City of Newcastle

This article is about the Australian local government area. For the metropolitan area, see Newcastle, New South Wales. For the English city, see Newcastle upon Tyne. For other cities, see Newcastle (disambiguation).

The City of Newcastle is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The City of Newcastle incorporates much of the area of the Newcastle metropolitan area.

City of Newcastle
Local government area
Location in Greater Newcastle Aerial view of Newcastle
Coordinates: 32°55.7′S 151°46.9′E
Country	Australia
State	New South Wales
Region	Hunter[1]
Location	162 km (101 mi) NNE of Sydney
Council seat	12 Stewart Avenue, Newcastle
Government
• Lord Mayor	Ross Kerridge (Our Newcastle)
• State electorates	Newcastle[2] Wallsend[3] Charlestown[4] Port Stephens[5]
• Federal division	Newcastle[6]
Area [7]
• Total	186.8 km2 (72.1 sq mi)
Population
• Total	168,873 (LGA 2021)[8] ([[List of cities in Australia by population|39th[citation needed]]])
• Density	918.1/km2 (2,378/sq mi)[9]
Time zone	UTC+10 (AEST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+11 (AEDT)
County	Northumberland
Website	City of Newcastle
LGAs around City of Newcastle Maitland Port Stephens Port Stephens Cessnock City of Newcastle Tasman Sea Lake Macquarie Lake Macquarie Tasman Sea

The Lord Mayor of the City of Newcastle Council is Councillor Dr. Ross Kerridge, an Independent politician elected under the team campaign banner 'Our Newcastle' at the 2024 New South Wales mayoral elections.^[10]

History

The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by council as the traditional custodians of the land and waters of Newcastle.^[11]

Municipality of Newcastle

Main article: Municipality of Newcastle (New South Wales)

Following the passing of the Municipalities Act 1858 by the New South Wales parliament, the Municipality of Newcastle was proclaimed on 7 June 1859. The new Municipality was divided into three wards – City, Macquarie, and Honeysuckle.^[12] Eight years later, the Municipalities Act 1867 classified the Newcastle Municipality as a "Borough".^[13]

Creation of modern council

The Greater Newcastle Act 1937 merged the City of Newcastle with 10 of its suburban municipalities to form the City of Greater Newcastle. The Act also transferred parts of the Lake Macquarie Shire and Tarro Shire to the new city.^[14] The amalgamations and transfers took effect from 2 April 1938.^[15]

The newly created City of Greater Newcastle was subsequently renamed to City of Newcastle on 23 March 1949.^[16]

Municipality	Date established	Population[17]
		1891	1901	1911	1921
Adamstown	31 December 1885	2,030	2,420	2,660	3,959
Carrington	28 March 1887	2,137	2,547	2,685	3,115
Hamilton	11 December 1871	4,844	6,124	7,908	14,196
Lambton	26 June 1871	3,436	3,159	2,796	3,691
Merewether	20 August 1885	4,399	4,547	4,151	5,908
New Lambton	1 August 1889	1,548	1,578	1,827	3,550
Stockton	12 October 1889	2,417	2,549	2,106	4,598
Wallsend	27 February 1874	6,945	6,997	6,007	6,446
Waratah	23 February 1871	2,718	3,080	4,419	12,192
Wickham	25 February 1871	6,582	7,752	8,434	12,151

21st Century proposed amalgamation

After a 2015 review by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal found that Newcastle City Council was not "fit for the future", it was recommended that the City of Newcastle merge with Lake Macquarie City Council.^[18] However, the Minister for Local Government subsequently proposed that Newcastle City Council instead merge with Port Stephens Council to form a new council with an area of 1,045 km² (403 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 230,000.^[19] The outcome of an independent review was completed by mid–2016. On 14 February 2017, the NSW Government announced it would not be proceeding with further regional council mergers, including the Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council merger.^[20]

Suburbs, towns and villages

The towns and villages in the City of Newcastle are split into four wards – Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 4.^[21] These include:

Ward 1 Carrington Cooks Hill[a] Islington Maryville Mayfield Mayfield East Mayfield North Mayfield West Newcastle Newcastle East Newcastle West[a] Stockton The Hill Tighes Hill Warabrook Wickham

Ward 2 Adamstown Adamstown Heights[b] Bar Beach Broadmeadow Cooks Hill[c] Hamilton Hamilton East Hamilton South Kotara[d][b] Merewether Merewether Heights Newcastle West[c] The Junction

Ward 3 Birmingham Gardens Callaghan Georgetown Jesmond Hamilton North Kotara[a] Lambton New Lambton New Lambton Heights[b] North Lambton Rankin Park[b] Wallsend[e] Waratah Waratah West

Ward 4 Beresfield Black Hill Elermore Vale[b] Fletcher Hexham Lenaghan Maryland Minmi Sandgate Shortland Tarro Wallsend[d]

Notes

1. Shared with Ward 2.
2. Shared with Lake Macquarie City Council.
3. Shared with Ward 1.
4. Shared with Ward 3.
5. Shared with Ward 4.

