Becoming A City: Local Government

Mayors 1900-1909
1900  Peter Brown
1901  Michael Real
1902  Charles William Louis Heiner
1903  William Henry Summerville
1904  Hugh Reilly
1905  Isaac Ham
1906  Frederick John Goleby
1907  Alfred John Stephenson
1908  William Thomas Deacon
1909  James Cooper
1910  Maurice Bowers
1911  Richard Patrick Watson
1912  Alfred Tully Stephenson
1913  Rockley Battye
1914  Alfred Tully Stephenson
1915  Frederick George Springall
1916  Thomas Joseph Smith
1917  Pearson Welsley Cameron
1918  Frank Barker
1919  Edward John Loftus Easton

Scroll down the page for individual entries for each Mayor.

The town of Ipswich which was a municipality covering 6.5 sq km with a population of 8637 people, became a city in 1904. Members of the Municipal Council had unanimously agreed to apply for city status. Local state parliamentarians informed the council by telegram on 2 December 1904 stating that the request had been approved and that a notice would appear in the Government Gazette the next day.

One of the alderman commented that it was only a 10 minute walk in any direction from the Town Hall to the boundaries of the City. With city status came the proposal to expand the boundaries but a minor change to boundaries in 1905 actually resulted in the Ipswich area being slightly smaller. In 1912, the Council approached the government about enlarging the city which did not occur until 1916.

Hugh Reilly the first Mayor of the City of Ipswich – was presented with new mayoral robes in honour of the occasion:
The Attorney General (the Hon. J. W. Blair) in an appropriate speech, then presented the Mayor with his new robes. His Worship, accompanied by Aldermen Real and Cooper, retired behind the scenes for a few moments, and returning in his robe, was greeted with loud applause. The robe is a very handsome one. It is made of lustrous black silk, specially manufactured for robes of this character, with velvet facings and lined with fur specially obtained from Melbourne. A pretty lace collar is also worn, helping to set off the robes. Mayor Reilly, who is of burly proportions, carried off the dignity of the office remarkably well.