City of Subiaco

This article is about a local government area. For the suburb, see Subiaco, Western Australia.

The City of Subiaco is a local government area in Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 7 km² in inner western metropolitan Perth and lies about 3 km west of the Perth CBD. The City includes the historically working-class suburb of Subiaco centred around Rokeby Road. Since the 1990s the area has been extensively redeveloped and gentrified.

City of Subiaco Western Australia
The Subiaco council chambers in December 2021
The City of Subiaco within the Perth Metropolitan Area
Population	17,267 (LGA 2021)^[1]
• Density	2,340/km^2 (6,100/sq mi)
Established	1896
Area	5.6 km^2 (2.2 sq mi)
Mayor	David McMullen
Council seat	Subiaco
Region	West Metropolitan Perth
State electorate(s)	Nedlands
Federal division(s)	Curtin
Website	City of Subiaco
LGAs around City of Subiaco: Cambridge Cambridge Vincent Nedlands City of Subiaco Perth Nedlands Kings Park Kings Park

History

A group of Benedictine monks settled in Subiaco in 1851. They called their monastery New Subiaco after the birthplace of the Benedictine Order – Subiaco, Italy.^[2] In 1881, the name Subiaco was adopted for a railway station near the monastery, and later for the cluster of houses and businesses that became the present Subiaco.^[2]

The Subiaco Progress Association was established in 1896. They lobbied for the formation of the Subiaco Road District, which was then created on 10 April 1896. The first chairman of the Subiaco Road Board was Charles Hart, who was Secretary of the Subiaco Progress Association. By the end of 1896, the population of the Subiaco Road District was above 2000, allowing the Road Board to apply to become a municipality. The government granted the request, and so the Municipality of Subiaco was gazetted on 26 March 1897.^{[3]: 18 [4]}

In 1899, a permanent building for the Municipal council was constructed, on a site next to the primary school.^[2]: 22 The block this building was on later became known as Civic Square, due to the congregation of civic services such as a post office and fire station.^[2]: 23 In 1909, the council moved to a newer and larger building, still in Civic Square.^[2]: 22

Around 1905, the Municipality was given 98 acres (40 ha) of endowment land to use, located north of the railway line and south of Salvado Road. The council held a competition for the design of a subdivision on the land. Architect George Temple Poole won the competition. The land then became an industrial area. The land was first leased in 1905, and factories were subsequently built on the land, including a timber and construction materials factory, and a foundry and ironworks.^[2]: 25

By 1906, 4500 street trees had been planted by the municipality, establishing Subiaco as one of Perth's leafiest suburbs. This was initiated by the inaugural Town Clerk and Engineer Alexander Rankin. Ken Spillman wrote in his book that Rankin has a "near-obsession with beautifying the municipality".^[2]: 22

Following World War I, the council and its residents entered into financial hardship. In November 1922, the council began construction on a World War I memorial clock tower. Despite initially being conceived as mostly community funded, the Subiaco council funded the majority of the memorial, after fundraising efforts did poorly. This made the financial situation at the council even worse. It was officially opened on 25 November 1923.^{[2]:  29–30}

In 1927, the Subiaco post office relocated from Civic Square to a larger building on the corner of Rokeby Road and Park Street. This led to the council establishing a library in the old post office.^[2]: 31

A referendum was held in 1935 on whether the Municipality of Subiaco should be amalgamated into the City of Perth, in line with the Greater Perth Movement which had seen similar amalgamations of the Leederville, North Perth and Victoria Park municipalities. The proposal was defeated with 73 percent voting against a merger.^[5][6]

By the late 1940s, the Municipality of Subiaco had reached a high enough population that it was eligible to become a city.^[3]: 41 Under the Municipal Corporations Act 1906, a municipality can become a city if its population is greater than 20,000, and its annual revenue is greater than £20,000.^[7][8] The municipality's population in 1952 was 20,100. Thus, on 8 February 1952, the City of Subiaco was gazetted.^{[3]: 41 [4]} In celebration of becoming a city, a parade was staged along Hay Street and Rokeby Road on 20 September 1952. It started at Kitchener Park and ended at the corner of Rokeby and Heytesbury roads. Thousands of people from Subiaco and across Perth attended; Mayor Joseph Abrahams said that it was "the greatest assembly of citizens Subiaco has seen".^{[3]: 42 [9][10]}

A new council building opened in 1968. The original, 1899 council building was demolished.^[2]: 49

On 1 September 1968, the Subiaco Library was made free to use. It was paid for by the council. The following year, the library joined the State Library of Western Australia's public library system.^[2]: 49

In 1975, the City of Subiaco had the first elected woman mayor in Western Australia, when Evelyn Helena Parker was elected mayor. She is also the second woman mayor in Australia, after Ella Stack, who was elected Lord Mayor of Darwin in the same year. She was honoured with the naming of the Evelyn H Parker Library in 1990.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Wards

The town is divided into 4 wards, each with three councillors. The mayor is directly elected.

