Enfield
Municipal Council operated between 1889 and 1949, when the Municipality was
split and divided between Burwood and Strathfield Councils.
The west ward of Enfield Council is currently located within Strathfield
Municipality and includes the suburbs of Enfield [part], Strathfield South,
Belfield [part] and Greenacre [part].
In
the 1877 Grenville Postal Guide only 148 householders were recorded in Enfield,
primarily farmers, market gardeners, tanners, woodcutters, dairymen, potters,
fencers, carpenters and labourers.
However, by 1888, the population of Enfield had reached 1500 and local
residents submitted a petition to the NSW Governor requesting the formation of a
municipality. Enfield Municipal Council was incorporated on January 22 1889 and
elections were held on March 23 1889.
The
boundaries of Enfield Council, according to the 1890 Sands Sydney Directory,
were described as ‘From the corner of Greenhill Street and Liverpool road;
thence southerly along the west side of Greenhill Street to the George’s River
road; thence westerly along the north side of the George’s River road to the
Burwood road; thence southerly along the west side of Burwood road to Cook’s
river; thence along the north bank of Cook’s river to the bridge on the
Liverpool road to the point of commencement of Greenhill street’. The first
Aldermen elected to Enfield Council were: Thomas Hodson, Hugh Cadden, Frederick
H. Lipscomb, Herman H. Groth, Thomas S. Richardson, George Westbrook, James Eve,
William Foy and Luke West. The
first Mayor of Enfield was James Eve and the Council Clerk Edward A. Pyman.
Enfield
Council rented premises in Tennyson Parade at first, moving to a new Town Hall
on the corner of Liverpool Road and The Parade in 1893, remaining there until
new Council Chambers were built on the corner of Liverpool Rd and Coronation
Parade in 1930 [see photo]. The
former Enfield Council Chambers are heritage listed on Strathfield Council’s
Local Environment Plan. The Enfield
War Memorial is located at the front of the Chambers and was
opened in 1924.
In 1947, the NSW Government legislated the ‘Greater Sydney Plan’, which advocated the amalgamation and reduction of 67 shires and municipalities in the County of Cumberland to 39. Many small Councils were amalgamated at this time such as Rookwood with Auburn Council, Mascot with Botany Council, Vaucluse with Woollahra Council and Homebush with Strathfield Council. Enfield Municipality was split with the west ward of Enfield Council joining Strathfield Municipality and the central and east wards joining Burwood Municipality. The last meeting of Enfield Council was held in December 1948 and on 1 January 1949 the western ward of Enfield formally amalgamated with Strathfield Council.
The
Municipal records of all wards of Enfield Council are held at Strathfield
Council. Local Government, Local History: A guide to NSW Local Government
Minute Books and Rate Records [1990] is a compilation of records held by
local government. In this guide,
Strathfield Council stated that the following Enfield Council records are held:
-
Minutes of Committees 1889-1943 [said to include minutes of General Council Meetings]
-
Rate Books 1889-1943 [Not known if complete]
-
Valuation Books 1908-1910, 1917-1926, 1928, 1930-32, 1934, 1943, 1946
-
Rate Notices 1936-1947
Author and Copyright information
This article was written by Cathy Jones, 2004
© Cathy Jones 2004. This article is subject to copyright and may not be
reproduced without permission of the author.
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