Waverley Council

This article is about the local government area. For the Sydney suburb, see Waverley, New South Wales. For the British local council, see Waverley Borough Council.

Waverley Council is a Local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, it is one of the oldest-surviving local government areas in New South Wales. Waverley is bounded by the Tasman Sea to the east, the Municipality of Woollahra to the north, and the City of Randwick in the south and west. The administrative centre of Waverley Council is located on Bondi Road in Bondi Junction in the Council Chambers on the corner of Waverley Park.

Waverley Council New South Wales
Location in Metropolitan Sydney
Waverley Council Chambers
Coordinates	33°54′S 151°16′E
Population	68,605 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	7,600/km2 (19,700/sq mi)
Established	16 June 1859
Area	9 km2 (3.5 sq mi)
Mayor	Will Nemesh
Council seat	Bondi Junction
Region	Eastern Suburbs
Parish	Alexandria
State electorate(s)	Coogee Vaucluse
Federal division(s)	Wentworth
Website	Waverley Council
LGAs around Waverley Council: Woollahra Woollahra Randwick Waverley Council Tasman Sea Randwick

The elected Waverley Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally across four wards, each electing three Councillors, and the most recent election was held on 14 September 2024. The current mayor of Waverley Council since October 2024 is Councillor William Nemesh of Hunter ward, a member of the NSW Liberal Party. ^[2]

Suburbs and localities in the local government area

Suburbs within Waverley Council are:

• Bondi
• Bondi Beach
• Bondi Junction
• Bronte
• Clovelly (most is located within City of Randwick)
• Dover Heights
• North Bondi
• Queens Park
• Rose Bay (parts are located within Woollahra Council)
• Tamarama
• Vaucluse (most is located within Woollahra Council)
• Waverley

History

Aerial photo of Bondi Beach and Ben Buckler looking North, 1937.

With the enactment of the Municipalities Act of 1858, which allowed for the creation of Municipalities for areas with over 500 electors, several petitions calling for the incorporation of the Waverley area were received by the Colonial Government and published in New South Wales Government Gazette on 11 November 1858 and 17 May 1859.^[3] One of the earliest meetings of local residents formed to call for a "Municipality of Waverley" was held at the Tea Gardens Hotel on Bronte Road on 20 December 1858.^[4]

The Governor of New South Wales approved the proclamation establishing the Municipality of Waverley on 13 June 1859, and it was subsequently published in the Government Gazette on 16 June 1859.^[5] The first returning officer, Charles St Julian, was appointed to conduct the first meeting of electors a few days later.^[6] The first election was held on 14 July 1859, with nine Councillors elected proportionately, and the Council first met on 23 July 1859 at the Tea Gardens Hotel, with John Birrell elected as the first chairman.^[7][8][9] On 21 February 1860, the council was divided into three wards electing three councillors each: Waverley Ward, Bondi Ward and Nelson Ward.^[10] A fourth ward covering the western corner of Waverley, Lawson Ward, was added on 22 April 1887, thereby bringing the number of aldermen to 12.^[11]

On 6 October 1944, the recommendation of a 1941 NSW Local Government Department Commission of Inquiry removing the Mill Hill area (37 acres) from the Municipality of Randwick and include it in the Waverley Municipality was proclaimed in the Government Gazette.^[12]

Council chambers

The first council meeting was held on 16 June 1859, but there was no permanent office for the conduct of Council duties some early meetings were held in the Charing Cross Hotel and others in the old School of Arts building in Bronte Road. In December 1860 the Council accepted an offer from Francis O'Brien to donate a site for a Council Chambers on Bondi Road. The cost of building was to be limited to £500, although approximately £700 was eventually spent. The foundation stone was laid in 1861, and a first meeting of Council was held there on 21 November 1861, the first Council building erected by any municipality under the Municipalities Act of 1858.^[13][14][15]

Discussions were held during the early 1900s over the need for new Council Chambers, and in 1913 a portion of the north-west corner of Waverley Park, which was the first public park in Waverley gazetted in 1880, was dedicated as the site for a new building. A report of the same year stated that the original building was too small for the staff, and had poor ventilation and lighting. It was later sold for £1,600. The new building was completed by the end of 1913, and on 6 January 1914 the Council met for the first time in the new chambers.^{[citation needed]}

Parts of the 1913 chambers still form the shell of the present Council Chambers, although extensive alterations in 1962, and further development in 1976 and 1977 have altered its appearance considerably.