Demographics

At the 2021 census, there were 168,873 people in the City of Newcastle local government area, of these 49.1 per cent were Male and 50.9 per cent were Female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.4 per cent of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages of 3.2 and 3.4 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the City of Newcastle was 37 years, just below the national median of 38. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 16.2 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.9 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 38.7 per cent were married and 12.7 per cent were either divorced or separated.^[22]

Population growth in the City of Newcastle between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 3.91 per cent; and in the subsequent ten years to the 2016 census, population growth was 9.64 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 17.86 per cent respectively, population growth in the City of Newcastle local government area was significantly lower than the national average.^[23][24][25] The median weekly income for residents within the City of Newcastle was marginally higher than the national average.^[22]

At the 2021 census, 80.8% of residents in the City of Newcastle local government area stated their country of birth as Australia significantly exceeding the national average of 66.9%. Almost 60% of all residents in the City of Newcastle nominated a religion with Catholicism being at almost 25%, which was slightly higher than the national average of 22.6%. As at the 2016 census, households in the City of Newcastle local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (11.6%) where a language other than English is spoken (national average was 22.2%).^[25][22]

Selected historical census data for the City of Newcastle local government area
Census year			2001[23]	2006[24]	2011[26]	2016[25]	2021[22]
Population		Estimated residents on Census night	136,413	141,753	148,535	155,411	168,873
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales				18th
		% of New South Wales population			2.15%	2.08%	2.09%
		% of Australian population	0.73%	0.71%	0.69%	0.66%	0.66%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			29.2%	29.3%	40.7%
		Australian			30.4%	27.7%	37.8%
		Irish			8.9%	9.6%	12.5%
		Scottish			8.0%	8.3%	11.6%
		German			2.9%	3.0%	–
		Australian Aboriginal	–	–	–	–	4.2%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Mandarin	n/c	0.4%	0.6%	1.2%	1.0%
		Macedonian	1.1%	0.9%	0.8%	0.7%	0.6%
		Italian	0.9%	0.7%	0.7%	0.5%	0.4%
		Greek	0.7%	0.7%	0.6%	0.5%	0.4%
		Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		No Religion	12.7%	16.3%	22.6%	32.8%	44.8%
		Catholic	26.6%	26.1%	25.3%	22.2%	18.9%
		Anglican	27.0%	25.0%	22.3%	17.0%	12.3%
		Uniting Church	8.2%	7.0%	5.9%	4.2%	2.9%
		Presbyterian and Reformed	4.1%	3.5%	3.2%	–	–
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$409	A$563	A$660	A$852
		% of Australian median income		87.8%	97.6%	99.7%	105.8%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,132	A$1,530	A$1,778	A$2,264
		% of Australian median income		96.7%	103.3%	102.5%	106.7%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$885	A$1,165	A$1,368	1,760
		% of Australian median income		86.2%	94.4%	95.1%	100.8%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type		Separate house	74.6%	73.3%	73.5%	71.1%	69.0%
		Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse	10.0%	10.9%	12.1%	15.4%	16.2%
		Flat or apartment	14.1%	14.9%	13.9%	12.7%	14.2%

Council

See also: List of mayors and lord mayors of Newcastle

Current composition and election method

Newcastle City Council is composed of thirteen councillors, including the Lord Mayor, generally for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three Councillors. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024. The current makeup of the council, including the Lord Mayor, is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Labor	5
	Greens	2[a]
	Our Newcastle	3
	Liberal	2
	Vacant	1[a]
	Total	13

The current Council, largely elected in September 2024, in order of election by ward is:

