City of Cockburn - Wetlands to Waves

Cockburn's original inhabitants were a Swan River tribe of Aborigines who made their campsites along the City's central chain of lakes to avoid the salty waters of the lakes nearer to the coast. Fresh water, good vegetation and abundant wild life along the lakes sustained their undemanding way of life.

The first European settlement in Cockburn was Thomas Peel's short-lived settlement at Clarence, now Woodman Point Reserve, and was dogged by bad luck and indifferent management. The settlement showed that a sense of community is an elusive quality and that it could not simply be transplanted from the settler's homeland.

In the 1880s a small group of pensioner guards from Fremantle settled around Lake Coogee. They built a compact village and to eke out their military pensions established small vegetable gardens and orchards. Sadly, the community failed to take root, as the settlers remained firmly tied to the barracks at Fremantle.

During the late 1890s two further settlements were established, one failing and one surviving to the present day. The discovery of gold in Western Australia and the rapid growth of Fremantle and Perth attracted experienced vegetable gardeners and orchardists to the Cockburn region. The grey sands at Jandakot were made to bear rich yields of garden produce and to support a large influx of population.

The forced growth of the settlement at Jandakot only lasted while boom prices for the settler's products were obtained. But during this time Jandakot served as a model of effective community effort in satisfying the needs of the settlers.

At South Coogee another, smaller settlement was formed at the same time on the site of the deserted village of the pensioner guards. South Coogee grew to become the nursery of market gardening in Cockburn as new settlers learnt their craft from the established gardeners. Historical prominence of the area has been maintained by the City's heritage inventory and the by descendants of the original settlers.

Nearer to Fremantle new settlement at Hamilton Hill and Spearwood grew to meet the demands of the metropolitan area for building materials and food.

The improvements made to the district, in particular Spearwood were achieved as a result of the early settlers banding together with a strong sense of community spirit.

Federal Government The Federal Government operates from Canberra and makes decisions on matters that affect the whole of Australia. It is lead by the Prime Minister. Federal has to do with the national Parliament or government rather that state parliaments or governments. For more information go to: http://www.aph.gov.au/

State Government State Government is responsible for looking after many of the different areas that operate within the State such as Education, Main Roads, Railways and Public Housing. State Government is lead by the Premier. For more information go to: http://www.wa.gov.au/ Local Government Local Government is the level that is closest to the people. It looks after matters affecting the local community such as building and maintaining roads, footpaths, bridges and parks, issuing licences for building, fences, pools and spas, looking after local health matters, and providing services like halls, recreation centres and libraries. The City of Cockburn is a local government authority.

After the elections, the new Mayor and Councillors are sworn in.
All information on matters that are brought before the Council is gathered by the Council Administration Staff and presented to Council in the form of an AGENDA.

At the Council meeting, the Councillors discuss, debate and make a final decision on the matters before them. Decisions are reached by a majority vote of all the Councillors. These decisions are known as COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS.

The Council meets in the Council Chambers, Coleville Cres, Spearwood, once a month.b The meeting starts at 7pm. Special Council meetings are held from time t time to deal with specific matters that must be delt with urgently.