2016–17 amalgamation proposals

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the Municipality of Waverley merge with the Woollahra and Randwick councils to form a new council with an area of 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 274,000.^[16] Following an independent review, in May 2016 the NSW Government sought to dismiss the council and force its amalgamation with Woollahra and Randwick 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.^[17] 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.^[18]

Demographics

Bondi Beach

Aerial view of clifftop neighbourhood in Dover Heights.

At the 2021 census, there were 68,605 people in Waverley, of these 48.5% were male and 51.5% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.4% of the population. The median age of people in Waverley Council was 35 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 15.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 12.9% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 35.8% were married and 9.6% were either divorced or separated. ^[19]

Population growth in Waverley Council between the 2011 Census and the 2016 Census was 4.97%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2021 Census, population growth was 2.61%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 8.09% and 7.94% respectively, population growth in the Waverley local government area was a third of the national average.^[20] The median weekly income for residents within the Municipality of Waverley was more than 1.6 times the national average.^[21][22]

The proportion of residents in Waverley who stated their ancestry was Jewish was three times the New South Wales and national averages. The proportion of households where Russian is spoken at home is thirteen times the state and national averages; and of all households where Hebrew is spoken in New South Wales, one third are located in Waverley, and in Australia, one tenth of households where Hebrew is spoken are located in Waverley. The proportion of residents who stated an affiliation with Judaism was in excess of twenty-eight times the state and national averages.^[21]

Selected historical census data for Waverley local government area
Census year			2001[20]	2006[22]	2011[21]	2016[23]	2021[1]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	58,769	60,715	63,487	66,812	68,605
		LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales			36th
		Percentage of New South Wales population	0.9%	0.9%	0.9%	0.8%	0.8%
		Percentage of Australian population	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.2%
		Estimated ATSI population on census night	199	196	245	270	279
		Percentage of ATSI population to all residents	0.3%	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			20.9%	21.2%	30.8%
		Australian			16.1%	15.3%	21.3%
		Irish			9.3%	8.9%	12.0%
		Scottish			5.5%	5.4%	7.7%
		Italian				3.6%	5.7%
Language used at home, top responses (other than English)		Russian	3.2%	2.6%	2.6%	2.2%	1.9%
		Spanish	n/c	1.0%	1.3%	2.1%	2.9%
		Portuguese	n/r	n/r	n/r	1.9%	1.8%
		French	n/c	n/c	1.3%	1.8%	1.9%
		Italian	1.5%	1.3%	1.4%	1.7%	1.6%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		No religion, so described	16.9%	18.0%	24.3%	33.4%	41.4%
		Catholic	22.9%	20.8%	22.1%	19.9%	18.8%
		Judaism	16.1%	16.8%	17.1%	15.1%	16.0%
		Not stated	n/r	n/r	n/r	14.4%	7.6%
		Anglican	13.5%	11.7%	11.0%	7.9%	6.7%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$765	A$973	A$1,151	A$1,442
		Percentage of Australian median income		164.2%	168.6%	173.9%	179.1%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1,928	A$2,496	A$2,917	A$3,709
		Percentage of Australian median income		134.1%	168.5%	168.2%	174.9%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1,446	A$1,912	A$2,308	A$2,854
		Percentage of Australian median income		140.7%	154.9%	160.5%	163.4%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type		Separate house	17.9%	21.2%	19.9%	16.5%	16.0%
		Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse	18.7%	16.7%	18.8%	19.0%	18.1%
		Flat or apartment	51.7%	61.3%	60.5%	62.6%	64.1%

Council

Waverley Council Chambers, Bondi Junction

NSW Local Government Elections are held every four years on the second Saturday of September as stipulated by the Local Government Act 1993.^[24][25]

Current composition and election method

Waverley Council is composed of twelve councillors elected proportionally from the four separate wards, each electing three Councillors. The mayor is elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the council for a two-year term, typically in September, while the Deputy Mayor is elected annually by the councillors. The most recent election for the council was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Party of Australia	6
	Australian Labor Party	3
	The Greens	2
	Independent	1
	Total	12

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

Ward	Councillor		Party	Notes
Bondi Ward[26]		Michelle Stephenson	Liberal
		Dominic Wy Kanak	Greens	Elected 1999; Deputy Mayor 2007–2008, 2017–2019.
		Margaret Merten	Labor
Hunter Ward[27]		William Nemesh	Liberal	Mayor 2024–current.[28]
		T (Dov) Frazer	Liberal
		Steven Lewis	Ind.	Elected 2017 as Labor Party member
Lawson Ward[29]		Paula Masselos	Labor	Elected 2012; Mayor 2019–Oct 2024.[30]
		Katherine Westwood	Liberal
		Lauren Townsend	Liberal
Waverley Ward[31]		Joshua Spicer	Liberal
		Ludovico Fabiano	Greens	Deputy Mayor Sep–Oct 2023.[30][32]
		Keri Spooner	Labor

Election results

2024

2024 New South Wales local elections: Waverley^[33]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal		16,767	51.3	+2.3	6	1
	Labor		6,487	19.8	−7.4	3	1
	Greens		5,465	16.7	−6.5	2	1
	Independents		3,988	12.2	+11.6	1	1
Formal votes			32,707	96.0
Informal votes			1,347	4.0
Total						15
Registered voters / turnout

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

Mayors

Mayor of Waverley
Incumbent William Nemesh since 10 October 2024
Style	His/Her Worship the Mayor Councillor
Appointer	Waverley Council
Term length	Two years, renewable indefinitely (2017–present) One year (1859–2016)
Inaugural holder	John Birrell (Chairman) David Fletcher (Mayor)
Formation	23 July 1859 (Chairman) 17 February 1868 (Mayor)
Deputy	Keri Spooner

