Warringah Council

Warringah is a local council area in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, Australia. Warringah Council overlaps with a number of suburbs from the Manly Council area to the south and the Pittwater Council area to the north. It includes a number of popular beaches (which are also suburb names) for swimming and surfing such as Narrabeen, Collaroy and Dee Why.

Warringah was ranked 41st out of 590 Local Government areas in Australia in the BankWest Quality of Life Index 2008.^[2]

History

There are various meanings put forward for the name Warringah, including "sign of rain", "across the waves" and "sea". It was once the home of the Guringai (or Kuringgai) language group of the Garigal clan, who owned the land between Port Jackson and Broken Bay, extending to the Lane Cove River in the west.

Warringah was explored early on in the settlement of Sydney, only a few weeks after the arrival of the First Fleet. However, it remained a rural area for most of the 1800s, with only small settlements in the valleys between headlands. While it was geographically close to the city centre, to reach the area over land from Sydney via Mona Vale Road was a trip of more than 100 kilometres.

Creation of Warringah Shire Council

On 7 March 1906, the Warringah Shire was proclaimed by the NSW Government Gazette, along with 132 other new Shires. It ran roughly from Broken Bay in the north to Manly Lagoon to the south, and by Middle Harbour Creek and Cowan Creek in the west. It covered 264 km² and had a population of around 2800, with 700 dwellings. Under the then Shires Act, ratepayers with properties worth at least five pounds could vote for up to nine Councillors for a three-year term. The first Council was temporarily installed until official elections on 24 November 1906. The Council, originally titled as Aldermen, first met in Narrabeen Progress Hall on 14 June 1906, and thereafter met in purpose-built chambers in Brookvale. However these proved to be too small and the council moved meetings from 1912 for the next 60 years to a new Shire Hall also in Brookvale.

Development

A tramline was established through the south-eastern area of the shire, running along Pittwater Road from Manly Lagoon eventually stretching all the way to the tramshed at Narrabeen in 1934, with an additional terminating line through Harbord to Freshwater Beach. This, coupled with the opening of the Spit and Roseville bridges in 1924 led to increased interest and travel to the area, which increased even further with the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. Early subdivisions were usually given over for weekenders and holiday homes, and at the same time the surf clubs and rock pools on the beaches began to be developed. After World War II, urbanisation began to occur, with family homes beginning to be built in the area, especially near the beaches. Retail, light industry and improved public amenity soon followed. It was also around this time that the tram lines were progressively closed across Sydney, to give way to more lanes for motor vehicles.^[3]

The mid-1970s and late 1980s witnessed a rise in suburban expansion in the Northern Beaches area, prompting long term planning by Warringah Council, particularly during the term of Shire President Paul Couvret.^[4] Work began on a new Dee Why civic centre in 1971, designed by Sulman Prize-winning architect Colin Madigan, to replace the Shire Hall in Brookvale which had been in use for the past 60 years. The building was completed in 1972 and the Council has remained there since 1973.^[5]

In November 1979, Warringah Council opened the Warringah Aquatic Centre at Frenchs Forest. Prior to the opening of the Olympic Park at Homebush, the Aquatic Centre hosted the NSW and Australian Swimming Titles, as well as the 1992 Olympic trials.^[6]

The Glen Street Theatre was officially opened in July 1985 as part of the Forest Community Centre by the Shire President, Darren Jones.^[7]

Secession of Pittwater Council

The original council area was divided into A, B, C and D Ridings. There was a sentiment held by some in A Riding, the northern Riding and the largest in Warringah, taking up more than 40% of Warringah's land area, that they were being increasingly ignored and subject to what they considered inappropriate development and policies for their area.^[8] This culminated in 1991 when a non-compulsory postal poll of the residents of A Riding was taken over the question of a possible secession. This resulted in a 73.5% vote in favour of secession, however only 48.18% of residents took part in this vote. This vote was, however, 600 short of the total majority required.

The Minister for Local Government at the time, Gerry Peacocke, nevertheless announced the secession of A Riding from Warringah Council, considering that those who did not vote did not have any particular inclination to how they were governed, and thus Pittwater Council was created.^[8]

On 2 May 1992, The Governor of New South Wales, Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair, proclaimed the establishment of the Municipality of Pittwater, the area of which roughly followed the area formerly known as ‘A’ Riding of the Warringah Shire.

Also on that day, the offices of Robert Dunn, Eric Green and Ronald Starr, former Warringah ‘A’ Riding Councillors, were terminated with those persons forming, with others, a Provisional Council of the Municipality of Pittwater.^[9]

Renamed 'Warringah Council'

Soon after the secession of Pittwater, the Local Government Act 1993 was passed, causing Warringah to drop the term 'Shire' from its title, and the renaming of the Shire Clerk to General Manager and Shire President to Mayor. The remaining B, C and D Ridings were renamed the A, B and C Wards.^[9]

The Council's current logo, featuring a Flannel flower, was adopted in 1998. The Coat of Arms used for Warringah Council was adopted in 1968 and was retained for historical and traditional purposes and as such appears on the Mayoral chain and inside the Council chambers. It features Dolphin supporters, a crested Wedge-tailed Eagle, the Flannel flower within a shield, and the motto, "Arte et Labore" ("by Skill and Labour").

Dismissals

Warringah Councils have been dismissed three times since the 1960s.^[10][11]

1967

Warringah Shire Council was first dismissed in April 1967 by the Askin State Government and was triggered by the gaoling of two councillors for bribery. The Councillors involved, Dennis Thomas and George Knight, were prosecuted under the Secret Commissions Prohibition Act 1919 (NSW) for receiving bribes from a development company to influence planning and development decisions, and both received gaol sentences.^[9][12] C.J.Barnett, Department of Local Government, acted as Administrator April to May 1967. R.H.Cornish, Department of Local Government, acted as Administrator from November 1967 to December 1968.^[9]

1985

The Council was dismissed again in December 1985 by the Neville Wran State Government amid allegations of bribery, and local dissatisfaction with the handling of development applications at Palm Beach and Mona Vale amid alleged “discrepancies in council planning decisions”. Warringah was placed under administration for 16 months with Daniel Kelly from the Department of Local Government acting as Administrator from December 1985 until April 1986 and Richard Connolly, former Chairman of the Metropolitan Waste Disposal authority from June 1986 to March 1987.^[9]

Administrator Kelly advised that despite an "exhaustive examination" of the Mona Vale development by Council staff and its advisers that would normally lead to its approval, it would be in the best interests of the community and the developer "to have any doubts about the development to be settled once and for all". He subsequently sought legal advice from a leading authority on environmental law as to the merits of the application and the former Council's handling of it.^[13] Murray Tobias QC, subsequently advised that the Council had not exceeded its powers in its handling of the development.^[14] Tobias also advised that in respect to certain deficiencies that rendered the granting of the building approval invalid, that the deficiencies "were in all respects technical breaches of the Act committed without appreciation thereof by either Council, its Staff as well as the Developer and solely due to an oversight on the part of Council". He found that these resolutions were clearly valid...and that they therefore remedied the situation given by the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales on 6 March 1986 and removed any point of continuing illegality." ^[15]

The NSW Local Government Association, supported by more than 150 constituent NSW Councils, demanded that the State Government institute an Inquiry into the dismissal of Warringah Council.^[16] The NSW Ombudsman agreed to conduct his own Inquiry. Following the NSW Ombudsman's challenge against the government for its repeated refusal to provide him with all relevant files, it was subsequently found that there had been no evidence of corruption to support the dismissal, and that "the elected councillors were denied natural justice and were both unfairly and unlawfully dismissed".^[17] It was also revealed that the Cabinet, headed by Local Government Minister, Janice Crosio, had made the decision to sack the council while ignoring the advice of the Under-secretary of the Department of Local Government who had been pushing for a public inquiry before the dimissal.^[18]

Investigations into bribery allegations against councillors by the NSW Fraud Squad and the Ombudsman did not result in any charges being laid against any councillor or member of staff. Warringah Council was returned after elections in early 1987 and resulted in 7 Councillors from the previous Council being returned to office, including the Shire President, Ted Jackson.^[18]

2003

On 15 January 2003 the then Minister for Local Government, Harry Woods, announced a formal public inquiry into Warringah Council. Emeritus Professor Maurice Daly was appointed the commissioner by the Governor of New South Wales, Professor Marie Bashir.

The commissioner found that the majority of the community had lost confidence in the councillors' ability to fulfill their roles and he recommended their dismissal. It was recommended that extra measures were to be taken to eliminate conflicts of interest in Council matters, as well as increasing ease of access to information held by council. The commissioner also recommended consideration of boundary changes or merger opportunities with the neighbouring councils of Manly and Pittwater.^[19]

The findings of the inquiry were criticised by the former Mayor, Julie Sutton, who said she found the report to be "very, very biased" and the then New South Wales Opposition Leader, John Brogden, who warned that the dismissal should not be used as a back door for amalgamations on the northern beaches or to prevent the elections scheduled for March 2004.^[20]

Following the release of the report, Warringah Council was dismissed on 23 July 2003, and Dick Persson AM was appointed Administrator.^[21] In September 2004, the Administrator requested that his term be extended beyond the next scheduled council elections on 1 August 2005, citing a number of important projects yet to be completed and establishing a change in culture amongst staff at the council. An extension was approved by the Governor until the Local Government Elections in September 2008.^[22]

Council

Following the 2008 New South Wales Local Government Elections, a new 10 member Council was elected, replacing Administrator Dick Persson, composed of of one popularly-elected Mayor and nine Councillors.

The current Mayor of Warringah is His Worship The Mayor Councillor Michael Regan (Wake up Warringah). The Deputy Mayor from September 2008 until October 2009 was Councillor Dr. Conny Harris (Greens).^[23] On 15 October 2009, Councillor Michelle Ray (Wake Up Warringah) was elected unopposed as Deputy Mayor.^[24] On 30 September 2011, the longest serving member of the Council, Cr. Julie Sutton (Independent), was elected by the council as Deputy Mayor.^[25] Councillor Sutton has served almost continuously since 1980, including several terms as Deputy Shire President and Mayor. She was also Mayor from 1995–1996 and 2002-2003.^[9][26]

The current council, elected in 2008, is:

Shire Presidents and Mayors

From 1906 to 1993 there were 38 different Shire Presidents and 4 Administrators and from 1993 to present there have been 8 Mayors and 1 Administrator. Several served for more than one term: Ellison Quirk (1910, 1913–1914, 1918–1919), Adam Parr (1920–1925, 1926), William Berry (1958, 1960–1962), Darren Jones (1983–1985, 2001–2002), Ted Jackson (1985–1986, 1986–1989), John Caputo (1989–1991, 1998–1999), Brian Green (1991–1993, 1993–1995) and Julie Sutton (1995–1996, 2002–2003). The first Shire President was Thomas Fishbourne from 1906-1908.^[9]

Some notable Presidents and Mayors include:

• Andrew Humpherson: Councillor 1987-1992, Deputy Shire President 1991-1992, State Member for Davidson 1992-2007.

• Tom Webster: State Member for Wakehurst 1978–1984, Councillor 1991-1999, Deputy Mayor 1996-1997.

• Julie Sutton: Councillor 1980-1985, 1987–2003, 2008-, was the first female Mayor from 1995–1996 and 2002-2003.

• Ted Jackson (1921–2009): Councillor 1983-1991, Shire President 1985-1986, 1986–1989. Jackson later served as President of the Dee Why RSL Club for 23 years. On 31 May 1956 he received the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the Australian Army.^[27] In 1987 he was awarded the Australia Day RSL Achievement Award. On 11 June 1990 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his "services to veterans & their families".^[28] In 2001 he was also awarded the Centenary Medal for services to veterans^[29] and Rotary’s Community Service Award in 2002.

