List of mayors and lord mayors of Newcastle explained

This is a list of mayors and lord mayors of Newcastle 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 Newcastle.

First incorporated on 7 June 1859 as the "Municipality of Newcastle", the council became known as "The Borough of Newcastle" on 23 December 1867 following the enactment of The Municipalities Act of 1867, and on 1 April 1938 the "City of Greater Newcastle" was proclaimed. In recognition of Newcastle's role as NSW's second oldest and largest city, the council applied to have the title "Lord Mayor", which was granted in October 1947 by King George VI and applied in October 1948. This made Newcastle the first Australian city that was not a capital to receive such an honour.^[1] On 1 April 1949 the official title of the council became the "City of Newcastle".^[2]

The current Lord Mayor-Elect of Newcastle is Ross Kerridge, who was elected at the 2024 local government elections.

Mayors (1859–1948)

Years	Mayors[3]
1859–1862	James Hannell
1863–1864	R. D. Bishop
1865	J. Ward
1866	Simon Kemp
1867	W. Brooks[4]
1868–1869	James Hannell
1870	W. A. Spark
1871	James Hannell
1872–1873
1874–1875	E. A. White
1876	Francis Shaw
1876	David Ludlow
1877–1879	George Wallace
1880	Samuel Chapman
1881	Joseph Creer
1882	Thomas Brooks
1883	William Laing
1884	Stewart Keightley
1885	C. W. Morgan
1886	John Thorn
1887	George William Webb
1888–1889	Henry Buchanan
1890	Colin Christie
1891	William Thomas Gibb
1892	James Rogers
1893	Augustus Frederick Moore
1894	Alfred Asher
1895	William Sharp
1896	Thomas Smith
1897	David Miller
1898	William Kidd
1899	Alfred Timbury
1900	David Miller
1901	W. J. Ellis
1902–1903	William Cann
1904	John Gilbert
1905	Michael Moroney
1906–1907	Arthur James
1908	Andrew Cook
1909–1910	John Christian Reid
1911–1913	Hugh McLachlan Shedden
1914	John Christian Reid
1915	Robert George Kilgour
1916–1917	Michael Moroney
1918–1919	Robert George Kilgour
1920	Robert Gibson
1921	Robert George Kilgour
1922–1923	Henry Cornish
1924	Robert George Kilgour
1925	Morris Light
1926	Henry Cornish
1927–1928	Robert Gibson
1929	Harry Lambert Wheeler
1930	Thomas Blackall
1931–1932	Charles Parker
1933	William McGregor Shedden
1934	Robert George Kilgour
1935	Richard Christie
1936–1937	H. Fenton
1938	Arthur Griffiths[5]
1939	George Jenner
1940	James Wiggins
1941–1942	Walter Young
1943	Ernest Dunkley (Ind)
1944 – December 1946	Roy Norris
December 1946 – October 1948	Harry Quinlan

Lord Mayors (1948–present)

	Image	Lord Mayor	Party	Term	Notes
			Harry Quinlan	Independent	nowrap	October 1948 – December 1950
			Frank Purdue	Citizens Group	nowrap	December 1950 – December 1951
			Tom Armstrong	Independent	nowrap	December 1951 – December 1952
			Frank Purdue	Citizens Group	nowrap	December 1952 – December 1955
			Douglas McDougall	Citizens Group	nowrap	December 1955 – December 1956
			Charles Jones	Labor	nowrap	December 1956 – December 1957
			Douglas McDougall	Citizens Group	nowrap	December 1957 – December 1958
			Ernest Dunkle	Independent	nowrap	December 1958 – December 1959
			Frank Purdue	Citizens Group	nowrap	December 1959 – December 1965
			Douglas McDougall	Citizens Group	nowrap	December 1965 – September 1973
			Gordon Anderson	Independent	nowrap	September 1973 – September 1974
			Joy Cummings	Labor	nowrap	September 1974 – September 1976
			Gordon Anderson	Independent	nowrap	September 1976 – September 1977
			Joy Cummings	Labor	nowrap	September 1977 – 16 April 1984
			Don Geddes	Citizens Group	nowrap	16 April 1984 – 2 October 1984	Acting lord mayor[6]
			Colin Saunders	N/A	nowrap	2 October 1984 – 1986	Administrator[7]
			John McNaughton	Labor	nowrap	1986 – September 1995
			Greg Heys	Labor	nowrap	September 1995 – September 1999
			John Tate	Independent	nowrap	11 September 1999 – 8 September 2012
			Jeff McCloy	Independent	nowrap	8 September 2012 – 17 August 2014
			Brad Luke	Liberal	nowrap	17 August 2014 – 15 November 2014	Acting lord mayor[8]
			Nuatali Nelmes	Labor	nowrap	15 November 2014 – 14 September 2024
			Ross Kerridge	Independent Labor	nowrap	14 September 2024 – present	Elected under the campaign banner 'Our Newcastle'. Former life member of the Labor Party. Incumbent[9]

Electoral results

2012

External links

• The City of Newcastle (Council website)

Notes and References

1. News: Newcastle Has Its First Lord Mayor. . . NSW . 6 October 1947 . 7 April 2013 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
2. Web site: DiGravio. Gionni. Sesquicentenary of Local Government in Newcastle. Archives Outside. NSW State Archives. 30 March 2013. 30 September 2009.
3. Web site: Mayors, Lord Mayors, Town Clerks & General Managers 1859 - 2009. 150 Years - Local Democracy in Newcastle 1859 - 2009. Newcastle City Council. 30 March 2013. 22. 2009.
4. First Mayor of Newcastle Borough Council.
5. First Mayor of Greater Newcastle Council.
6. News: Newcastle council dismissed . . 59 . 17,902 . Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 3 October 1984 . 23 October 2017 . 1 . National Library of Australia.
7. News: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1919.—PROCLAMATION. . Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales . 141 . New South Wales, Australia . 2 October 1984 . 23 October 2017 . 4909 . National Library of Australia.
8. News: Luke's independent tilt for mayor. GORDON. JASON. 2014-10-14. Newcastle Herald. 2018-04-09. en.
9. Web site: About Ross . ournewcastle.info . 27 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240914064534/https://www.ournewcastle.info/about . 14 September 2024.