City of Yarra
The City of Yarra is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia in the inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It is the second smallest LGA in the state with an area of 19.5 square kilometres (7.5 sq mi), and in June 2018 it had a population of 98,521,[1] making it the second most densely populated LGA, with around 5,040 people per square kilometre.[1] The City of Yarra was formed in 1994 as a result of the amalgamation of the former Cities of Richmond, Collingwood, Fitzroy, and parts of Carlton North (previously part of the City of Melbourne) and parts of Alphington and Fairfield (previously part of the former City of Northcote).
| City of Yarra Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 98,521 (2018)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 5,052/km2 (13,090/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1994 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 19.5 km2 (7.5 sq mi)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Gabrielle de Vietri (Greens) | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Richmond | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | |||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Website | City of Yarra | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
The administrative centre of the City of Yarra is the old Richmond Town Hall in Bridge Road, Richmond. The Collingwood Town Hall in Hoddle Street, Abbotsford is also still used by the council as secondary offices and as a service centre, and the Fitzroy Town Hall in Napier Street, Fitzroy is used for the local library and for use as a community space. Some council committees also meet at the Fitzroy and Collingwood Town Halls.
The city is culturally and socially diverse. The 2016 Australian Census found that 38.8% of residents were born outside Australia, with the largest numbers being born in England, New Zealand, Vietnam, China and Greece.
The suburbs of the City of Yarra were established in the mid-to-late 19th century and retain a Victorian appearance. The majority of housing in the city is made up of Victorian cottages or terraces or apartments built from the 1960s.
The City of Yarra has some of Melbourne's best shopping streets. These include Bridge Road and Swan and Victoria Streets in Richmond, Brunswick and Gertrude streets in Fitzroy and Smith Street in Collingwood.
Yarra Council CEO is Vijaya Vaidyanath since July 2012.[2]
Suburbs within the City of Yarra
- Abbotsford
- Alphington (shared with the City of Darebin)
- Burnley
- Carlton North (shared with the City of Melbourne)
- Clifton Hill
- Collingwood
- Cremorne
- Fairfield (shared with the City of Darebin)
- Fitzroy
- Fitzroy North (shared with the City of Moreland)
- Princes Hill
- Richmond
Australia Day
In August 2017, the City of Yarra Council voted unanimously at a town hall meeting to cancel annual Australia Day events, including citizenship ceremonies and instead hold a culturally sensitive event "marking the loss of Indigenous culture".[3] The council also voted to begin lobbying the federal government to change the date of Australia's national day and to use council publications and media to campaign in favour of changing the date. Then Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, accused the council of "using a day that should unite Australians to divide Australians".[3] The City of Darebin later followed suit.[4]
Council
Yarra City Council is composed of nine councillors elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing three councillors. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected annually in November by a special meeting of the full council. The most recent local government election was held in October 2020.[5]
Yarra City Council | |
|---|---|
| Leadership | |
Mayor | Gabrielle de Vietri |
Deputy Mayor | Claudia Nguyen |
| Structure | |
 | |
Council political groups | Greens (5) Independent Socialist (2) Independent (2) |
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Greens | 5 | |
| Independent Socialist | 2 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Total | 9 | |
The current Council, elected in 2020, in order of election by ward, is:
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Langridge[5] | Stephen Jolly | Independent Socialist[6] | ||
| Anab Mohamud | Greens | |||
| Gabrielle de Vietri | Greens | Mayor | ||
| Melba[5] | Edward Crossland | Greens | ||
| Claudia Nguyen | Independent | Deputy Mayor | ||
| Herschel Landes | Independent | |||
| Nicholls[5] | Bridgid O'Brien | Independent Socialist[6] | ||
| Sophie Wade | Greens | |||
| Amanda Stone | Greens | |||
Past Yarra councillors
4 Wards (1996–2004)
| Ward | 1996–1999 | 1999–2002 | 2002–2004 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholson (2 councillors) | John Phillips (Labor) Ray Thomas (Labor) | John Phillips (Labor) 1999–2002 Ray Thomas (Labor) 1999–2001 Gurm Sekhon (Greens) 2001–2002 | Gurm Sekhon (Greens) Jackie Fristacky (Independent) |
| MacKillop (2 councillors) | Steve Watson (Labor) Linda Hoskins (Labor) | Steve Watson (Labor) Linda Hoskins (Labor) | Greg Barber (Greens) Deborah Di Natale (Greens) |
| Merri (1 councillor) | Robyn Williams (Labor) | Robyn Williams (Labor) | Jenny Farrar (Greens) |
| Carringbush (2 councillors) | John Sawyer (Labor) Li Hiam Lai (Labor) | Li Hiam Lai (Labor) Sue Corby (Labor) | Li Hiam Lai (Labor) Sue Corby (Labor) |
| Docker (2 councillors) | Marion Macleod (Independent) James Martakis (Independent) | Kay Meadows (Labor) Fiona Harman (Labor) | Judy Morton (Labor-aligned Ind) Kay Meadows (Labor) |
