City of Fitzroy
{{About|a former local government area|the suburb|Fitzroy, Victoria}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| type = lga
| name = City of Fitzroy
| state = vic
| region = Inner Melbourne
| area = 3.73
| est = 1858
| seat = Fitzroy
| pop = 17,600
| pop_year = 1992
| pop_footnotes = {{cite book|title=Victorian Year Book|author=Australian Bureau of Statistics, Victoria Office|year=1994|page=49|issn= 0067-1223}}
| logo = 215px
| image = Old lga Fitzroy.png
| image2 = Fitzroy Town Hall 01a.jpg
| caption = Location in Melbourne (shown in black)
| caption2 = Fitzroy Town Hall
| county = Bourke
| near-nw = Brunswick
| near-n = Brunswick
| near-ne = Northcote
| near-w = Melbourne
| near-e = Collingwood
| near-sw = Melbourne
| near-s = Melbourne
| near-se = Melbourne
| _noautocat = yes
}}
The City of Fitzroy was a local government area about {{convert|2|km|mi|0}} northeast of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of {{convert|3.73|km2|sqmi|2}}, making it the smallest municipality by land area in Victoria, and existed from 1858, until 1994.
History
In 1850, the area was made the Fitzroy Ward of the City of Melbourne, and on 10 September 1858, the ward was severed and Fitzroy was incorporated as a municipality. It became a borough on 1 October 1865, a town on 3 December 1870, and a city on 1 February 1878.{{cite book|title=Victorian Municipal Directory|year=1992|publisher=Arnall & Jackson|location=Brunswick|pages=371–372}} Accessed at State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Reading Room. Many public buildings were erected at this time, with the free public library, one of the first in Melbourne, being erected in 1877, and a courthouse in 1888.{{cite web|url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/fitzroy.html|title=Australian Places - Fitzroy|author=Monash University|author-link=Monash University|year=1999|accessdate=2008-01-04|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305192653/http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/fitzroy.html|archivedate=2005-03-05}}
During the mid-1920s, there was a strong move to have the Fitzroy municipality amalgamate with the City of Melbourne. Three referendums on the matter were held in the space of 18 months: on 24 June and 20 August 1926, and 24 November 1927.{{cite news|title=Fitzroy Amalgamation: Referendum To-morrow|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3893331|accessdate=2015-12-14|work=The Argus|date=1927-11-23}} In each case, ratepayers voted in favour of amalgamation,{{cite news|title=Fitzroy and the City: Amalgamation Favoured|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3893781|accessdate=2015-12-14|work=The Argus|date=1927-11-25}} however a determined rearguard action by councillors opposed to the merger meant that no change occurred.
On 22 June 1994, the City of Fitzroy was abolished, and along with the Cities of Collingwood and Richmond, and parts of Fairfield and Alphington from the City of Northcote, was merged into the newly created City of Yarra.{{cite book|url=http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/76E601D6DB55E88ACA25722500049195/$File/12570_1994-95.pdf|title=Victorian local government amalgamations 1994-1995: Changes to the Australian Standard Geographical Classification|author=Australian Bureau of Statistics|author-link=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=1 August 1995|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|page=12|isbn=0-642-23117-6|accessdate=2007-12-16}}
Council meetings were held at the Fitzroy Town Hall, in Napier Street, Fitzroy. The hall is still used for this purpose and as a municipal library for the City of Yarra.
Mayors
{{main|List of Chairmen and Mayors of Fitzroy}}
Wards
Fitzroy was historically divided into five wards, each electing three councillors. However, on 25 November 1986, the wards were reduced from five to three:
- North Ward
- Clifton Ward
- South Ward
Suburbs
- Fitzroy*
- Fitzroy North
- Carlton North (shared with the City of Melbourne)
* Council seat.
Population
| class="wikitable" | |
| Year
! Population | |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 11,807 |
| 1881 | 23,118 |
| 1921 | 34,938 |
| 1954 | 30,312 |
| 1958 | 29,300* |
| 1961 | 29,399 |
| 1966 | 27,213 |
| 1971 | 25,708 |
| 1976 | 20,451 |
| 1981 | 19,112 |
| 1986 | 18,163 |
| 1991 | 17,885 |
* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/fitzroy Victorian Places - Fitzroy]
{{Melbourne former LGAs}}
{{Coord|-37.801|144.979|format=dms|region:AU-VIC_type:adm2nd|display=title}}