The City of Camberwell was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

about east of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, the state capital of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1914 until 1994.

History

Camberwell was first incorporated as the Boroondara Road District on 11 July 1864, which became the Shire of Boroondara on 17 November 1871. At this point, Camberwell consisted of two small settlements; one near the Camberwell Inn and the other to the east, at

Hartwell Hartwell may refer to: Places * Hartwell, Victoria, a neighbourhood of Camberwell in Melbourne, Australia ** Hartwell railway station England * Hartwell, Buckinghamshire * Hartwell, Northamptonshire, a village * Hartwell, Staffordshire, a lo ...

. Much of the shire's area was under cultivation, with a few sites for fine residences at the northern end. The shire was renamed to the Shire of Camberwell and Boroondara on 16 May 1905. It became a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

on 28 April 1905, a town on 15 May 1906, and was proclaimed a city on 20 April 1914. Accessed at

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

, La Trobe Reading Room. The council's pathway to amalgamation was different from most. Following a redevelopment deal for land behind the

Burke Road Burke Road is a major north–south thoroughfare in Melbourne, Australia. It runs from Ivanhoe East to Caulfield East and through the major shopping district at Camberwell. It is aligned with the western boundary of Elgar's Special Survey, ...

shops, residents rebelled and at the 1988 council elections threw out four councillors who supported the deal replacing them with opponents. The council then backed out of the deal and had over $24 million damages awarded against it. Combined with an investigation which revealed serious governance breaches and other issues, all councillors were sacked and replaced with a commissioner on 22 June 1993. At the same time, a major reform of local government in Victoria was taking place, and the western part of the City was planned to be merged with the

City of Hawthorn The City of Hawthorn was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, on the southeast bank of the Yarra River. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1860 until 1994. History Hawthorn w ...

and

City of Kew The City of Kew was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, on the southeast bank of the Yarra River. It covered an area of and existed from 1860 until 1994. History Kew was first incorpo ...

to form the City of Riversdale, while the eastern part of the City was planned to be merged with the

City of Box Hill A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

to form the

City of Whitehorse The City of Whitehorse is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and an estimated residential population of 183,462 as o ...

. Eventually, the decision was made to merge the entirety of Camberwell with Hawthorn and Kew to form the newly created

City of Boroondara The City of Boroondara () is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It was formed in June 1994 from the amalgamation of the Cities of Kew, Camberwell and Hawthorn. It has an area of ...

, which took effect on 22 June 1994. Council meetings were held at the Camberwell Town Hall, on Camberwell Road,

Camberwell Camberwell ( ) is an List of areas of London, area of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles' Church, Camberwell, St Giles ...

. It presently serves as the council seat for the City of Boroondara.

Suburbs

* Ashburton *

Balwyn Balwyn () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Balwyn recorded a population of 13,495 at the 2021 census. The sub ...

Balwyn North Balwyn North, also known as North Balwyn, is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Boroondara and Whitehorse local government areas. Balwyn North rec ...

* Burwood (shared with the Cities of Box Hill and Waverley) *

* *

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

Glen Iris Glen Iris may refer to: *Glen Iris, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Glen Iris railway station *Glen Iris, Western Australia Glen Iris is a suburb of the City of Bunbury in the South West region of Western Australia. Glen Iris is located on ...

(shared with the Cities of Malvern and Hawthorn) * Surrey Hills (shared with the City of Box Hill) * Council seat.

Population

* Estimate in the 1958 Victorian Year Book.

Councillors

The City of Camberwell was subdivided into four wards on 22 May 1934: * North East Ward * North West Ward * Centre Ward * South Ward Prior to 1934, North East and North West were combined as North Ward. Each of the four wards elected three councillors. Unlike present day multi-councillor wards, each election was staggered, with only one councillor per ward up for election at a time, and an election every year. A number of local parties were active in Camberwell, including the Camberwell Ratepayers' Protection League (CRPL), Glen Iris Progress Association (GIPA), Reform Movement, South Camberwell Progress Association (SCPA) and the Victorian Free Trade and Land Values League.

1905−1934 (three wards)

1934−1993 (four wards)

Notes

References

External links

*
Victorian Places - Camberwell
{{Coord, -37.835, 145.071, format=dms, type:adm2nd_region:AU-VIC, display=title

City of Boroondara 1994 disestablishments in Australia 1864 establishments in Australia