City of Parramatta

History

First incorporated on 27 November 1861 as the "Municipality of Parramatta", the first mayor was emancipated convict John Williams who arrived in the colony in 1835. The council became known as the "Borough of Parramatta" on 23 December 1867 following the enactment of the Municipalities Act, 1867, and became a Municipality again following the 1906 Local Government Act. On 27 October 1938, the Local Government (City of Parramatta) Act was passed by the Parliament of New South Wales and proclaimed by the governor, Lord Wakehurst, making the town the "City of Parramatta".

From 1 January 1949 the "City of Parramatta" was re-formed following the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, when the councils of Ermington and Rydalmere (incorporated 1891), Dundas (incorporated 1889) and Granville (incorporated 1885) were merged into the council area. The Parramatta local government area was further expanded through the transfer of 10.7 km2 from the Municipality of Blacktown in 1972 taking in Winston Hills which has not serviced since this time. In recognition of Parramatta's role Bi-centennial (coinciding with the Australian Bi-centennial), the title of 'Lord Mayor' was granted on 12 December 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of Premier Nick Greiner. This made Parramatta the third Australian city that was not a capital to receive such an honour, after Newcastle and Wollongong.

2016 amalgamation

A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Parramatta be reformed, adding areas from several adjoining councils. The NSW Government subsequently proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta (Woodville Ward), Auburn and Holroyd and a second merger of parts of the rest of Parramatta and parts of Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council.

On 12 May 2016, Parramatta City Council was abolished by the NSW Government. Parts of Auburn City Council (south of the M4 Western Motorway) and Parramatta City Council (Woodville Ward), and Holroyd City Council merged to form the Cumberland Council as a new local government area and the remainder of the Parramatta City Council, Auburn City Council north of the M4 Western Motorway (including Sydney Olympic Park), and small parts of Hornsby Shire, Holroyd and The Hills Shire were merged into the reformed "City of Parramatta".

Suburbs in the local government area

Suburbs in the City of Parramatta are:

• Baulkham Hills (shared with The Hills Shire)
• (shared with Hornsby Shire)
• Dundas Valley
• (shared with the City of Ryde)
• (shared with Cumberland City Council)
• Harris Park
• Lidcombe (shared with Cumberland City Council)
• Mays Hill (shared with Cumberland City Council)
• (shared with City of Ryde)
• North Parramatta
• Northmead
• North Rocks (shared with The Hills Shire)
• Old Toongabbie
• Parramatta
• (shared with Cumberland City Council)
• Rydalmere
• (shared with City of Blacktown)
• Silverwater
• Sydney Olympic Park [Autonomous]
• (shared with City of Blacktown and Cumberland City Council)
• Winston Hills (shared with The Hills Shire)
• Wentworth Point
• Wentworthville (shared with Cumberland City Council)
• (shared with Cumberland City Council)

Facilities

The City of Parramatta Council operates a central library, heritage centre and six branch libraries at Carlingford, Constitution Hill, Dundas Valley, Epping, Ermington and Wentworth Point. It also provides a public swimming pool at Epping, five childcare centres and over ten community centres. The heritage-listed Parramatta Town Hall was completed in 1883 and houses the original council chamber meeting rooms as well as other function rooms.

The City of Parramatta also operates a new waste collection service, FOGO. It started on 11 November 2024, and is aimed to reduce food scraps in landfill.

Demographics

At the 2021 Australian census, there were 256,729 people in the City of Parramatta local government area that comprised 84 km2, of these 50.1% were male and 49.9% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.8% of the population. The median age of people in the City of Parramatta was 35 years; notably below the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 18.2% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.5% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 53.4% were married and 9.5% were either divorced or separated.

At the 2021 Census, the Parramatta local government area was linguistically diverse, with a significantly higher than average proportion (61.8%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 24.8%); and a significantly lower proportion (38.2) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72%). The most commonly reported religious affiliation was "No Religion", at 29.7%. The proportion of residents who stated a religious affiliation with Hinduism was over four times the national average, with the median weekly income for residents slightly above the national average.

Council

Map of elected councillors by party in each of the 5 wards

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Between May 2016 and September 2017, the council was managed by an administrator appointed by the Government of New South Wales, Amanda Chadwick, until the first election for councillors took place on 9 September 2017. The City of Parramatta Council comprises fifteen councillors elected proportionally, with three councillors in each ward. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor is elected for a two-year term, with the Deputy Lord Mayor for one year, by the councillors at the first meeting of the council.

