The City of Stirling is a local government area in the northern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth about 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of 105.2 square kilometres (40.6 sq mi) and has a population of over 223,000, making it the largest local government area by population in Western Australia.
Stirling was established on 24 January 1871 as the Perth Road District under the District Roads Act 1871.[3] The district at that time included what are now the Cities of Wanneroo, Joondalup, Bayswater and Belmont.
With the passage of the Local Government Act 1960, which reformed all road districts into shires, it became the Shire of Perth on 1 July 1961. The Shire of Perth had a population of 84,000 in 1961. It was declared a city and renamed Stirling on 24 January 1971.[3]: 95 [4]
At a meeting of electors in May 2021, electors passed a motion that the City of Stirling be renamed,[5] causing it to be considered at the next council meeting. The rationale for the name change is the personal involvement of James Stirling, the first governor of Western Australia and the namesake of the city, in the Pinjarra Massacre on 28 October 1834.[6] Following the well-conceived ambush and subsequent massacre of 15 to 80 Binjareb Noongar men, women, and children lasting at least one hour that Stirling led personally, Stirling threatened the Noongar people with genocide should they continue to resist colonisation.[7][8][9]: 25 [10] Historian Chris Owen has argued that James Stirling's involvement in the Pinjarra massacre was on the historical record, and "there's no ambiguity in it any more, Stirling set out to punish the Noongar tribe down there for blocking expansion of the colony. He told everyone what he was going to do, went down there, did it and reported on it."[11]
The motion made national news,[12][13] and sparked a barrage of hateful messages towards the City of Stirling.[14] Among suggestions was for a dual name to be adopted, involving a Noongar name. A report released by the city two weeks later stated that the name change was not a priority, and that there were significant costs associated with any name change.[15] At the council meeting on 8 June 2021, arguments were put forth either way, with one councillor saying "while nobody condoned historical atrocities, a name change would cost 'millions of dollars', would set a dangerous precedent and should be 'nipped in the bud'",[16] but no motions regarding changing the name were carried.[17] The meeting was attended by over 100 people, an unusually high number.[18][16] Shortly afterwards, Western Australian senators called for a broader review of Western Australian "place names, such as Stirling Range, linked to colonial figures with known racist histories ... such as William Dampier, John Forrest and John Septimus Roe."[11]
The city has been divided into seven wards, each of two councillors. Each councillor serves a four-year term, and half-elections are held every two years. The mayor is elected from among the councillors.
The 1996 figure includes 9,703 residents living in Maylands, and Mount Lawley south of the Midland railway line who were transferred to the City of Bayswater in 1998.
^"Local Government Act 1960 — Order in Council (per LG 619/69)". Western Australia Government Gazette. 30 October 1970. p. 1970:3346. Nominates 24 January 1971 as effective date.
^Ryan, Lyndall; Pascoe, William; Debenham, Jennifer; Gilbert, Stephanie; Richards, Jonathan; Smith, Robyn; Owen, Chris; Anders, Robert J; Brown, Mark; Price, Daniel; Newley, Jack; Usher, Kaine (2017). "Pinjarra". Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia. University of Newcastle. Archived from the original on 8 March 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
^Martin, Wayne (5 December 2016). "Aboriginal People at the Periphery"(PDF). 35th Annual Australia and New Zealand Law and History Society Conference. Perth: Curtin Law School. pp. 1–36. Archived(PDF) from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
^Collard, Len; Palmer, Dave (May 1996). Nidja Boodjar Binjarup Nyungar, Kura, Yeye, Boorda. Fremantle: Gcalyut Research and Training Project. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.3593.0485.
^Collard, Sarah (9 June 2021). "Disappointment as Stirling Council fails to change name". NITV News. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 18 December 2021. The City is named after Western Australia's first governor Sir James Stirling, who instigated one of the state's bloodiest massacres almost 200 years ago.
^* This LGA holds city status under the Local Government Act 1995, ^† This LGA holds town status under the Local Government Act 1995, ^# Western Australian law applies to the Indian Ocean Territories under the Territories Law Reform Act 1992
