List of mayors of North Sydney


The Mayor of North Sydney is the head of North Sydney Council, which is the local government area in the lower north shore region of Sydney including North Sydney, Neutral Bay, Cremorne and Crows Nest in the State of New South Wales, Australia. From 1983 to 2017, the mayor was directly elected, replacing the previous system of being internally elected annually by the councillors, nominally serving a four-year term.
Following a referendum in 2017, the mayor is now elected for a two-year term by the elected councillors, effective from the 2021 elections, and the office is currently held by Zoë Baker. The mayor is assisted in their work by a deputy mayor, who is elected on an annual basis by the elected councillors.

History

The area now covered by North Sydney Council originally comprised three municipalities: the Borough of East St Leonards from 1860, the Borough of St Leonards from 1867 and the very small Borough of Victoria from 1871. These boroughs lasted until 29 July 1890 when they merged to form the "Borough of North Sydney", with the last mayor of St Leonards, Francis Punch, elected as the first mayor of North Sydney. Following a petition submitted by residents in 1892, on 11 April 1893 the Mossman Ward of North Sydney confirmed its separation as the Borough of Mosman, being proclaimed by Lieutenant-Governor Sir Frederick Darley. From 28 December 1906, following the passing of the Local Government Act, 1906, the council was renamed as the "Municipality of North Sydney". With the passing of the Local Government Act, 1993, the Municipality of North Sydney became North Sydney Council and aldermen were renamed councillors.
A referendum passed at the 2017 election also altered the system of electing the mayor. Starting from 2021, the mayor was elected by the councillors for a two-year term. As the wording of this referendum did not specify a reduction in the number of elected positions in the council, the Office of Local Government required Council to specify a ward structure of equal numbers to each ward: two wards of five councillors or five wards of two councillors. At its extraordinary meeting held on 20 January 2020, the Council voted to adopt a two-ward model on a north–south boundary with the northern ward named "St Leonards Ward" and the southern ward named "Cammeraygal Ward" from the next election. Although the fixed term of the council is four years, due to delays caused by amalgamations and the COVID-19 pandemic, the term from 9 September 2017 expired on 3 December 2021.

Mayors

1890−present

The following individuals has served as the mayor of North Sydney Council, or any predecessor titles:
No.PortraitMayorPartyTerm startTerm endTime in office
1Francis PunchProtectionist8 August 189010 February 1892
2Gerard PhillipsIndependent10 February 189217 May 1892
3Edward ClarkLabor24 May 189212 February 1893
4Alexander MacknightIndependent12 February 189315 February 1894
5Gerald Joseph BarryIndependent15 February 189411 February 1897
6John PurvesIndependent11 February 189710 February 1898
7Francis ClarkeProtectionist10 February 189811 February 1899
John PurvesIndependent14 February 189912 February 1901
8Thomas Wilson HodgsonIndependent12 February 190112 February 1903
9John CarterIndependent12 February 19039 February 1909
10Alfred MilsonIndependent9 February 19096 February 1912
11Charles Alexander WalkerIndependent6 February 19123 November 1913
Alfred MilsonIndependent11 November 19133 February 1914
12William AndersonIndependent3 February 191428 February 1918
Edward ClarkIndependent1 March 19181 March 1919
13Albert Ernest WhatmoreIndependent1 March 191913 December 1921
14Henry GreenIndependent13 December 192112 December 1922
15George Thomas ClarkeIndependent12 December 192211 December 1923
16Charles William WattIndependent11 December 19237 December 1926
17Hubert PrimroseIndependent7 December 192625 May 1932
Hubert PrimroseUnited Australia25 May 193220 December 1932
18Raymond Lee HodgsonIndependent20 December 19324 December 1934
19Robert Charles ForsythIndependent4 December 19343 December 1935
20David Blair HunterIndependent3 December 19357 December 1937
21James Street StantonIndependent7 December 193714 December 1939
22John CramerUnited Australia14 December 19396 December 1941
23George Augustus FowleIndependentDecember 19415 December 1945
24William Alan Gould Kesterton Independent5 December 1945December 1949
25Cecil Leatham Kyle IndependentDecember 1949December 1950
George Augustus FowleIndependentDecember 195015 December 1953
26William Henry BrothersIndependent15 December 1953December 1956
27John LincolnLiberalDecember 195619 December 1958
28Joseph Vincent BuglerIndependent19 December 1958December 1961
29Leslie Nuttal FlitcroftIndependentDecember 19611 December 1962
30Barton Donald HiggsIndependent5 December 19621 December 1964
31Royce Henry Herswell JeffreyIndependent1 December 196415 July 1966
32Innes Stanley HavilandIndependent26 July 196613 December 1968
Joseph Vincent BuglerIndependent13 December 196811 December 1969
33Michael John FitzpatrickIndependent11 December 196923 September 1971
34John WoodwardIndependent23 September 197127 September 1972
35Michael O'Dea Independent27 September 197221 September 1974
Innes Stanley HavilandIndependent25 September 197424 September 1975
36David Michael WyllieIndependent24 September 197522 September 1976
Michael John FitzpatrickIndependent22 September 197629 September 1977
37Willis Anthony SalierIndependent29 September 197720 September 1978
Michael John FitzpatrickIndependent20 September 197826 September 1979
38Carole BakerIndependent26 September 197920 September 1980
39Ted MackIndependent29 September 19804 October 1988
–Neil Hartley Independent4 October 198810 December 1988
40Roslyn CrichtonIndependent10 December 198814 September 1991
41Gerry NolanIndependent14 September 19919 September 1995
42Genia McCafferyIndependent9 September 19958 September 2012
43Jilly GibsonTeam Jilly8 September 20124 December 2021
44Zoë BakerReal Independents10 January 2022incumbent

Deputy mayors

The position of deputy mayor was made a permanent council position when the Local Government Act 1919 came into effect from 1 January 1920. However, the position was optional and was not filled until August 1926, when during a period of illness of the sitting mayor, Charles Watt, the Council resolved to fill the position permanently, and a former mayor, Edward Clark, was elected as the first deputy mayor.

1926−present

The following individuals have been elected as deputy mayor of North Sydney: