City of Bankstown


The City of Bankstown was a local government area in the south-west region of Sydney, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown.
In 2006, the NSW government released a planning strategy for Metropolitan Sydney, known as the City of Cities plan for Sydney. The plan identified Bankstown as a 'major centre' for the south west Sydney region. Bankstown Airport was also identified as a 'specialist centre' and the Hume Highway as part of a potential transport corridor. Under the most recent Draft Metropolitan Strategy for Sydney released in 2013, the NSW Government has reaffirmed Bankstown as a major centre, and Bankstown Airport as a specialised centre.
The last Mayor of the City of Bankstown Council was Clr Khal Asfour, a member of the Labor Party.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Bankstown merge with the City of Canterbury to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately 351,000. On 12 May 2016, the NSW Government announced that Bankstown would merge with neighbour City of Canterbury to be known as the City of Canterbury-Bankstown.

Suburbs of the City of Bankstown

Suburbs and localities in the former local government area were:
At the 2011 Census, there were people in the Bankstown local government area, of these 49.3% were male and 50.7% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 0.8% of the population. The median age of people in the City of Bankstown was 35 years, which is slightly lower than the national median of 37 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 21.7% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.7% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 52.1% were married and 11.0% were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Bankstown between the 2001 Census and the 2006 Census was 3.43%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 Census, population growth was 6.96%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Bankstown local government area was approximately 75% of the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Bankstown was slightly lower than the national average.
At the 2011 Census, the proportion of residents in the Bankstown local government area who stated their ancestry as Lebanese, was in excess of eight times the national average. The proportion of residents who stated an affiliation with Islam was in excess of eleven times the national average. Meanwhile, as at the Census date, the area was linguistically diverse, with Arabic or Vietnamese languages spoken in 30% of households, both languages approximately seven times the national averages.

Council

Final composition and election method

Bankstown City Council was composed of twelve Councillors elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three Councillors. All Councillors were elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor was elected by the Councillors at the first meeting of the Council. The most recent and last election was held on 8 September 2012, and the makeup of the Council prior to its abolition was as follows: The last Council, elected in 2012 prior to its abolition, in order of election by ward, was:

History

District of Bankstown was named by Governor Hunter in 1797 in honour of botanist Sir Joseph Banks, who travelled to Australia with Captain James Cook in 1770. The area was discovered during an expedition of the Georges River by George Bass and Matthew Flinders. The area of first European settlement along the river has been partially preserved as part of the Mirrumbeena Regional Reserve. Bankstown also includes large areas of the Georges River National Park. Railway formed an important part of the development of Bankstown. After the extension of the railway from Belmore to Bankstown in the 1890s, rapid development of the area followed – so much so that the commercial centre of Bankstown moved from its former position in Irish Town on Liverpool Road to the vicinity of Bankstown railway station.
In March 1895 a petition was submitted to the NSW Colonial Government by 109 residents of the Bankstown area, requesting the establishment of the "Municipal District of Bankstown" under the Municipalities Act, 1867. The petition was subsequently accepted and the Municipal District of Bankstown was proclaimed by Lieutenant Governor Sir Frederick Darley on 7 September 1895. The first six-member council, standing in one at-large constituency, was elected on 4 November 1895. With the passing of the Local Government Act 1906, the council area became known as the Municipality of Bankstown.
Bankstown's city status was proclaimed in 1980 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the "City of Bankstown". On 12 May 2016, the City of Bankstown was merged with the City of Canterbury to form the Canterbury-Bankstown Council.

World War II

The Bankstown Bunker was an exact replica of the underground Ops rooms of wartime England, which directed Britain's air defence fighter plane attacks on the invading German Luftwaffe. Entrance to the bunker was obtained through a concrete passageway which was well screened by a grassy slope; a stairway led to a virtual maze of corridors and hallways leading to various sections. There were two points into the bunker which were guarded by military police, and access was gained via the bottom level.
The walls of the bunker could almost withstand a direct hit from a bomb. It had all the attenuated fixtures necessary to run a top secret operational defence base. It consisted of three Fixer Stations and one Homing Station. The bunker was also equipped with its own code room, plotting rooms, two escape tunnels and a radio transmitter room. In the centre of the bunker was a large room of about two stories in height. This was the main operations room and control centre for all RAAF Missions in the Pacific area.

Geography

The former Bankstown City region was approximately and had a population density of about 21.46 people per hectare. The boundaries of the former Bankstown City were, clockwise, the Prospect water supply pipeline and Liverpool Road along the north, Roberts Road, Juno Parade, Koala Road, Punchbowl Road, Canterbury Road and the Salt Pan Creek along the east, the Georges River in the south and the Georges River, Prospect Creek, the Hume Highway and Woodville Road along the west. Salt Pan Creek is a saltmarsh and mangrove swamp that extends from Canterbury Road to Georges River.
Paul Keating Park, in the centre of Bankstown, stands on the old site of the Council Administration building, which burned down in an accidental fire in 1997. The Park is used for a variety of concerts and festivals, and is otherwise a large playing field. Nowadays, all of the Council operations are contained in the Civic Tower, adjacent to the Park. Bankstown Town Hall faces opposite.

Parks

Bankstown had 293 parks covering within its city limits. There are 41 sports grounds, 12 community parks and 18 natural parklands. In the CBD, major parks include Bankstown Oval, McLeod Reserve, Paul Keating Park and Bankstown City Gardens. Other major parks include Mirambeena Regional Park, The Crest, Middleton Park, O'Neill Park, Terry Lamb Complex, Garrison Point, Jensen Oval and the extensive parklands around Georges River, among others. The entrance to Georges River National Park is also located within the city.

Mayors and General Managers

Mayors

Sister cities

Sister Cities of Bankstown include: