The name Randwick comes from the village of Randwick in Gloucestershire, England, birthplace of the district's first mayor Simeon Henry Pearce.[citation needed] The area was home to a few wealthy landowners and the poor residents of several shantytowns until the 1880s, when the coming of trams from Sydney brought extensive suburban development.[citation needed] The New South Wales University of Technology opened at Kensington in 1949 on the site of Kensington Racecourse, eventually becoming the University of New South Wales.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries recommended that the City of Randwick merge with the Waverley and Woollahra councils to form a new council with an area of 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi) and support a population of approximately 274,000.[5] Following an independent review, in May 2016 the NSW Government sought to dismiss the council and force its amalgamation with Woollahra and Waverley councils. Woollahra Council instigated legal action claiming that there was procedural unfairness and that a KPMG report at the centre of merger proposals had been "misleading". The matter was heard before the NSW Court of Appeal who, in December 2016, unanimously dismissed Woollahra Council's appeal, finding no merit in its arguments that the proposed merger with Waverley and Randwick councils was invalid.[6] In July 2017, the Berejiklian government decided to abandon the forced merger of the Woollahra, Waverley and Randwick local government areas, along with several other proposed forced mergers.[7]
This section needs expansion with: 2021 census data. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024)
At the 2016 census, there were 140,660 people in the Randwick local government area, of these 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.5% of the population; significantly below the NSW and Australian averages of 2.9 and 2.8 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the City of Randwick was 34 years. Children aged 0–14 years made up 14.9% of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 13.4% of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 38.5% were married and 9.1% were either divorced or separated.[46]
Population growth in the City of Randwick between the 2001 Census and the 2006 census was 1.10%; and in the subsequent five years to the 2011 census, population growth was 7.59%. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78% and 8.32% respectively, population growth in Randwick local government area was lower than the national average.[47] The median weekly income for residents within the City of Randwick was higher than the national average.[48][49]
Selected historical census data for Randwick local government area
Randwick City Council is composed of fifteen councillors elected proportionally as five separate wards,[50] each electing three councillors. All councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The mayor is elected for a two-year term, with the deputy mayor for one year, by the councillors at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 14 September 2024, and the makeup of the council is as follows:
The new Kensington to Kingsford Planning Strategy by the City of Randwick will include 8 new plazas, more than a doubling of public space, and wider footpaths along the Anzac Parade.[90] The general height controls along the Parade will increase to 31 metres, while the key intersections with Todman Avenue Strachan Street, and Nine-ways roundabout will be 57–60 metres.[90] It will also require 5% affordable housing of new residential developments and a requirement that active street frontages are used for commercial activities.[90]
^"Two Municipal Jubilees-- Randwick and Wollongong". Australian Town and Country Journal. New South Wales, Australia. 17 February 1909. p. 25. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PROGRESS OF THE SUBURBS". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 4 October 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 30 January 1862. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 9 June 1863. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETINGS". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 10 April 1868. p. 7. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF RANDWICK". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 186. New South Wales, Australia. 9 August 1870. p. 1668. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF RANDWICK". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 272. New South Wales, Australia. 14 November 1871. p. 2594. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Private Advertisements. BOROUGH OF RANDWICK". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 214. New South Wales, Australia. 2 August 1872. p. 1955. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF RANDWICK". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 345. New South Wales, Australia. 30 December 1875. p. 4208. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF RANDWICK.—1878-79". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 46. New South Wales, Australia. 8 February 1878. p. 610. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Boilermakers' Banquet". Evening News. New South Wales, Australia. 14 October 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"HONOR TO A COUNCIL CLERK". Evening News. New South Wales, Australia. 31 March 1886. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF RANDWICK". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 503. New South Wales, Australia. 27 October 1885. p. 6993. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPAL DEFALCATIONS". The Daily Telegraph. New South Wales, Australia. 23 April 1898. p. 12. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RANDWICK COUNCIL". Evening News. New South Wales, Australia. 27 April 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF RANDWICK". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 366. New South Wales, Australia. 29 April 1898. p. 3347. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF RANDWICK". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 420. New South Wales, Australia. 17 May 1898. p. 3782. Retrieved 28 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RANDWICK'S TOWN CLERK". The Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 24 January 1912. p. 10. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RETIRING TOWN CLERK". The Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 29 January 1912. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ab"RANDWICK, TOWN CLERK". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 9 February 1912. p. 13. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPALITY OF RANDWICK". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 24. New South Wales, Australia. 14 February 1912. p. 1215. Retrieved 28 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"TOWN CLERK ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT". The Sun. New South Wales, Australia. 26 June 1937. p. 3. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RANDWICK'S TOWN CLERK". The Labor Daily. New South Wales, Australia. 23 July 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RANDWICK TOWN CLERK". The Labor Daily. New South Wales, Australia. 17 August 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"RANDWICK TOWN CLERK RESIGNS". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 2 November 1938. p. 16. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"CENTRAL ILLAWARRA". Illawarra Mercury. New South Wales, Australia. 25 February 1938. p. 10. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"NEW TOWN CLERK FOR RANDWICK". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 16 November 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Park Names". Randwick City Council. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
^"RANDWICK CITY COUNCIL". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. No. 57. New South Wales, Australia. 12 May 1995. p. 2444. Retrieved 2 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Messiter calls it a day". Southern Courier. 6 July 2004. p. 4.