor 2018–2019; Mayor 2019–2021. |
| South Ward | Bill Burst | Liberal | |
| West Ward | Alexandra Luxford | Labor | Elected 2017; Deputy Mayor 2017–2018, 2023–2024. |
| West Ward | Andrew Hay | Liberal | |
| West Ward | Philipa Veitch | Greens | Elected 2017; Deputy Mayor 2019–2021; Mayor 2023–2024. |

## Election results
### 2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Randwick :
| Party | Party | Party |
| | Labor | Labor |
| | Liberal | Liberal |
| | Greens | Greens |
| | Independents | Independents |
| Formal votes | Formal votes | Formal votes |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes |
| Total | Total | Total |

## Heritage listings

The City of Randwick has a number of heritage-listed sites, including those listed under the New South Wales Heritage Register:
* Centennial Park, 3R Oxford Street: Centennial Park Reservoir
* Centennial Park, 5R Oxford Street: Woollahra Reservoir
* Coogee, 45-51 Beach Street: Cliffbrook
* Coogee, Grant Reserve: McIver Women's Baths
* Coogee, 4b Neptune Street: Wylie's Baths
* Kensington, 85 Todman Avenue: Carthona (Kensington)
* La Perouse, Bare Island Fort
* La Perouse, 46 Adina Avenue: La Perouse Mission Church
* La Perouse, 1-39 Bunnerong Road: Chinese Market Gardens (La Perouse)
* Little Bay, 1430 Anzac Parade: Prince Henry Site
* Malabar, 1250 Anzac Parade: Long Bay Correctional Centre
* Malabar, Franklin Street: Malabar Headland
* Randwick, Centennial Park, Moore Park, Queens Park
* Randwick, 124 Alison Road: Randwick Post Office
* Randwick, 162 Alison Road: Randwick Presbyterian Church
* Randwick, 102-108 Avoca Street: St Jude's Church, Randwick
* Randwick, 211-215 Avoca Street: Corana and Hygeia
* Randwick, 128 Belmore Road: Sandgate (Randwick)
* Randwick, 60 Bundock Lane: Electricity Substation No. 341
* Randwick, 66 Frenchmans Road: Venice (Randwick)
* Randwick, 17 Gilderthorpe Avenue: Hooper Cottage
* Randwick, 16-18 Milford Street: Nugal Hall
* Randwick, 2S Frances Street: Electricity Substation No. 349
* Randwick, 43 St Marks Road: Rathven (Randwick)
* Randwick, 43 St Pauls Street: Ritz Cinema, Sydney
* Randwick, 18-20 Stanley Street: Emanuel School, Australia
* Randwick, 26-42 The Avenue: Avonmore Terrace
* Randwick, 29-39 Young Street: Big Stable Newmarket

## Future

The new Kensington to Kingsford Planning Strategy by the City of Randwick will include 8 new plazas, more than a doubling of public space, and wider footpaths along the Anzac Parade. The general height controls along the Parade will increase to 31 metres, while the key intersections with Todman Avenue Strachan Street, and Nine-ways roundabout will be 57–60 metres. It will also require 5% affordable housing of new residential developments and a requirement that active street frontages are used for commercial activities.