Current composition

The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council, in order of election by ward, is as follows:

Officeholders

Election results

2024

2021

Sister cities

• Israel Beersheba, Israel
• Philippines Cebu City, Philippines
• South Korea Jung District, Seoul, South Korea
• Thailand Phetchaburi, Thailand
• China Putian, China
• Vietnam Vũng Tàu, Vietnam

Notes

References

References

1. (28 November 1861). "MUNICIPALITY OF PARRAMATTA.". New South Wales Government Gazette.
2. (22 October 2013). "Parramatta No Longer a Town!". City of Parramatta Council.
3. (21 October 1938). "PARRAMATTA AS A CITY". The Sun.
4. (30 March 1972). "Proclamation, City of Parramatta". New South Wales Government Gazette.
5. (30 March 1972). "Local Government Act 1919 – Proclamation". New South Wales Government Gazette.
6. (January 2016). "Merger proposal: Auburn City Council (part), Holroyd City Council (part), Parramatta City Council (part)". [[Government of New South Wales]].
7. (January 2016). "Merger proposal: Parramatta City Council (part), Auburn City Council (part), The Hills Shire Council (part), Hornsby Shire Council (part), Holroyd City Council (part)". [[Government of New South Wales]].
8. (14 May 2016). "NSW council amalgamations announced". The Sydney Morning Herald.
9. (2017). "Book a Venue". City of Parramatta Council.
10. "Childcare {{!}} City of Parramatta".
11. "Town Hall and Potential Archaeological Site". NSW Office of Environment & Heritage.
12. "2021 Parramatta, Census All persons QuickStats {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics".
13. {{Census 2001 AUS
14. {{Census 2006 AUS
15. {{Census 2011 AUS
16. {{Census 2021 AUS
17. [https://cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au/about-parramatta/news/media-release/cr-martin-zaiter-to-lead-parramatta-as-lord-mayor Cr Martin Zaiter to lead Parramatta as Lord Mayor] City of Parramatta (Published: 14 October 2024) (Accessed: 13 December 2024)
18. [https://pastvtr.elections.nsw.gov.au/LG2401/parramatta/results City of Parramatta Election results 2024] NSW Electoral Commission (Published: 02 October 2024) (Accessed: 13 December 2024)
19. (12 May 2016). "Local Government (City of Parramatta and Cumberland) Proclamation 2016 [NSW] - Schedule 1 - Provisions for City of Parramatta Council". NSW Government.
20. "City of Parramatta – Dundas Ward". NSW Electoral Commission.
21. "City of Parramatta - Elections".
22. "City of Parramatta – Epping Ward". NSW Electoral Commission.
23. "City of Parramatta – North Rocks Ward". NSW Electoral Commission.
24. "City of Parramatta – Parramatta Ward". NSW Electoral Commission.
25. "City of Parramatta – Rosehill Ward". NSW Electoral Commission.
26. Busby, Ellie. (2024-10-14). "Parramatta elects Liberal Lord Mayor".
27. General Manager until August 2017.
28. (17 December 2013). "Parramatta appoints Greg Dyer as new CEO".
29. (17 April 2017). "CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR GREG DYER". City of Parramatta.
30. (15 December 2017). "Parramatta Council general manager Greg Dyer resigns".
31. (14 December 2017). "GREG DYER TO DEPART AS CITY OF PARRAMATTA CEO". City of Parramatta Council.
32. "City of Parramatta appoints new Chief Executive Officer {{!}} City of Parramatta".
33. "City of Parramatta Council Appoints New Acting CEO {{!}} City of Parramatta".
34. "City of Parramatta announces new Chief Executive Officer appointment {".
35. "City of Parramatta announces appointment of new CEO {{!}} City of Parramatta".
36. (14 October 2025). "Council parts ways with CEO". City of Parramatta.
37. "Rama renews ties with Xiamen City". philstar.com.
38. (September 2019). "Vietnamese flag raised in Australian city". Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney.
39. Minh Thanh. (2005-05-03). "Parramatta always supports Vung Tau policies of development, says Lord Mayor of Parramatta". Bao Ba Ria Vung Tau.