• Paul Couvret: Shire President 1979-1984, a veteran of World War II and Nagasaki, became a Warringah Shire councillor in 1973 and served until he retired in 1995.^[4] In 1998 he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service to local government through the Warringah Shire Council, to veterans, and to the community".^[30] He is also on the Order of Australia Medal Committee. Couvret also received the Centenary Medal in 2001.^[31] He is also the President of the Dutch Australia Association and was President of Wakehurst Public School and Davidson High School parents and citizens associations.^[4]

• Brian Green: Councillor 1980-1999, Shire President 1991-1993, Mayor 1993-1995. In 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal for "service as former mayor and for active service to the community and local government".^[32]

Geography

Warringah Council currently administers 152 km² of land, including 9 beaches over 14 kilometres of coastline. It contains 6000 hectares of natural bushland and open space, and is graced by four lagoons, Narrabeen Lagoon marks Warringah's northern boundary, Manly Lagoon marking the southern boundary, with Dee Why and Curl Curl Lagoons in between. It also contains Manly Dam, a popular place for recreation.

Suburbs

Beaches

See relevant suburb for information.

• Collaroy Beach
• Curl Curl Beach
• Dee Why Beach
• Fishermans Beach (Collaroy)
• Freshwater Beach
• Long Reef Beach (Collaroy)
• Narrabeen Beach
• North Curl Curl Beach
• North Narrabeen Beach (Narrabeen)

Urban places

The Geographical Names Board of New South Wales has identified a number of 'urban places' within Warringah - these are local place names within other suburbs that are not specified by boundaries.

• Akuna Bay - area around a bay located within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
• Allambie - area located within Allambie Heights, on the border with North Manly
• Bantry Bay - area around a bay in the southern section of Forestville, the eastern section of Killarney Heights and a section of Garigal National Park
• Bungaroo - area located near the limit of tidal influence on Middle Harbour Creek, in Davidson
• Collaroy Beach - area overlooking Collaroy Beach, in Collaroy
• Collaroy Plateau - area on a plateau located within Collaroy
• Cromer Heights - high ground in south-west of Cromer
• Dee Why Beach - area overlooking Dee Why Beach, south of Dee Why Lagoon, in Dee Why
• Fishermans Beach - area located between Fishermans Beach and Pittwater Road
• Gooseberry Flat - area located north of the eastern side of the Roseville Bridge, in Forestville
• Long Reef - headland and surrounding area located within Collaroy
• Narrabeen Peninsula - area located on a peninsula within Narrabeen, separating Narrabeen Lagoon from the Tasman Sea
• Peach Trees - area within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, south and east of Cowan Creek and west of Smiths Creek.
• Sorlie - area located west of Forest Way within Frenchs Forest
• Wheeler Heights - area within Collaroy, south of Pipeclay Point on Narrabeen Lagoon.
• Wingala - area located on the southern slopes of Wingala Hill within North Curl Curl

Demographics

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics,^[33] there:

• were 141,133 people as at 30 June 2006, the 17th largest Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 2.1% of the New South Wales population of 6,827,694
• was an increase of 1,443 people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 10th largest population growth in a Local Government Area in New South Wales. It was equal to 2.5% of the 58,753 increase in the population of New South Wales
• was, in percentage terms, an increase of 1.0% in the number of people over the year to 30 June 2006, the 46th fastest growth in population of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 0.9%
• was an increase in population over the 10 years to 30 June 2006 of 10,024 people or 7.6% (0.7% in annual average terms), the 55th highest rate of a Local Government Area in New South Wales. In New South Wales the population grew by 622,966 or 10% (1.0% in annual average terms) over the same period.

References

External links

• Warringah Online (Council website)
• 2001 Census Information