Chairman		Party	Term	Notes
	John Birrell	No party	23 July 1859 – 17 February 1860	[9]
	James Vickery		17 February 1860 – 19 February 1861	[34]
	Charles St Julian		19 February 1861 – 13 February 1862	[35]
	Edmond John Baily		13 February 1862 – 29 May 1862	[36][37]
	Charles Browne		17 June 1862 – 16 February 1863	[38]
	John Crone Raymond		16 February 1863 – 29 October 1863	[39]
	Charles Simmons		29 October 1863 – 20 February 1864	[40]
	William Barker		20 February 1864 – 14 February 1865	[41]
	John Birrell		14 February 1865 – 22 February 1866	[42]
	Stephen Dickson		22 February 1866 – 13 February 1867	[43]
	Charles Kelso Moore		13 February 1867 – 17 February 1868	[44]
Mayor		Party	Term	Notes
	David Fletcher	No party	17 February 1868 – 15 February 1869	[45]
	Stephen Dickson		15 February 1869 – 15 February 1870	[46]
	Robert Yeend		15 February 1870 – 14 February 1871	[47]
	William Cary		14 February 1871 – 13 February 1872	[48]
	John Macpherson		13 February 1872 – 11 February 1873	[49]
	Stephen Dickson		11 February 1873 – 12 February 1874	[50]
	William Henderson		12 February 1874 – 26 February 1875	[51]
	John Macpherson		26 February 1875 – 13 February 1883	[52][53][54][55][56][57][58]
	William Henry Simpson		13 February 1883 – 9 February 1886	[59][60][61]
	William Martin		9 February 1886 – 11 February 1887	[62]
	Thomas James Dickson		11 February 1887 – 12 February 1889	[63][64]
	Alfred Charles Hewlett		12 February 1889 – 13 February 1890	[65]
	Frank Guest		13 February 1890 – 10 February 1891	[66]
	William Henry Simpson	Independent	10 February 1891 – 21 February 1893	[67][68]
	William T. Ball	Independent	21 February 1893 – 13 February 1895	[69][70]
	Alfred Charles Hewlett	Independent	13 February 1895 – 14 May 1897	[71][72][73]
	Gustavius John Waterhouse	Independent	14 May 1897 – 15 February 1899	[74][75]
	Watkin Wynne	Independent	15 February 1899 – 14 February 1900	[76]
	Harry Charles Evans	Independent	14 February 1900 – 5 March 1901	[77][78]
	Walter Carter	Independent	5 March 1901 – 11 February 1903	[79][80][81][82][83]
	William John Blunt	Independent	11 February 1903 – February 1904	[84]
	Joseph Cuthbert Kershaw	Independent	11 February 1904 – 28 November 1905	[85][86][87][88]
	John Walter Alldis	Independent	1 December 1905 – 13 February 1906	[89][90]
	Robert George Watkins	Independent	13 February 1906 – 7 February 1911	[91][92][93][94][95]
	John Campbell	Independent	7 February 1911 – 27 August 1912	[96][97][98][99]
	Leslie James Lamrock	Independent	27 August 1912 – February 1914	[100][101]
	Joseph Barracluff	Independent	February 1914 – 8 February 1916	[102]
	Leslie James Lamrock	Independent	8 February 1916 – 14 December 1916	[103][104]
	Henry William Frederick Rogers	Independent	19 December 1916 – February 1920	[105][106][107][108]
	Cornelius William Kavanagh	Independent	February 1920 – December 1925	[109][110][111][112][113][114]
	Robert William Jackaman	Independent	December 1925 – December 1927	[115][116]
	David Hunter	Independent	December 1927 – 5 January 1932	[117][118][119][120]
	Charles Fenton	Independent	5 January 1932 – December 1932	[121]
	Francis Hamilton Frith	Independent	December 1932 – December 1933	[122]
	William Howe	Independent	December 1933 – 30 January 1934	[123][124]
	James Wadsley Rupert Fieldhouse	Independent	26 February 1934 – 6 March 1934	[125]
	David Hunter	Independent	6 March 1934 – December 1935	[126][127][128][129][130][131][132]
	Raymond Nott	Independent	December 1935 – December 1936	[133]
	James Wadsley Rupert Fieldhouse	Independent	December 1936 – December 1937	[134]
	Raymond Nott	Independent	December 1937 – December 1938	[135]
	Henry Samuel	Independent	December 1938 – 14 December 1939	[135]
	Thomas Hogan	Independent	14 December 1939 – December 1940	[136]
	James Wadsley Rupert Fieldhouse	Independent	December 1940 – December 1941	[137][138]
	Leslie James Fingleton	Independent	December 1941 – December 1942	[135]
	Thomas Hogan	Independent	December 1942 – 2 December 1943	[135][139]
	Gordon Anderson	Labor	2 December 1943 – December 1945	[140][141]
	Herbert Sharman		December 1945 – December 1946	[135]
	Gordon Anderson		December 1946 – December 1948	[142][143][144]
	Thomas Hogan	Independent	December 1948 – December 1949	[135]
	Thomas John Conway	Independent	December 1949 – December 1950	[145]
	Keith Harris Weekes	Independent	December 1950 – December 1951	[135][146]
	William Aston	Independent	December 1951 – December 1953	[147]
	Carl Jeppesen		December 1953 – December 1956	[148][135]
	Keith W. Anderson		December 1956 – December 1958	[135]
	Dudley G. Page	Independent	December 1958 – December 1959	[135]
	Jack Cole	Independent	December 1959 – December 1960	[135][149]
	Ray M. O'Keefe	Independent	December 1960 – December 1962	[135]
	Doug J. Morey		December 1962 – December 1965	[135]
	Ernie Page	Labor	December 1965 – December 1967	[135]
	Doug T. Sutherland	Independent	December 1967 – December 1968	[135]
	Ray A. Farrelly		December 1968 – September 1970	[135]
	Doug J. Morey		September 1970 – September 1972	[135]
	Ernie Page	Labor	September 1972 – September 1973	[135]
	James R. Markham	Independent	September 1973 – September 1974	[135]
	Avrom Yossef Singer		September 1975 – September 1976	[135]
	David Anthony Taylor		September 1976 – September 1977	[135]
	Ernie Page	Labor	September 1977 – September 1983	[135][150]
	James R. Markham	Independent	September 1983 – September 1984	[135]
	Ray J. Collins	Independent	September 1984 – September 1985	[135]
	John Douglas Morrison OAM	Independent	September 1985 – September 1986	[151][152]
	Carolyn Ann Markham	Independent	September 1986 – September 1987	[135]
	Barbara Armitage OAM	Labor	September 1987 – September 1996	[153][154]
	Paul Pearce		September 1996 – 8 April 2004	[155]
	Peter Moscatt		8 April 2004 – 22 September 2005	[156]
	Mora Main	Greens	22 September 2005 – 21 September 2006	[157]
	George Newhouse	Labor	21 September 2006 – 20 September 2007	[158]
	Ingrid Strewe		20 September 2007 – 30 September 2008	[159][160]
	Sally Betts	Liberal	30 September 2008 – 22 September 2011	[135]
	John Wakefield	Labor	22 September 2011 – 27 September 2012	[161]
	Sally Betts	Liberal	27 September 2012 – 26 September 2017	[162]
	John Wakefield	Labor	26 September 2017 – 27 September 2019	[163]
	Paula Masselos		27 September 2019 – 9 October 2024	[164][165][166][30]
	William Nemesh	Liberal	10 October 2024 – present	[167]

Town Clerks and General Managers

Officeholder	Term	Notes
William James Hamburger	1859 – 18 October 1859	[9][168][169]
William Mortimer	25 October 1859 – 9 February 1872	[170][171][172]
Jonathan Wiley	12 March 1872 – 31 December 1875	[173][174][175]
William Wiley	1 January 1876 – 10 January 1882	[175][176][177][178][179]
Robert Thomas Orr	10 January 1882 – 18 May 1897	[180][181][182]
John Clubb	29 May 1897	[183][184][185]
Arthur Kyron	February 2014 – 29 April 2016	[186]
Peter Brown	29 April 2016 – 15 February 2017	[187][186]
Cathy Henderson (acting)	15 February 2017 – 14 February 2018	[187][188]
Peter Monks (acting)	14 February 2018 – 20 March 2018	[189]
Ross McLeod	20 March 2018 – 26 February 2021	[190][191]
Emily Scott	26 February 2021 – present	[192]

Bronte House is owned by Waverley Council.

Waverley Cemetery is owned and managed by Waverley Council.

Heritage listings

The Waverley Council area has a number of heritage-listed items and conservation areas, including those listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register:

• Bondi, 36 Anglesea Street: Electricity Substation No. 269^[193]
• Bondi, Blair Street: Bondi Ocean Outfall Sewer^[194]
• Bondi, 60 Blair Street: St Anne's Catholic Church, Bondi^[195]
• Bondi, Military Road: Bondi Sewer Vent^[196]
• Bondi Beach, Queen Elizabeth Drive: Bondi Beach Cultural Landscape^[197]
• Bondi Junction and Waverley, Paul Street: Waverley Reservoirs^[198][199]
• Bronte, 470 Bronte Road: Bronte House^[200]
• Bronte, St Thomas Street: Waverley Cemetery^[201]
• North Bondi, Ben Buckler Gun Battery^[202]
• Vaucluse, 793 Old South Head Road: South Head General Cemetery^[203]
• Waverley, 240 Birrell Street: St Mary's Anglican Church, Waverley^[204]
• Waverley, 11 Victoria Street: Charing Cross (homestead)^[205]
• Waverley, 45 Victoria Street: Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, Waverley^[206]

The Nib Literary Award

The Mark and Evette Moran Nib Literary Award, formerly The Nib Waverley Library Award for Literature, is organised and supported by the council, and the awards ceremony held in Waverley Library each year.^[207]