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Schools Information Booklet

Your Council

About the City of Whittlesea 1

Population 1

History of the City of Whittlesea 2

District Roads Boards and the Early Shires 3

A Growing City 3

Our Aboriginal History 4

Wurundjeri Wilam people 5

History of our Suburbs 6

Why do we need to have governments? 8

Three Levels of Government 8

Types of Councils 10

Councillors 10

Council Elections 11

Council Meetings 11

What does Council do? 12

How does Council pay for these community services? 14

How does Council decide where the money should be spent? 15

Who does the work? 16

Different occupations in Council 16

Organisational Chart 18

Why have Local Laws? 20

Do the rules ever change? 20

1Your Council - Schools Information Booklet

About the City of Whittlesea 1

Population 1

History of the City of Whittlesea 2

District Roads Boards and the Early Shires 3

A Growing City 3

Our Aboriginal History 4

Wurundjeri Wilam people 5

History of our Suburbs 6

Why do we need to have governments? 8

Three Levels of Government 8

Types of Councils 10

Councillors 10

Council Elections 11

Council Meetings 11

What does Council do? 12

How does Council pay for these community services? 14

How does Council decide where the money should be spent? 15

Who does the work? 16

Different occupations in Council 16

Organisational Chart 18

Why have Local Laws? 20

Do the rules ever change? 20

About the City of Whittlesea

The City of Whittlesea covers 489 square kilometers (24,100 MCGs) and has a population of 170,900. It is referred to as an urban mix municipality. That means that 30% of the land will have houses, shops,factories and other things but 70% is rural or farmland.

The City of Whittlesea is located approximately 20km from the Melbourne CBD. It is 25km from Epping to Whittlesea township.

The suburbs within it are:• Bundoora• Epping• Lalor• Mernda• South Morang• Thomastown

Rural areas include:• Donnybrook• Doreen• Eden Park• Humevale• Kinglake West• Whittlesea• Wollert• Woodstock• Yan Yean

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Thefirstdocumenteddescriptionofthe Whittlesea area was dated December 1824, in the journal of Captain W H Hovell. He and the explorer Hamilton Hume had been senttofindawayfromSydneyacrossthe Great Dividing Range to Port Phillip Bay.

In 1837, George Sherwin settled as a squatter at Whittlesea, then known as Upper Plenty. In 1838/9 the area was surveyed and in 1853 the surveyor, Mason, named Whittlesea after the Town of Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, England. He also named Epping after another English town. Many other parts of the municipality retain their Aboriginal names, such as Bundoora, Morang, Toorourrong, Wollert and Yan Yean.

Mason's survey set out the lines of three North-South routes - the Plenty Road, the Epping Road to Wollert and the Sydney Road, which is now the Hume Highway. The district quickly became a vital part of Melbourne's life, supplying food from its farms and waterfromMelbourne'sfirstlargewater storage, Yan Yean Reservoir.

History of the City of Whittlesea


There were a number of District Roads Boards formed in this area during the middle of the 19th Century, later merging to form the early shires andfinally,theCityofWhittlesea.

On 26 September 1870, the District Roads Boards of Epping, Woodstock and Upper Plenty or Morang merged to form the Shire of Darebin. This shire stretched from Northcote to Whittlesea and the Shire Council held its meetings in Preston. The Shire of Darebin's name was changed to the Shire of Epping on 22 March 1894.

The neighbouring Donnybrook and Wallan Wallan District Roads Board, later became the Shire of Merriang, then, on 1 October, 1915, became part of the Shire of Broadmeadows, now part of the City of Hume.

Another of the District Roads Boards was the Whittlesea District Roads Board which had been proclaimed on 1 December 1862. On 1 January 1875, the Whittlesea District Roads Board, with the Morang riding of the Shire of Darebin, were constituted as the Shire of Whittlesea.

