List of mayors of Willoughby

This is a list of the Mayors of Willoughby City Council and its predecessors, a local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The official title of Mayors while holding office is: His/Her Worship The Mayor of Willoughby. First incorporated on 23 October 1865 as the Municipality of Willoughby, the council first met to elect six Aldermen and two Auditors on 16 December 1865, in the house of James Harris French and the first chairman, James William Bligh, was elected on 1 January 1866. With the enactment of the Municipalities Act, 1867 the title of chairman was changed to "Mayor".

Mayor of Willoughby
Incumbent Tanya Taylor since 21 December 2021
Style	His/Her Worship
Appointer	Willoughby City Council
Term length	One year (1865–1999) Four years (1999–date)
Inaugural holder	Ald. James William Bligh
Formation	1 January 1866
Deputy	Brendan Zhu
Website	www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au

The council area was proclaimed as the City of Willoughby on 17 November 1989. On 1 July 1993 following the enactment of a new Local Government Act, elected representatives of the council were to be known as 'Councillor', replacing the former title of 'Alderman'. Originally, nominated annually by the council, since 1999 the mayor has been popularly elected for a four-year term.

The first Willoughby Town Hall, on Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, 1907. Built in 1903, it was demolished in 1969 to make way for the new town hall and is now the site of The Concourse.

List of incumbents

Years	Chairman	Notes^[1]
1 January 1866 – 23 December 1867	James William Bligh
Years	Mayors	Notes
23 December 1867 – 18 February 1868	James William Bligh
18 February 1868 – 10 February 1869	David Broadfoot	^[2]
10 February 1869 – 8 February 1870	Henry Hocken Bligh	^[3]
8 February 1870 – 18 February 1871	Richard H. Harnett	^[4]
18 February 1871 – February 1872	Henry Hocken Bligh	^[5]
February 1872 – February 1873	James Harris French
February 1873 – 10 February 1874	Elijah Charlish
10 February 1874 – 13 February 1875	James Peter Best	^[6]
13 February 1875 – February 1876	James Forsyth Snr.	^[7]
February 1876 – 10 February 1881	Richard Seldon
10 February 1881 – 18 February 1882	Elijah Charlish	^[8]
18 February 1882 – 9 February 1883	Thomas Todd Forsyth	^[9]
9 February 1883 – 19 February 1884	James Peter Best	^[10]
19 February 1884 – 11 February 1887	Howard Fleming	^[11]
11 February 1887 – 7 March 1888	Thomas Todd Forsyth	^[12]
7 March 1888 – February 1890	Alexander Simpson	^[13]^[14]
February 1890 – 13 February 1891	William Thomas Muston
13 February 1891 – 11 February 1892	Henry Charles Catt	^[15]
11 February 1892 – February 1893	Robert Small	^[16]
February 1893 – 16 February 1894	Thomas Todd Forsyth	^[17]
16 February 1894 – 28 February 1895	Howard Fleming	^[18]
28 February 1895 – March 1896	Robert Small	^[19]
March 1896 – February 1898	Robert Henry Gordon	^[20]
February 1898 – February 1899	Claude Leplastrier	^[21]
February 1899 – 14 February 1901	George Francis Bailey
14 February 1901 – 13 February 1902	Frederick Smythe Willis	^[22]
13 February 1902 – 16 February 1905	Fitt Charles Petrie	^[23]^[24]
16 February 1905 – 14 February 1906	John Norbert Mason	^[25]
14 February 1906 – February 1908	William M. Cleland Jr.	^[26]
February 1908 – February 1910	George Francis Bailey
February 1910 – 6 February 1911	H. H. Robey	^[27]
6 February 1911 – February 1912	Robert Todd Forsyth	^[28]
February 1912 – February 1914	Clive N. Backhouse	^[29]
February 1914 – February 1915	William T. Dickson	^[30]
February 1915 – February 1919	Robert Todd Forsyth	^[17]
February 1919 – February 1920	Fitt Charles Petrie
February 1920 – December 1921	Robert Todd Forsyth	^[31]
December 1921 – December 1925	H. W. Clarke	^[32]^[33]
December 1926 – 12 December 1927	Robert Todd Forsyth	^[34]^[35]
12 December 1927 – 23 December 1930	Lancelot Bavin	^[36]^[37]^[38]
23 December 1930 – December 1932	Joseph Bales	^[39]^[40]
December 1932 – December 1934	Ernest Edward Alcorn	^[41]^[42]^[43]
December 1934 – December 1935	Herbert Parkinson Piper	^[44]
December 1935 – December 1936	Joseph Bales	^[45]
December 1936 – December 1937	Arnold Vivian Meldrum
December 1937 – December 1942	Joseph Bales	^[46]
December 1942 – December 1944	Henry Hastings Willis
December 1944 – 1947	Joseph Bales
1948–1949	W. M. Jack
1950–1952	A. R. Baldwin
1953–1954	Edgar Absalom Deans	^[47]
1955–1957	David John Cawthorne
1958–1959	N. R. McDowell
1960–1967	Laurie McGinty
1968 – September 1972	Bob Dougherty	^[48]
September 1972 – September 1974	David Warner	^[49]
September 1974 – September 1980	Noel Reidy	^[50]
September 1980 – September 1982	Jack Wilkinson Donnelly	^[51]
September 1982 – September 1991	Noel Reidy	^[50]
September 1991 – September 1993	Greg Bartels
September 1993 – September 1995	John Squire
September 1995 – September 1997	Eunice Raymond
September 1997 – 20 January 2014	Pat Reilly
16 April 2014 – 21 December 2021	Gail Giles-Gidney	^[52]^[53]
21 December 2021 – present	Tanya Taylor	^[54]

