Quick Facts
Biography
This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of City of Parramatta and its predecessors, a local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The official title of lord mayors while holding office is: The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor of Parramatta.
The current lord mayor is Pierre Esber, who was elected by a vote of councillors on 25 September 2023.
Development of the office
First incorporated in January 1861 as the "Municipality of Parramatta", the council became known as the "Borough of Parramatta" on 23 December 1867 following the enactment of the Municipalities Act, 1867, and became a Municipality again following the 1906 Local Government Act. On 27 October 1938, the Local Government (City of Parramatta) Act was passed by the Parliament of New South Wales and proclaimed by the Governor, Lord Wakehurst, making the town the "City of Parramatta".
From 1 January 1949 the "City of Parramatta" was re-formed following the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, when the councils of Ermington and Rydalmere (incorporated 1891), Dundas (incorporated 1889) and Granville (incorporated 1885) were merged into the council area. The Department of Local Government refused requests from Parramatta in 1948 and 1949 to be granted the title of "Lord Mayor".
In recognition of the town of Parramatta's bicentennial (coinciding with Australia's Bicentenary), the title of "Lord Mayor" was granted on 12 December 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II on the recommendation of Premier Nick Greiner. This made Parramatta the third Australian city that was not a capital to receive such an honour, after Newcastle and Wollongong.
A 2015 review of local government boundaries by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal recommended that the City of Parramatta be reformed, adding areas from several adjoining councils. The NSW Government subsequently proposed a merger of parts of Parramatta (Woodville Ward), Auburn and Holroyd and a second merger of parts of the rest of Parramatta and parts of Auburn, The Hills, Hornsby, and Holroyd to form a new council.
On 12 May 2016, Parramatta City Council was abolished by the NSW Government. Parts of Auburn City Council (south of the M4 Western Motorway) and Parramatta City Council (Woodville Ward), and Holroyd City Council merged to form the Cumberland Council as a new local government area and the remainder of the Parramatta City Council, Auburn City Council north of the M4 Western Motorway (including parts of the Sydney Olympic Park), and small parts of Hornsby Shire, Holroyd and The Hills Shire were merged into the reformed "City of Parramatta Council".
On 22 May 2023, Parramatta City Council became the first council in Australia to elect a Mayor of Indian Origin.
List of incumbents
Mayors of the Municipality/Borough/Municipality/City of Parramatta (1861–1948)
| Mayor | Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| John Williams | 2 January 1862 – 3 February 1862 | |
| James Byrnes | 3 February 1862 – 17 February 1866 | |
| James Pye | 17 February 1866 – 18 February 1867 | |
| Richard Harper | 18 February 1867 – 14 February 1868 | |
| Thomas Wheaton Bowden | 14 February 1868 – 8 February 1869 | |
| John Good | 8 February 1869 – 11 February 1870 | |
| Charles Byrnes | 11 February 1870 – 14 February 1871 | |
| Hugh Taylor | 14 February 1871 – 13 February 1874 | |
| Samuel Burge | 13 February 1874 – 10 February 1875 | |
| Charles Byrnes | 10 February 1875 – 14 February 1882 | |
| Joseph Booth | 14 February 1882 – 13 February 1884 | |
| Frederick Charles Cox | 13 February 1884 – 10 February 1885 | |
| Joseph Smith | 10 February 1885 – 8 February 1886 | |
| Charles Byrnes | 8 February 1886 – 13 February 1889 | |
| Frank Beames | 13 February 1889 – 11 February 1890 | |
| William Ferris | 11 February 1890 – 12 February 1891 | |
| Frank Beames | 12 February 1891 – 8 February 1892 | |
| Charles Byrnes | 8 February 1892 – 20 February 1894 | |
| Joseph W. Withers | 22 February 1894 – 13 February 1895 | |
| Charles Byrnes | 13 February 1895 – 14 February 1896 | |
| William Ferris | 14 February 1896 – 10 February 1897 | |
| Tom Moxham | 10 February 1897 – 13 February 1901 | |
| William Peter Noller | 13 February 1901 – 13 February 1902 | |
| Edward Pascoe Pearce | 13 February 1902 – 12 February 1903 | |
| William Peter Noller | 12 February 1903 – 11 February 1907 | |
| John Saunders | 11 February 1907 – 30 July 1907 | |
| William Peter Noller | 6 August 1907 – 10 February 1909 | |