The newly elected Council had its firstmeetingintheCourthouseatWhittlesea. In 1915, the Shire of Whittlesea absorbed the Shire of Epping, and in 1988, the Shire was proclaimed a City and became the City of Whittlesea.

A Growing City

Since World War II, the City has enjoyed steady growth, adding new suburbs Lalor and Thomastown in the 1950s and 1960s, and Mill Park in the 1970s.

The population has quadrupled since 1969, from 29,000 to around 146,000 residents in 2009. The City of Whittlesea is one of Melbourne's ma-jor growth areas, with the population expected to reach more than 220,000 by 2030.

The Whittlesea Council has the responsibility of planning a city, which will be a home, a place of work and a place to relax. Our aim is a city well-equipped with quality services and recreation opportunities for all of its residents.

District Roads Boards and the Early Shires

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Before European settlement, the Aboriginal people of the Wurundjeri Wilam clan lived on the land that now forms the City of Whittlesea and the northern suburbs of Melbourne. They lived on the offshoots of the Yarra River - along the Merri, Edgars and Darebin Creeks - the Plenty River and the Maribyrnong River.

There are currently between 1000 and 1500 Wurundjeri Wilam people living in Victoria.

Many of the names in the City of Whittlesea were inspired by the Wurundjeri culture and traditions:

Bundoora - Keelbundoora was a

young boy present at the signing of the Batman Treaty

Yan Yean - young boy (derived from yan yan)

Mernda - young girl (derived from murnmurndik)

Wollert - possum (derived from walert)

Merri - place of many rocks

Wallan - spherical/round (derived from walen-walen)

Our Aboriginal History


The Wurundjeri Wilam clan is part of the Wurundjeri language group, and speaks the Woi wurrung language. The Woi wurung is one of the many language groups that make up the Kulin Nation, whose people shared the same religion and language, and lived in what is now metropolitan and greater Melbourne.

The Wurundjeri Wilam people have a strong connection to the land now known as the City of Whittlesea. They travelled the area in search of resources, fresh water, food and shel-ter; the Plenty River and many creeks offeringvarioustypesoffishandbirdlife. They held cultural ceremonies and conducted business and trade ne-gotiations at sacred sites. Over 70 of these sites still exist in the City today, as well as many sacred scarred trees.

Some Aboriginal clans believe that they are represented by native animals or a 'moiety' system. The people of the Kulin Nation were both Waang (the Australian Raven) and Bunjil (wedge-tail eagle - the creator) people. Marriage was regulated by the moiety system. Wurundjeri clan law said that there could only be marriage between different moieties. This meant that a Bunjil man could

Wurundjeri Wilam peopleonly marry a Waang woman and a Waang man could only marry a Bunjil woman. This kept the genetic variation strong.

Wurundjeri language - Woi wurrung

Below are some other common words in the Wurundjeri language - called Woi wurrung - and their English translation.

Woi - the way we pronounce our

words

Wurrung - language

Kulin - man/people

Wurundjeri - derived from the words ‘'wurun'’ and ‘'djeri'

Wurun - River Red Gum and Manna Gum

Djeri - grubs; found in the River Red Gums and eaten by the Wurundjeri people

Wilam - shelter/living place

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twentieth century, Thomastown’s economy was predominantly farming and market gardening.

Early industrial development included the establishment of a pottery in Settlement Road in 1922. The electrificationoftherailwaylinetoThomastown in 1929 prompted the subdivision of land around the railway station for residential development. However, residential and industrial development remained limited until the end of the Second World War.

EppingEpping was named in 1853 reportedly after the Epping Forest in Essex,England.Thefirsthotelwasopenedin1853.Thefirstcatholicschool was opened in 1844.

South MorangSouth Morang is named after the Parish (or area) of Morang where the suburbexiststoday.Thefirstprimaryschool in South Morang was built in 1877 and the suburb boasts two major parks, Hawkestowe and Plenty Gorge Parklands. Like many other suburbs in the municipality, the former Whittlesea railway line used to run through South Morang.

