City of Perth
The City of Perth is a local government area and body, within the Perth metropolitan area, which is the capital of Western Australia. The local government is commonly known as Perth City Council. The City covers the Perth city centre and surrounding suburbs. The City covers an area of and had an estimated population of 21,092 as at 30 June 2015. On 1 July 2016 the City expanded, absorbing 1,247 residents from the City of Subiaco. The Perth City Council was suspended on 2 March 2018, pending the establishment of a public inquiry into the council, by Local Government Minister David Templeman. The council has been administered by three Commissioners since then.
History
In 1829, Captain James Stirling founded Perth as part of the Swan River Colony. The City of Perth was officially declared on 23 September 1856.In 1915, it absorbed the Municipality of North Perth and the Municipality of Leederville, and on 1 November 1917, the Municipality of Victoria Park was also absorbed. A year later, it absorbed territory from Perth Road Board including the Belmont Park Racecourse.
In 1925, a new City of Perth Act gave the City new powers over building control and regulation, including the power to declare new streets.
By 1962, the council had 27 members representing nine wards.
On 1 July 1994, following the passage of the City of Perth Restructuring Act , the City of Perth was broken up and a significantly reduced City of Perth constituted. The Town of Victoria Park, Town of Cambridge and Town of Vincent were created from the former boundaries of the City. The first elections were held on 6 May 1995, with 8 councillors and a mayor.
The City of Perth Act 2016 defined Perth as the capital of Western Australia, and expanded the City's boundaries to include a number of landmarks including Kings Park, University of Western Australia, Perth Children's Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre. The boundary changes took effect on 1 July 2016. Approximately 1,247 residents from Nedlands and Subiaco in the City of Subiaco were transferred to the City of Perth, and the City expanded to a total area of.
Council
Since 2 March 2018, the Council has been managed by a panel of three Commissioners appointed by the Government of Western Australia, pending the results of an inquiry into the activities of the suspended council. The elected City of Perth comprises eight Councillors elected proportionally, with no divisions into wards. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. Elections are held every two years on the third Saturday in October, with four councillors elected for a four-year term at each election. The Lord Mayor is directly-elected for a four-year term, with the Deputy Lord Mayor elected for one year by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council.Council composition (currently suspended)
The Lord Mayor was elected in October 2015 and, pending the results of the public inquiry, the current term expired in October 2019. The most recent councillor elections were held in October 2015, for terms ending in October 2019, and in October 2017, for terms ending in October 2021, and the makeup of the currently suspended council, in order of election and term, is as follows:Suburbs
- Perth*
- Crawley*
- East Perth*
- Nedlands**
- Northbridge
- Subiaco**
- West Perth*
Population
| Year | Population |
| 1911 | 35,767 |
| 1921 | 64,166 |
| 1933 | 82,290 |
| 1947 | 98,890 |
| 1954 | 97,350 |
| 1961 | 94,508 |
| 1966 | 96,223 |
| 1971 | 97,546 |
| 1976 | 87,598 |
| 1981 | 79,398 |
| 1986 | 79,409 |
| 1991 | 79,422 |
| 1996 | 8,488 |
| 2001 | 11,180 |
| 2006 | 11,573 |
| 2011 | 16,714 |
| 2016 | 21,797 |
The 1991 population has been broken down by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as follows: Perth 7,604; Cambridge 22,740; Victoria Park 24,313; Vincent 24,765.
The official population of the City of Perth as of 30 June 2015 is 21,092.
Twin towns and sister cities
The City of Perth is twinned with:
|  San Diego, USA, 1987 Vasto, Italy, 1989 Nanjing, China, 1998 Taipei, Taiwan, 1999 |  Perth, Scotland, 2006 Seocho District, South Korea, 2008 Chengdu, China, 2010 |
Flag and Coat of arms
The official Flag of Perth represents the city of Perth, Western Australia. It features the Saint George's Cross overlaid with the Coat of arms of Perth in the centre. Though the designer of the flag is unknown, it is thought to have been designed prior to 1872. In the 1920s, the black swan was removed from the top left quadrant of the flag and replaced with the coat of arms in the centre of the cross.The coat of arms of Perth were originally granted to the City of Perth on 2 December 1926. They were altered with the addition of part of the arms of Perth, Scotland in 1949.