| John Waugh | 10 February 1909 – 9 February 1911 | |
| Walter Francis Jago | 9 February 1911 – 12 February 1912 | |
| Arthur Henry Collett | 12 February 1912 – 9 February 1914 | |
| James Henry Graham | 9 February 1914 – 7 February 1916 | |
| Francis John Thomas | 7 February 1916 – 9 July 1917 | |
| Robert Henry De Low | 9 July 1917 – 4 February 1918 | |
| James Whitmore Hill | 4 February 1918 – 10 February 1919 | |
| Leicester Stuart Anderson Simpson | 10 February 1919 – 11 December 1922 | |
| Harry Charles George Moss | 11 December 1922 – 10 December 1923 | |
| William Peter Noller | 10 December 1923 – 19 December 1927 | |
| Arthur Henry Collett | 19 December 1927 – 20 August 1930 | |
| Henry Ohlsen | 25 August 1930 – 14 January 1936 | |
| George Henry Prudames | 24 January 1936 – 14 December 1937 | |
| William John Irwin | 14 December 1937 – 4 December 1939 | |
| Philip Henry Jeffery | 4 December 1939 – 9 December 1946 | |
| Harold Mervyn Symonds | 9 December 1946 – 31 December 1948 |
Mayors/Lord mayors of the City of Parramatta (1949–2016)
| No. | Portrait | Mayor | Party | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Arthur Mobbs | Independent | 1 January 1949 | December 1953 | |
| 2 | Hedley Victor Horwood | Independent | December 1953 | December 1955 | |
| 3 | Edward Allen Hunt | Independent | December 1955 | 9 December 1957 | |
| 4 | Dan Mahoney | Labor | 9 December 1957 | December 1958 | |
| (1) | Eric Arthur Mobbs | Independent | December 1958 | 14 December 1959 | |
| 5 | Alfred Robert Cayley Thomas | Independent | 14 December 1959 | December 1961 | |
| 6 | Pat Flaherty | Labor | December 1961 | December 1962 | |
| 7 | Reginald van Nooten | Independent | December 1962 | December 1964 | |
| (5) | Alfred Robert Cayley Thomas | Independent | December 1964 | December 1965 | |
| (7) | Reginald van Nooten | Independent | December 1965 | December 1966 | |
| 8 | Barry Wilde | Labor | December 1966 | 1974 | |
| 9 | Brian Wood | Independent | 1974 | September 1974 | |
| 10 | Alan Hyam | Independent | September 1974 | September 1978 | |
| 11 | Keith John McKinnon | Independent | September 1978 | September 1979 | |
| 12 | Stanley Charles Dickson | Independent | September 1979 | September 1983 | |
| 13 | John Books | Independent Liberal | September 1983 | September 1984 | |
| 14 | Paul Elliott | Labor | September 1984 | September 1985 | |
| (10) | Alan Hyam | Independent | September 1985 | 12 December 1988 | |
| No. | Portrait | Lord Mayor | Party | Term start | Term end |
| (10) | Alan Hyam | Independent | 12 December 1988 | September 1991 | |
| 15 | John Haines | Independent | September 1991 | September 1995 | |
| 16 | Paul Garrard | Labor | September 1995 | September 1996 | |
| (13) | John Books | Independent Liberal | September 1996 | September 1997 | |
| (15) | John Haines | Independent | September 1997 | September 1998 | |
| (16) | Paul Garrard | Labor | September 1998 | September 1999 | |
| 17 | David Borger | Labor | September 1999 | September 2000 | |
| 18 | Lorraine Wearne | Independent | September 2000 | September 2001 | |
| (15) | John Haines | Independent | September 2001 | September 2002 | |
| (16) | Paul Garrard | Labor | September 2002 | September 2004 | |
| 19 | Julia Finn | Labor | September 2004 | September 2005 | |
| 20 | David Borger | Labor | September 2005 | September 2007 | |
| 21 | Paul Barry Barber | Labor | September 2007 | 29 September 2008 | |
| 22 |  | Tony Issa | Liberal | 29 September 2008 | September 2009 |
| (16) | Paul Garrard | Independent | September 2009 | 29 September 2010 | |
| 23 | | John Chedid | Liberal | 29 September 2010 | 27 September 2011 |
| (18) | Lorraine Wearne | Independent | 27 September 2011 | 25 September 2012 | |
| (23) | | John Chedid | Liberal | 25 September 2012 | 29 September 2014 |
| 24 | | Scott Lloyd | Liberal | 29 September 2014 | 30 September 2015 |
| (16) | Paul Garrard | Our Local Community | 30 September 2015 | 12 May 2016 |
Lord mayors of the City of Parramatta Council (2016–present)
| No. | Portrait | Lord Mayor | Party | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | Amanda Chadwick (Administrator) | 12 May 2016 | 25 September 2017 | ||
| 25 | Andrew Wilson | Our Local Community | 25 September 2017 | 23 September 2019 | |
| 26 | | Bob Dwyer | Liberal | 23 September 2019 | 27 September 2021 |
| 27 | | Steven Issa | Liberal | 27 September 2021 | 10 January 2022 |
| 28 | Donna Davis | Labor | 10 January 2022 | 22 May 2023 | |
| 29 | Sameer Pandey | Labor | 22 May 2023 | 25 September 2023 | |
| 30 | Pierre Esber | Labor | 25 September 2023 | incumbent |