WhittleseaWhittlesea as the township came to be called was named after Whittlesey in England. Close to 1889 a railway from

BundooraBundoora was named after Keelbundoora, which was the name of the parish (land) where Bundoora exists today. Keelbundoora was also the name of the young boy present at the signing of the Batman treaty, a historic land agreement made by European settler, John Batman with the Aboriginal people of Melbourne in 1835. The treaty was later ruled invalid by the government of the day. Only a small part of Bundoora is within the City of Whittlesea boundary, the rest of the suburb is served by Darebin City Council and Banyule City Council.

LalorLalor was established in the early 1940s. Lalor was originally the home of a low-cost housing project which provided houses for ex-servicemen returningfromWorldWar2.Thefirstprimary school opened in 1954.

ThomastownProbably named after the Thomas family, which bought land near what is now Main Street in 1848, the name Thomastownhasbeeninofficialusesince the early 1850s.

The area around Thomastown has also been known at various times as Micklenbury, Dry Creek and Westgarthtown. Up until the mid

History of our Suburbs


Whittlesea to Melbourne was established to transport goods produced in the region to Melbourne. The railway closed in 1959.

Mill ParkMill Park was named after Henry Money Miller who bred racehorses and conducted a range of dairy and grazing activities at his property named, The Findon Hounds and the Findon Harriers Hunt Club until 1930. Residential development began in Mill Park in the 1970s.

Mernda/DoreenThis area has grown from a population of 1316 in 2001 to 3430 in 2006 and is anticipated to grow to around 40,000 people at full development. The name Mernda means young girl in the local Wurundjeri Wilam Aboriginal language. When Mernda was named in 1913 the township consisted of a school, a Methodist church, a store and a railway station. In the early 1900s there were many dairy farms in Mernda who supplied milk to Melbourne.

Rural NorthThe rural north of our municipality includes the suburbs of Wollert, Woodstock, Donnybrook, Eden Park, Yan Yean, Humevale, Kinglake West and part of Beveridge.

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Without government , life becomes verydifficult.

Governments decide what is the best for the general good of the commu-nity. They put rules and systems in place so that people in our community can live together peacefully.

Imagine living in a town where the garbage was not collected, roads were not maintained and there were noplaygrounds,sportsfields,schools,hospitals or libraries.

We depend on government to take care of many of these things. Each local community is different and different parts of the country have different needs. Things that are important in your town may not be relevant in another part of Australia or even to the next town.

That's why we have local government to look after the needs of the local community and its people.

Why do we need to have governments?

Three Levels of GovernmentIn Australia, we have three levels of government making decisions, Fed-eral, State and Local.

All levels of government have regular elections so if people are not happy with decisions the current government is making, they have the opportunity to vote in another group of people to form a new government.

The Australian system of government is often described as being democ-racy. To be precise we are in fact a parliamentary democracy. Democ-racy means rule by the people.

We elect representatives for each of our three levels of government Federal, State and Local.


The Federal or Commonwealth Government is made up of politicians from all the states and territories of Australia. Its leader is called the Prime Minister.

The Federal Government looks after matters that affect the whole nation, such as:

l Defence - Army, Navy & Airforce l Foreign Affairs l Customs/Trade l Immigration l Postal services l Currency

The state governments make decisions and rules for people within each state.

Each state government has its own elections and is based in the states capital city.

Victorias state government sits at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.

The leader of the state government is called the Premier.

Each state government controls its:

l Education & Health l Law Enforcement l Housing Industry l Local Government l Public Transport l Power supplies

Each state is divided into regions called municipalities that are run by local government or councils.

People who live in a municipality elect their council representatives democratically.

The Councillors then elect a leader, the Mayor. Councils hold their meet-ings in a building called the Council Chambers.