3 Wards (2004–present)
| Ward | 2004–2008 | 2008–2012 | 2012–2016 | 2016–2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicholls (3 councillors) | Kathleen Maltzahn (Greens) Jackie Fristacky (Independent) Paul D'Agostino (Labor) | Sam Gaylard (Greens) Jane Garrett (Labor) Jackie Fristacky (Independent) |
Sam Gaylard (Greens) Roberto Colanzi (Labor) Jackie Fristacky (Independent) |
Mike McEvoy (Greens) Misha Coleman (Greens) Jackie Fristacky (Independent) |
| Langridge (3 councillors) | Jenny Farrar (Greens) Annabel Barbara (Labor) / Geoff Barbour (Labor) Stephen Jolly (Socialist) | Stephen Jolly (Socialist) Amanda Stone (Greens) Geoff Barbour (Labor) |
Stephen Jolly (Socialist) Amanda Stone (Greens) Geoff Barbour (Labor) |
Stephen Jolly (Socialist) Amanda Stone (Greens) Danae Bosler (Labor) |
| Melba (3 councillors) | Kay Meadows (Labor) Judy Morton (Labor-aligned Ind) Gurm Sekhon (Greens) | Josh Funder (Labor) Allison Clarke (Greens) Dale Smedley (Independent) |
Simon Huggins (Labor) Misha Coleman (Greens) Phillip Vlahogiannis (Independent) |
James Searle (Greens) Mi-Lin Chen Yi Mei (Labor) Daniel Nguyen (Independent) |
Economy
The City of Yarra has a high concentration of fashion, technology, and media businesses. Companies located in the City of Yarra include:
- Aesop has its global headquarters on Smith Street, Fitzroy.[7]
- Carsales.com has its head office located on Punt Road, Richmond.[8]
- Computershare, one of the largest stock exchange technology and registrar services business in the world is located on Johnston Street Abbotsford.[9][10]
- Country Road, an upscale Australia clothing and homewares manufacturer and retailer is headquartered on Church Street, Richmond[11]
- Epworth the not-for-profit private health care group, employ 1,800 staff at their head office, and largest hospital, on Bridge Road.[12]
- GlaxoSmithKline operates offices of its pharmaceutical division on Johnston Street, Abbotsford.[13]
- Just Group and its brands Just Jeans, Jay Jays, Jacqui E, Portmans, Dotti, Peter Alexander, and Smiggle are headquartered on Church Street, Richmond[14]
- Madman Entertainment has its head office in the Richmond suburb and in the Melba Ward in Yarra.[15][16]
- Pacific Star Network Limited, an ASX-listed radio broadcaster best known for SEN 1116, is based on Swan Street, Richmond.[17]
- REA Group which includes realestate.com.au has its head office located on Church Street, Richmond.[18]
- Schwartz Publishing publisher of The Monthly, Quarterly Essay and the book imprint Black Inc is located on Langridge Street, Collingwood.[19][20][21]
- SitePoint, a global technology publisher and its website subsidiaries 99designs.com, Flippa.com, Learnable.com and Wave Digital are based on Cambridge Street and Wellingston Street, Collingwood.[22][23][24]
References
- "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
- "New Board Members Appointed". Procurement Australasia Ltd. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- "City of Yarra council's 'attack on Australia Day' angers Malcolm Turnbull". ABC News. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
- Clure, Elias (21 August 2017). "Melbourne's City of Darebin council decides to dump Australia Day ceremonies". ABC News. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- "Yarra City Council election results 2020". Victorian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- Eddie, Rachel (6 November 2020). "Australia's first Greens-dominated council elected in Yarra". The Age. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
- About Us – Aesop." Aesop (skin care). Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Help Centre – carsales.com.au." Carsales.com.au. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Corporate Directory – ComputerShare Australia Archived 21 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Computershare. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "About Us – ComputerShare Australia" Computershare. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Information – Country Road Archived 10 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Country Road. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Epworth Richmond." Epworth Hospital. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- "Our Facilities". GlaxoSmithKline.
- "Contact – Just Group Archived 17 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine." Just Group. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Contact Information." Madman Entertainment. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- "Map of the Ward Boundaries Archived 2 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine." City of Yarra. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
- "Contact Us – Pacific Star Network Limited." Pacific Star Network Limited. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Open State: REA Group HQ". Universe. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- "Contact – The Monthly." The Monthly. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "About Us – Quarterly Essay." Quarterly Essay. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Contact – Black Inc Books." Black Inc. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "About Us – SitePoint Pty Ltd." SitePoint. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "Contact Us – SitePoint Pty Ltd." SitePoint. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "About Us – 99designs." 99designs.com. Retrieved 14 April 2013.