• North Ward
• South Ward
• Central Ward
• East Ward

Mayor

Main article: List of mayors of Subiaco

The Mayor of Subiaco since October 2021 is David McMullen after former Mayor Penny Taylor chose not to recontest. McMullen defeated Julie Matheson, the founder of the Western Australia Party and long time councillor for the City of Subiaco.^[15][16]

Suburbs

The suburbs of the City of Subiaco with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census:^[17][18]

Suburb	Population	Area	Map
Daglish	1,551 (SAL 2021)^[19]	0.7 km^2 (0.27 sq mi)
Jolimont	1,479 (SAL 2021)^[20]	0.7 km^2 (0.27 sq mi)
Shenton Park *	4,638 (SAL 2021)^[21]	3.3 km^2 (1.3 sq mi)
Subiaco	9,940 (SAL 2021)^[22]	3.1 km^2 (1.2 sq mi)

* These localities are only partially contained within the LGA boundary.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1903 4,702 —     1911 8,926 +8.34% 1921 13,647 +4.34% 1933 16,809 +1.75% 1947 18,789 +0.80% 1954 17,642 −0.90% 1961 16,033 −1.36% 1966 16,621 +0.72% 1971 17,119 +0.59% 1976 15,271 −2.26%

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1981 14,139 −1.53% 1986 14,826 +0.95% 1991 14,971 +0.19% 1996 14,804 −0.22% 2001 15,189 +0.51% 2006 16,380 +1.52% 2011 17,574 +1.42% 2016 19,359 +1.95% 2021 17,267 −2.26%

• The City of Subiaco was reduced in size from 7 to 5.6 square kilometers from the 2016 to the 2021 census

Heritage-listed places

Main article: List of State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Subiaco

As of 2024^[update], 928 places are heritage-listed in the City of Subiaco,^[23] of which 30 are on the State Register of Heritage Places, among them the Subiaco Hotel, King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women and the Regal Theatre.^[24]

Sister cities

• Subiaco, Arkansas  ^[25]
• Subiaco, Italy  

See also

• AmpFest, a Youth and music festival overseen by the City of Subiaco

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Subiaco (Local Government Area)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
2. "History of Subiaco". City of Subiaco. from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
3. Bizzaca, Kristy (February 2014). (PDF). City of Subiaco. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
4. "Municipality Boundary Amendments Register" (PDF). Electoral Boundaries WA. 31 May 2003. p. 95. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
5. "Greater Perth: Subiaco Rejects Amalgamation". The West Australian. 28 November 1935.
6. "No-Merger Vote: Parties Bury Hatchet". The Daily News. Perth. 2 December 1935.
7. "City Status For Subiaco Next Month". The West Australian. 12 February 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 28 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Municipal Corporations Act 1906 (6 Edw. VII No. 32)". Australasian Legal Information Institute. p. 19. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
9. "Subiaco's Rise In Status". The West Australian. 6 September 1952. p. 12. Retrieved 28 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Subiaco Celebrates Its Elevation To City Status With A Procession". The West Australian. 22 September 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 28 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "Parker, Evelyn Helena (1907 - 1993)". The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth Century Australia. from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
12. "[Interview with Evelyn Helena Parker, Mayor of Subiaco] [sound recording] / [interviewed by Gail O'Hanlon]". State Library of Western Australia. 1992. from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
13. "Library overdue for celebration". Post Newspapers. 20 November 2021. from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021 – via PressReader.com.
14. "Mayor". The Canberra Times. 28 January 1975. p. 3. from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
15. Law, Peter (17 October 2021). "Council elections: Former Eagles coach Ron Alexander elected to City of Vincent council". The West Australian. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
16. de Kruijff, Peter (17 October 2021). "Local government elections: New era in Fremantle, a former Eagle rises and a recount in Perth". WAtoday. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
17. "SLIP Map". maps.slip.wa.gov.au. Landgate. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
18. "NationalMap". nationalmap.gov.au. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
19. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Daglish (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
20. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Jolimont (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
21. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Shenton Park (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
22. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Subiaco (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  
23. "City of Subiaco Heritage Places". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
24. "City of Subiaco State Register of Heritage Places". inherit.stateheritage.wa.gov.au. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
25. "Sister Partnerships by US State – Asia Matters for America".

External links

• Official website  

31°56′56″S 115°49′37″E / 31.949°S 115.827°E / -31.949; 115.827