Local councils manage community needs including:

l Health & Community Services l Planning and Land Use l Recreation & Culture l Roads/footpaths/ bridges l Waste and recycling services l Parks and gardens l New building approval

Federal Government State Government Local Government

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In Victoria, all local governments are called councils. Some are referred to as city councils, while others are called shires. Although shires are usually rural, some of Victoria's outer councils still retain the title shire such as Mitchell Shire.

Councillors

In all councils, elected representatives are called councillors. Council has wards with a number of councillors representing each ward. The City of Whittlesea has 9 councillors. The municipality is divided into three wards (areas) and each ward has three councillors.

South East Ward North Ward South West Ward

CrSamAlessi CrRexGriffin CrStevanKozmevski

Cr Ken Harris Cr Christine Stow Cr Kris Pavlidis

Cr Norm Kelly Cr Ricky Kirkham Cr Darryl Sinclair

Cr Mary Lalios Cr Adrian Spinelli

Councillors are not paid a salary but receive an annual allowance to help cover expensesinfulfillingtheirroleonCouncil.Theygenerallycarryouttheircouncilduties in addition to their full time job in the workforce and/or home commitments. They take on this responsibility because they want to play a part in local government and feel strongly about issues in their community. Anyone can be a councillor as long as they are over 18 and eligible to vote in state and federal government elections. Councillors are local residents and know their communities well.

The main duties of elected Councillors are:• To make decisions about the running of the community and the Council• To listen to the problems and ideas of local people and take those ideas to the

rest of Council.

Types of Councils


Council meetings are held every third Tuesday, beginning at 6.30pm in the Council Chambers situated at the councilofficesat25FerresBoulevardSouth Morang.

Anyone can attend Council meetings to hear what is going on or to present their point of view and watch Councillors vote on a particular issue. If there are the same number of votes for a project as against, the Mayor can use his/her vote to decide the issue.

Council ElectionsCouncil elections are held once every four years. Councillors for Whittlesea are elected by residents aged over 18. Candidates who get the most votes are elected for a four year term.

Each year the nine councillors vote to elect one councillor as the Mayor. The Mayor is the leader of the Council he or she is in charge of the Council meetings and represents council at formal functions. The Mayor makes surethattheChiefExecutiveOfficerand council staff carries out council decisions.

Council Meetings

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The City of Whittlesea provides community services and facilities using the money it raises. It is also responsible for making and enforcing local laws.

Council's responsibility covers some key areas such as:

Providing: many services and supporting community services

Protection: ensuring the community is safe and clean

Prevention: pollution, noise, disease

Planning: future of community, what services will be needed

Representing: the area to other governments, to tourists and overseas visitors.

Look around and you'll see your Council at work everywhere:

Council staff plan and run many events such as:

• Community Festival• Rockin @ Redleap• International Volunteer Picnic Day• Carols by Candlelight• Australia Day celebrations• Kids Art in the Park• Hawkstowe Music Festival• International Day of People with

a Disability

What does Council do?


Council workers repair roads, foot-paths, street lights and replace signs.

Garbage trucks remove rubbish and recycling from our homes and businesses every week.

LocalLawsofficersmakesurepeopleobeyparkingrestrictions,observefiredanger periods and our pets are registered.

Meals on Wheels staff and volun-teers deliver low cost meals mainly to elderly people living alone.

Senior Citizens centres offer retired people the opportunity to make new friends and do various activities.

The school crossing supervisor works at keeping you safe.

Libraries there are three in the City of Whittlesea - Lalor - Mill Park- Thomastown

A mobile library also services the areas of Whittlesea, Mernda and Doreen. You can borrow any of the 14,000 items in stock, including an extraordinary range of books, videos, DVDs, magazines, talking books and large print publications. The mobile library all has internet access, 3 public PCs and a children's area.

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Therearealsofeescalledfineswhichare collected from people who have ignored the rules. If your library book isoverdue,youpayafinebeforeyoucan borrow another one; if a dog is found wandering around the streets and taken to the pound, its owner has topayafinetogetitback.

Grants

Each year the State and Federal Government collect money called taxes from Australian citizens and businesses and give some of it to local government. Sometimes these grantsareforsomethingspecific.

Loans

Council can borrow money for larger projects and repay the loan over a number of years. However interest must be paid as well as the original amount borrowed, so this is an expensive way to raise money.How does Council decide where the money should be spent?

There are four main ways Council raises money:

Rates

Every property owner in the City of Whittlesea pays an amount to the Council each year called rates. The amount depends on the value of the property the more valuable the prop-erty the higher the rates. The proper-ty owner can pay the rates all at once or on four parts called instalments spread over the year. A property valuer working for the Council reviews the value of each property every two years.

Fees

People in Whittlesea pay fees for some Council services. When you go to a swimming pool, you pay an entry fee; your cats and dogs are registered each year with the payment of a fee; if you want a special rubbish collection theres a fee; people have to pay for a building permit or for a permit to remove large trees.

How does Council pay for these community services?


One of the main roles of Council is to manage the money it raises and in June each year it allocates amounts of money to be spent in various areas.this is called a budget.

There are some things that must always be included in the budget like rubbish removal, maintenance of roads, paths, street lighting, bike tracks and parks the things that make Whittlesea a safe and pleasant place to live and work.

Council staff provide reports to council to assist Councillors in their decision

making. For example, the council's engineers have the expertise to provide information on which roads require maintenance, the cost of this workinthecurrentfinancialyearandhow much more it could cost if this work is delayed.

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City Valuer - updates the values of properties.

Communications Officer - distributes information (like this) about Council to the community and media.

Computer Programmer - managers the computer software used by Council.

Crossing Supervisors - Helps children cross roads safely on their way to and from school.

Accountant - keeps records of money being received and paid by Council.

Aged & Disability Officer - supervises help available for aged and disabled people.

Building Surveyor -makes sure builders follow regulations when constructing new buildings or changing existing buildings.

Who does the work?Many people work for Council so it can provide its services. Council staff are not elected, they apply for their positions and are paid for their work.

WhittleseaCityCouncilhasapproximately900staff.TheChiefExecutiveOfficeris the head of staff it's a bit like a school community, where the principal is in the highest position. A number of Managers make sure all the areas of Council are runningefficientlyandeffectively.

TheChiefExecutiveOfficerisresponsiblefor:

- employing all the other council staff

- ensuring that all the money council receives and spends is accounted for

- that council records are properly kept

- thattheCouncillorsreceiveaccurateandexpertadvicefromcouncilofficers

There are hundreds of different jobs in Council, requiring a wide variety of people. Manystaffhavetertiaryqualificationsfromauniversityorcollege,othershavedeveloped special skills.

Different occupations in Council:


Engineer - involved in design of buildings, bridges and playgrounds.

Environmental Health Officer - advises on pest control, tests water at swimming pools and spas, inspects restaurants, hotels and shops to make sure the food being sold is safe to eat.

Family Day Care Worker - cares for other people's children in his/her own home.

Gardener - works in the parks and gardens and council properties.

Local Laws Officer - advises on Council rules like parking and pet controls.

Maternal & Child Health Care Nurse - gives advice to parents of young children and monitors the growth and progress of babies.

Payroll Officer - is in charge of staff wages

Personal Assistant-helpsaspecificDirector/Manager with his/her work.

Records Officer - keeps Council documentsinorderandfinds information when requested.

Recreation Officer - plans and manages sporting programs and events

Town Planner - advises whether developments are suitable for particular areas of the City.

Traffic Engineer - surveys local traffic,designstrafficmanagementdevices like roundabouts and speed humps and advises where pedestrian and school crossings are needed.

Works Engineer - decides what maintenance is needed on Council properties and calculates the cost.

Youth Worker - looks after issues and interests of people aged 12 to 25 years.

Council also employs people to Advocate the Federal and State Governments for additional funding for infrastructure, programs and services, Health Promotion staff to encourage a healthy lifestyle spelt out in the Municipal Health Plan, Sustainability aroung the home and business and lots more.

