1961: The Centenary of Local Government in Parramatta

On the 25th November, 1961, a reported crowd of 150,000 people lined Parramatta’s streets on a rainy Saturday to watch an hour long procession – this event would be featured on the front page of the Cumberland Argus the following Wednesday. The procession was held to launch a week of festivities to mark the City’s Centenary of Local Government.

The City of Parramatta Council Archives holds a set of records, PRS89 City of Parramatta Centenary of Local Government: 25 Nov - 2 Dec 1961, that comprises items such as programmes, correspondence, invitations and a visitor’s book for events held across the centenary week. Join us as we look at some of the records in this series to see how 100 years of local government was commemorated in Parramatta.

The Opening of Parramatta’s 1961 Centenary Celebrations

The centenary celebrations were organised by Mr. Robin Hepher, the Council’s Celebrations Co-Ordinator, and his staff. They worked to arrange a mass of “exhibitions, entertainments and sporting events” into a programme for the centenary week.

For the opening procession, the Council attained formal police approval for the route covering approximately 3 kilometres of Parramatta’s streets. The New South Wales Mounted Police and the Police Band were to lead the procession. Along with the Parramatta Chamber of Commerce, the Council worked with various community organisations to arrange floats for the procession.

There are several audiovisual recordings of this event within our Council Archives collection. The clips below show an excerpt of the opening of the celebrations and some of the floats from the parade:

16mm Colour Film - Parramatta City Council Centenary of Local Government Celebrations. City of Parramatta Archives: PRS77/008.

This excerpt shows the official opening of the celebrations by P.D Hills, Minister for Local Government and Highways accompanied by Mayor Alfred R.C Thomas, shots of Town Hall decorated for 100 year anniversary and Miss Australia 1961 – Tania Verstak in the procession.

16mm Colour Film - Parramatta City Council Centenary of Local Government Celebrations. City of Parramatta Archives: PRS77/006.

This record shows part of the procession down Church Street featuring plant equipment, bicycles, a Cobb and Co coach, surf life savers, a Chinese dragon and an amateur swimming team.

The Centenary Week

One of the items held within PRS89 is the programme for the Centenary of Local Government:

The programme contains a list of 8 days’ worth of activities such as quiz sessions, musical comedies, bowling festivals, an open air film show, stock car racing, swimming carnivals, a carnival dance at the Rivoli, a fireworks display and even a cricket match between the Chambers of Commerce and the City Council. A copy of the event times appears in the Cumberland Argus.

A series of competitions were held in the lead up to the centenary, including a literary contest, a centenary art contest, an essay contest, a Parramatta Chamber of Commerce shop-window dressing contest and a gardens contest. Awards were presented to the eldest citizen on the voters roll as of November 27th, and to the first baby born in the Parramatta area on November 27th.

The centenary week was host to the opening of a photographic exhibition in the Murray Brothers Penthouse and a Parramatta and District Historical Society Exhibition held in St. John’s Parish Hall:

The Council of the City of Parramatta held a Special Centenary Meeting on the 27th November. The council minutes total four pages, and include details such as a message of loyalty to the Queen, the unfurling and dedication of the City Flag, the names of the winners of various contests, and a mayoral minute, an excerpt of which is included on the third page below:

The minutes include a copy of the 1861 Proclamation, and a list of the mayors of the city between 1861 and 1961.

A centenary dinner was held in the Town Hall on the 29th November. Pictured is the centre of the dinner programme:

City of Parramatta Council - 1961

In 1961, the Council of the City of Parramatta functioned under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1919. The Local Government Act introduced a system of councils and city councils, with areas divided into wards for elections. The act was amended many times between its inception and 1961. In 1961, another amendment was passed to include the ability for councils to have discretionary power to elect their chairmen for a term of three years by popular vote.

The programme for the Centenary of Local Government provides information about the City of Parramatta Council in the 1960s:

This record indicates that in 1961, Parramatta consisted of an area of 20½ square miles (approximately 33 kilometres) and the local government area included the suburbs of Parramatta, Granville, Clyde, Harris Park, North Parramatta, East Parramatta, Ermington, Rydalmere, Dundas, Carlingford, Telopea and portions of Epping, Guildford, Eastwood and Merrylands. 

The Council employed 327 staff and controlled the City Hall Parramatta and Town Halls in Granville, Dundas and Rydalmere. Parramatta held 1,023 acres of parks, as well as 6 bowling clubs, two tennis courts, two golf clubs and a croquet lawn in Duncan Park, Epping. Public works undertaken included 192 miles and 8 chains of kerbing and guttering, and 319 miles and 58 chains of footpaths formed and constructed.

Baby health centres were established in O’Connell Street Parramatta, Diamond Avenue Granville, Park Road Rydalmere, Spurway Street Ermington and Bridge Street Epping.  The Council had established a main library and children’s library in Parramatta, the Granville Branch Library and the Dundas Children’s Library. In 1960, there were 197,800 loans made and 14,832 registered borrowers.

While the records referenced in this article are listed on our collection database, not all of our collection has been digitised. If you would like to make an appointment to view original records from our Archives at the Research Library, you can contact us here.

Paige Davis, Archivist, City of Parramatta, 2021

Select Bibliography

Larcombe, F.A. 1978. “The Advancement of Local Government in New South Wales – 1906 to the Present.” The Academy Press, Brisbane.