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
Lord Mayor		Ross Kerridge	Our Newcastle	Councillor since 2024
Ward One		Declan Clausen	Labor	Councillor since 2017 by-election
		Charlotte McCabe	Greens	Councillor since 2021
		Peter Gittins	Our Newcastle	Councillor since 2024
Ward Two		Paige Johnson	Labor	Councillor since 2024
		Jenny Barrie	Liberal	Councillor since 2021
		Joel Pringle	Greens	Councillor since 2024
Ward Three		Peta Winney-Baartz	Labor	Councillor since 2025 count-back election
		Mark Brooker	Our Newcastle	Councillor since 2024
		Vacant[a]	N/A	Previously held by Greens councillor, Sinead Francis-Coan, from 2024 until her death on 23 June 2025.[27]
Ward Four		Elizabeth Adamczyk	Labor	Councillor since 2021
		Callum Pull	Liberal	Councillor since 2021
		Deahnna Richardson	Labor	Councillor since 2021

Election results

2024

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 New South Wales local elections in Hunter § Newcastle results.[edit]

2024 New South Wales local elections: Newcastle^{[28][29][30][31]}

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		35,324	35.6	−5.2	5	1
	Our Newcastle		23,306	23.5	+23.5	2	2
	Greens		20,719	20.9	+4.3	3	1
	Liberal		16,594	16.7	−1.7	2	1
	Independent Liberal		2,324	2.3		0
	Socialist Alliance		707	0.7	−0.2	0
	Christians For Community		257	0.3		0
	Independents		87	0.1		0
Formal votes			99,319	93.5
Informal votes			6,924	6.5
Total			106,243

Sister cities

Newcastle Council has sister city relations with the following cities:

City	Prefecture/State	Country	Year
Ube	Yamaguchi	Japan	1980
Dubbo	New South Wales	Australia	1995
Arcadia	California	United States

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of the City of Newcastle

Adopted Formal grant by the Kings of Arms, 20 March 1961 (Earl Marshal's Warrant, 8 March 1961).[32] Crest Out of a Mural Crown Or a Mount Vert thereon a Lighthouse proper. Helm A closed Helmet, mantling per pale Vert and Azure, doubled Or. Escutcheon Vert, on a Pile Or another Azure charged with a Lymphad the sail furled proper Flagged Gules, on a Chief Gold a Fleece also proper banded also Gold between a Lozenge and Wheel Sable. Supporters On either side a Seagull wings elevated and addorsed proper gorged with a Mural Crown Or. Compartment Sand and foaming waves. Motto Enterprise Symbolism The escutcheon elements represent the status of Newcastle as a port city, with the blue waters projecting into the fertile green of the land. The gold chief and chevron represent wealth and fertility and the chevron also symbolises the beaches between land and sea. The Lymphad symbolises shipping and maritime trade. In the chief, the gold field also represents wealth and fertility, with a golden fleece for the produce and wealth of agriculture. The black lozenge represents the coal industry, upon which much of Newcastle's wealth is built, and the wheel represents the wheels of industry and trade. The compartment comprises sand and waves for the numerous beaches of the area, while the seagull supporters are a common aquatic bird of the city and are symbolic of the coastal position. The supporters are gorged (collared) by a mural crown to represent civic authority. The crest comprises a lighthouse upon a green mount representing the Nobbys Head Light on Nobbys Head, a prominent feature of the city that also alludes to the importance of shipping. The crest emerged from a gold Mural crown that represents civic authority.[32][33] Previous versions Following the proclamation of Newcastle as a city in 1885, the Council engaged James Sayers, Newcastle manager of the London Chartered Bank, to design a Council Seal. Sayers' design featured a shield surmounted by a scroll with the words "City of Newcastle" and another scroll beneath with the Latin motto "Finis coronat opus" ("The end crowns the work"). The shield featured Nobbys Head and Lighthouse, with three sailing ships, a loaded coal truck, and three bales of wool.[34][35] This badge was readopted in 1938 by the new City of Greater Newcastle with the amended council name.[36][37][38] Other versions The flag adopted by the Council features the full armorial achievement on a bicolour of the city's official colours adopted in 1923, Cinnamon Brown and Emerald Green   . The colours are those used by the 35th Battalion "Newcastle's Own Regiment".[33]

Notes

1. Sinead Francis-Coan, Greens councillor since 2024, died on the 23rd of June 2025^[27]

References

• Docherty, James (1977). The Second City: Social and Urban Change in Newcastle, New South Wales 1900 – c. 1929 (PDF) (Thesis). Australian National University. Retrieved 30 November 2018.