City of Randwick

The City of Randwick is a local government area in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1859, Randwick is the second-oldest local government area in New South Wales, after the City of Sydney. It comprises an area of 36 km2 and as per the had a population of 134,252.

The mayor of the City of Randwick is Cr. Philipa Veitch, a member of the Greens party, who was first elected on 26 September 2023.

Suburbs and localities in the local government area
Suburbs and localities in the City of Randwick are: • Centennial Park (most is located in City of Sydney council)

• Chifley

• Clovelly (minor part located in Waverley Council)

• Coogee

• Coogee Beach

• Kensington

• Kingsford

• La Perouse

• Little Bay

• Malabar

• Maroubra

• Maroubra Junction

• Matraville (minor part located in Bayside Council)

• Pagewood (most is located in Bayside Council)

• Phillip Bay

• Port Botany

• Randwick

• South Coogee

• University of New South Wales

These localities are also serviced by Randwick Council: • The Spot

• Maroubra Beach

• Clovelly Beach

History
The name Randwick comes from the village of Randwick in Gloucestershire, England, birthplace of the district's first mayor Simeon Henry Pearce. The area was home to a few wealthy landowners and the poor residents of several shantytowns until the 1880s, when the coming of trams from Sydney brought extensive suburban development. This development continued steadily, with new tram lines (long since demolished) opening up most of the city for subdivision by the early 1900s. The New South Wales University of Technology opened at Kensington in 1949 on the site of Kensington Racecourse, eventually becoming the University of New South Wales.

A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the City of Randwick merge with the Waverley and Woollahra councils to form a new council with an area of 58 km2 and support a population of approximately 274,000. Following an independent review, in May 2016 the NSW Government sought to dismiss the council and force its amalgamation with Woollahra and Waverley councils. Woollahra Council instigated legal action claiming that there was procedural unfairness and that a KPMG report at the centre of merger proposals had been "misleading". The matter was heard before the NSW Court of Appeal who, in December 2016, unanimously dismissed Woollahra Council's appeal, finding no merit in its arguments that the proposed merger with Waverley and Randwick councils was invalid. In July 2017, the Berejiklian government decided to abandon the forced merger of the Woollahra, Waverley and Randwick local government areas, along with several other proposed forced mergers.

Demographics
At the, there were 140,660 people in the Randwick local government area, of these 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.5% of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the City of Randwick was 34 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 14.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 38.5% were married and 9.1% were either divorced or separated.

Population growth in the City of Randwick between the 2001 Census and the was 1.10%; and in the subsequent five years to the, population growth was 7.59%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Randwick local government area was lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Randwick was higher than the national average.

Current composition and election method
Randwick City Council is composed of fifteen councillors elected proportionally as five separate wards, each electing three councillors. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected for a two-year term, with the deputy mayor for one year, by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021, and the makeup of the council is as follows:

The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is:

Heritage listings
The City of Randwick has a number of heritage-listed sites, including those listed under the New South Wales Heritage Register:
 * Centennial Park, 3R Oxford Street: Centennial Park Reservoir
 * Centennial Park, 5R Oxford Street: Woollahra Reservoir
 * Coogee, 45-51 Beach Street: Cliffbrook
 * Coogee, Grant Reserve: McIver Women's Baths
 * Coogee, 4b Neptune Street: Wylie's Baths
 * Kensington, 85 Todman Avenue: Carthona (Kensington)
 * La Perouse, Bare Island Fort
 * La Perouse, 46 Adina Avenue: La Perouse Mission Church
 * La Perouse, 1-39 Bunnerong Road: Chinese Market Gardens (La Perouse)
 * Little Bay, 1430 Anzac Parade: Prince Henry Site
 * Malabar, 1250 Anzac Parade: Long Bay Correctional Centre
 * Malabar, Franklin Street: Malabar Headland
 * Randwick, Centennial Park, Moore Park, Queens Park
 * Randwick, 124 Alison Road: Randwick Post Office
 * Randwick, 162 Alison Road: Randwick Presbyterian Church
 * Randwick, 102-108 Avoca Street: St Jude's Church, Randwick
 * Randwick, 211-215 Avoca Street: Corana and Hygeia
 * Randwick, 128 Belmore Road: Sandgate (Randwick)
 * Randwick, 60 Bundock Lane: Electricity Substation No. 341
 * Randwick, 66 Frenchmans Road: Venice (Randwick)
 * Randwick, 17 Gilderthorpe Avenue: Hooper Cottage
 * Randwick, 16-18 Milford Street: Nugal Hall
 * Randwick, 2S Frances Street: Electricity Substation No. 349
 * Randwick, 43 St Marks Road: Rathven (Randwick)
 * Randwick, 43 St Pauls Street: Ritz Cinema, Sydney
 * Randwick, 18-20 Stanley Street: Emanuel School, Australia
 * Randwick, 26-42 The Avenue: Avonmore Terrace
 * Randwick, 29-39 Young Street: Big Stable Newmarket

Future
The new Kensington to Kingsford Planning Strategy by the City of Randwick will include 8 new plazas, more than a doubling of public space, and wider footpaths along the Anzac Parade. The general height controls along the Parade will increase to 31 metres, while the key intersections with Todman Avenue Strachan Street, and Nine-ways roundabout will be 57–60 metres. It will also require 5% affordable housing of new residential developments and a requirement that active street frontages are used for commercial activities.