Notes and references

1. "Fact Sheet 14 - Mayors of Willoughby". Willoughby City Facts. Willoughby City Library. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
2. "MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 44. 21 February 1868. p. 510. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 36. 16 February 1869. p. 431. Retrieved 27 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "MUNICIPALITY OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 31. 11 February 1870. p. 337. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 39. 21 February 1871. p. 409. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 34. 13 February 1874. p. 466. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 35. 16 February 1875. p. 469. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 66. 18 February 1881. p. 997. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 79. 24 February 1882. p. 1074. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 56. 13 February 1883. p. 852. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 84. 22 February 1884. p. 1322. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 91. 15 February 1887. p. 1115. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "BOROUGH OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 169. 13 March 1888. p. 1865. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
14. "THE MAYOR OF NORTH WILLOUGHBY". Australian Town and Country Journal. Vol. XXXVII, no. 952. New South Wales. 7 April 1888. p. 28. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
15. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 113. 17 February 1891. p. 1393. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 107. 16 February 1892. p. 1340. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "FORSYTH Family". Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
18. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 108. 20 February 1894. p. 1183. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 156. 5 March 1895. p. 1535. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
20. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 187. 10 March 1896. p. 1764. Retrieved 20 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
21. Baird, Judy. "LEPLASTRIER, Claude (1860-1941)". Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
22. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 135. 19 February 1901. p. 1315. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
23. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 141. 18 February 1902. p. 1397. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
24. "ALDERMAN F. C. PETRIE". Truth. No. 1029. New South Wales. 9 April 1911. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
25. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 94. 21 February 1905. p. 1243. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
26. "BOROUGH OF WILLOUGHBY". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 90. 16 February 1906. p. 1175. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
27. "NEWLY-ELECTED MAYORS". Evening News. No. 13, 312. New South Wales. 8 February 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
28. ""SLIGHTED AND SHUNTED."". The Sun. No. 190. New South Wales. 7 February 1911. p. 3 (FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
29. "MR. C. N. BACKHOUSE". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 300. 17 September 1928. p. 13. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
30. "MAYORS AND PRESIDENTS ELECTED". The Land. Vol. 4, no. 160. New South Wales. 13 February 1914. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
31. "MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 25, 614. 9 February 1920. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
32. "WILLOUGHBY'S MAYOR". The Sun. No. 3774. New South Wales. 5 December 1922. p. 9 (FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
33. "SYSTEM OF MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 26, 196. 20 December 1921. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
34. "FIRST NEW MAYOR". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 27, 434. 8 December 1925. p. 10. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
35. "HIS ELEVENTH TERM". Evening News. No. 18552. New South Wales. 7 December 1926. p. 7. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
36. "SELECTION OF MAYORS". Evening News. No. 18868. New South Wales. 13 December 1927. p. 16. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
37. "RE- ELECTED". The Sun. No. 5639. New South Wales. 4 December 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
38. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 28, 693. New South Wales, Australia. 20 December 1929. p. 11. Retrieved 18 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
39. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 009. New South Wales, Australia. 25 December 1930. p. 1. Retrieved 18 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
40. "MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 008. 24 December 1930. p. 10. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
41. "MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 623. 13 December 1932. p. 10. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
42. "SOME OF THE NEWLY ELECTED MAYORS OF SYDNEY SUBURBAN MUNICIPALITIES". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 624. 14 December 1932. p. 16. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
43. "MR. E. E. ALCORN". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 933. 23 February 1937. p. 17. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
44. "MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 240. 4 December 1934. p. 15. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
45. "MAYORS FOR 1936". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 565. 19 December 1935. p. 16. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
46. "MAYORAL ELECTIONS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 179. 7 December 1937. p. 9. Retrieved 21 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
47. McKillop, Bob. "DEANS, Edgar Absalom (1903-1991)". Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
48. "DOUGHERTY, Robert ('Bob") Henry (1920–1980)". Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
49. "WARNER, David (1920–1982)". Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
50. "REIDY, Noel A. (1932- )". Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
51. "DONNELLY, John ('Jack') Wilkinson (?–2001)". Willoughby District Historical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
52. Herbertson, Lisa (17 April 2014). "Gail Giles-Gidney gets mayoral gig". North Shore Times. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
53. Metcalfe, Caryn (11 September 2017). "Willoughby Council election results: Gail Giles-Gidney remains mayor as new councillors elected". North Shore Times. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
54. "Tanya Taylor becomes the Mayor of the City of Willoughby" (Media Release). City of Willoughby. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2023.

External links

• City of Willoughby (Council website)