City of Boroondara

This area was originally occupied by the Wurundjeri Indigenous Australians of the Kulin nation.^[6][7]

In 1837, John Gardiner (after whom Gardiners Creek was named) and his family were the first Europeans to settle in the area.^[7] Robert Hoddle surveyed the area in 1837 and declared it the "Parish of Boroondara". The area was densely wooded, so he took a word from the Woiwurrung language (as spoken by the Wurundjeri), meaning "where the ground is thickly shaded".^[8]

The first Local Government body was the Boroondara District Road Board, formed on 11 July 1854 and incorporating the areas which were to become the City of Hawthorn, City of Kew and City of Camberwell. Hawthorn and Kew were created as separate municipalities in 1860 and the remaining area of the Road Board became the Shire of Boroondara on 17 November 1871, which later became the City of Camberwell.^[9]

In the 1990s, the City of Hawthorn, the City of Kew and the western part of the City of Camberwell were originally planned to be amalgamated to form the "City of Riversdale".^[10] The three municipalities, including the whole of the City of Camberwell, were eventually amalgamated in June 1994 to create the City of Boroondara.^[4] Existing councillors from the three municipalities were replaced initially by three commissioners - David Glanville (chair), David Thomas and Marion Macleod.^[11] The commissioners were in turn replaced by ten councillors following elections in 1996.^[12]

Boroondara City Council is the third tier of government and deals with services such as waste and recycling collection, leisure centres, building and planning permits and approvals, roads, drainage, health services, youth services, children's services, food safety, parks and gardens, library services, pets, street parking permits and the collection of rates and charges.^[13]

Current composition and election method

Boroondara City Council is composed of eleven councillors, each representing one of eleven wards. On Thursday 9 July 2020, the Minister for Local Government formally announced a change to Boroondara's electoral structure. This change follows a review by the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), which was completed in June 2019. This change included an increase in ward and councillor numbers from 10 to 11. The new 11th ward is named Riversdale Ward, and is located to the south-west where it shares a boundary with Glenferrie, Junction and Gardiner Wards. This addition resulted in a number of boundary changes across the municipality.^[14]

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to disrupt the local elections, with some arguing that the inability to campaign in-person would benefit incumbents with name-recognition, or resource rich candidates who could invest in letter box campaigns with leaflets.^[15] A decision was made, on public health grounds, that it was safe to proceed with the elections and voters were only able to return their ballots via postal voting.^[16][17]

All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office, with the most recent election being held in October 2024.^[18][19] Councillors were sworn in at a Special Meeting of Council on Monday 11 November 2024. On the 17th of November 2025, Wes Gault was elected Mayor, and Shima Ibuki his Deputy, by the Council.^[20]

More information Party, Councillors ...

Party		Councillors
	Independent	8
	Ind. Liberal	1
	Greens	2
Total		11

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More information Ward, Party ...

Ward[21]		Party	Name	Years as Councillor	Roles
Bellevue		Independent	Michael Nolan	2024-present
Cotham		Liberal	Felicity Sinfield	2012-present
Gardiner		Independent	Victor Franco	2020-present	Chair of the Urban Planning Delegated Committee[1]
Glenferrie		Greens	Wes Gault[22]	2020-present	Mayor[1]
Junction		Independent	Mal Osborne-Smith	2024-present
Lynden		Independent	Lisa Hollingsworth	2016-present
Maling		Independent	Shima Ibuki	2024-present	Deputy Mayor[1]
Maranoa		Independent	Chris Pattas	1996-2004, 2024-present
Riversdale		Independent	Rob Baillieu	2024-present	Chair of the Services Delegated Committee[1]
Solway		Greens	John Friend-Pereira[23]	2024-present
Studley		Independent	Sophie Torney	2024-present

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At the 2021 census, the city had a population of 167,900,^[3] down from 167,231 in the 2016 census.^[29]

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

The council is responsible for the management of stormwater collection and removal. The water supply authority is Yarra Valley Water.

The City of Boroondara has five libraries at Camberwell, Ashburton, Balwyn, Kew and Hawthorn, and in 2018 opened a 'library lounge' at the Greythorn Community Hub in Balwyn North.^[30][31]

In 2023, Boroondara implemented a "community heritage nomination process",^[33] allowing residents to lodge nominations for properties to be heritage listed, limiting the ability for the owners of those properties to renovate or demolish their property. The community nominated eight properties to heritage list, seven of which were listed without the consent of the owner.^[34] This was a highly controversial change, and some residents were concerned that the process would be weaponised by community members to heritage list properties owned by people in ethnic minorities. The council rejected a proposal to pause the process until the next council election.

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