Marrickville Council Archives

About the Archives

Marrickville Council Archives hold the surviving historical records of Marrickville Council, in addition to those records of the former Municipal Councils whose boundaries now fall within the Marrickville Council Local Government Area (LGA).

Records held are from the former St Peters Municipal Council (1871 – 1948) and Petersham Municipal Council (1872 – 1948). These two Councils merged with Marrickville Council (which was incorporated in 1861) in 1949 after the introduction of the Local Government (Areas) Act of 1948.

In 1968 Marrickville Council gained sections of Camperdown and Newtown (south of Parramatta Road and west of King Street), to form the present day boundaries of the Marrickville LGA. Few records for these areas, however, are held in the Council Archives.

Marrickville Council's Library & History Services provides access to and provision of records held by Marrickville Council Archives.  Access is facilitated by the Archivist, Library & History Services and assisted by other team members.

Records held in the Archives

Archival records available for public research include the following:

  • Council Rate & Valuation books
    Dating from 1871, these records detail a variety of information including the owner and occupier of the property, type of construction, lot number, name of estate, and the name of property itself. They are predominately used by researchers tracing the history of their home.
     
  • Council Minutes
    These records date from 1871 for both St Peters and Petersham Councils, and from 1905 for the Municipality of Marrickville.  They record details of the business transacted and decisions reached by the various Councils.
     
  • Council Correspondence files
    These records contain an enormous amount of information relevant to the Marrickville LGA.  The files date from around 1918 and include the following; Mayor's reports; applications to erect buildings, petrol pumps, signs and awnings; petitions; applications to subdivide land; lists and reports relating to waterholes; reports and information on the construction of Council's garbage destructor; and files on Council's parks, reserves and ovals.

For a complete list of the holdings of Marrickville Council Archives please see the following guide:

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