Tofindoutmoreaboutcareers at the City of Whittlesea visit

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Organisational ChartChief Executive O�cer

Director Governance &

Economic Development

Director Community Services

Director Finance & Organisation

Improvement

Director Planning &

Major Projects

Director Infrastructure &

Technology

DirectorAdvocacy &

Communications

Manager Aged Services

Manager Families & Youth

Manager Leisure & Community

Inclusion

Manager Community Cultural

Development

Manager Health & Access

Directorate Support Team

Manager Human Resources

Manager Civic Administration

Manager Local Laws

Manager PRACC


Procurement


Manager Financial Services

Manager Organisation Improvement

Manager WorkSMART

Manager Property & Valuations

Risk Management


Manager Established Areas

Planning

Manager Building Services

Manager Growth Area

Development Assessment

Manager Sustainability &

Community Planning

Manager Major Projects

Manager Strategic Planning &

Design


Manager Engineering &

Transportation Services

Manager Infrastructure

Manager Parks & Open Space

Manager Development Engineering

Manager Information Technology

Manager Facilities Management

Growling Frog Golf Course


Manager Marketing &

Communications

Resilience & Emergency

Management

Executive Services Support Team


Chief Executive O�cer

Director Governance &


Director Community Services

Director Finance & Organisation

Improvement

Director Planning &

Major Projects

Director Infrastructure &

Technology

DirectorAdvocacy &

Communications

Manager Aged Services

Manager Families & Youth

Manager Leisure & Community

Inclusion

Manager Community Cultural

Development

Manager Health & Access


Manager Human Resources

Manager Civic Administration

Manager Local Laws

Manager PRACC


Procurement


Manager Financial Services

Manager Organisation Improvement

Manager WorkSMART

Manager Property & Valuations

Risk Management


Manager Established Areas

Planning

Manager Building Services

Manager Growth Area

Development Assessment

Manager Sustainability &

Community Planning

Manager Major Projects

Manager Strategic Planning &

Design


Manager Engineering &

Transportation Services

Manager Infrastructure

Manager Parks & Open Space

Manager Development Engineering

Manager Information Technology

Manager Facilities Management

Growling Frog Golf Course


Manager Marketing &

Communications

Resilience & Emergency

Management

Executive Services Support Team

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Do the rules ever change?

Local Government laws are reviewed regularly and altered if necessary to meet the needs of the community. Sometimes new laws are required to control a particular problem.

For example over the years many trees have been removed from properties to make way for new developments, so that it became necessary to introduce a rule requiring people to apply for permission from Council to remove large trees. In this way Council is able to preserve the green look of the municipality and preserve its historic and beautiful trees.

Similarly, if riding skate boards and roller blades became a nuisance and a danger to pedestrians in some busy shopping areas, Council may be asked to introduce some rules to make these areas safe.

People who feel something needs to be improved or changed can write directly to Council or they can contact the Councillor who represents them to discuss.

There are a number of Council rules designed to make the community a safe and pleasant place to live in.

Rules covering:

People who break the rules some-timeshavetopayfines.HoweverCouncil staff will always try to solve problems for people in the community, so as to avoid these penalties.

Why have Local Laws?

• Burning off• Registration of cats and dogs• The number and types of pets

you can own• What you can put out to be

collected by the garbage truck What can be recycled and how it is collected

• What buildings can be used for• Where cars can and cannot be

parked • Noise restrictions particularly at

night and early in the morning• What types of buildings can be

built in particular areas• How close new constructions

can be built to neighbouring buildings


Notes


Council Contacts Phone: 9217 2170Fax: 9217 2111 Email: [email protected] Address: 25 Ferres Boulevard, South Morang Hours: 8.30am – 5pm weekdays TTY: 133 677 (ask for 9217 2170) Mail: Locked Bag 1, Bundoora MDC 3083

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