City of Whitehorse (Whitehorse)
The City of Whitehorse is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 64 km² and in June 2018, Whitehorse had a population of 176,196.
Whitehorse was formed in December 1994 by the amalgamation of the former cities of Box Hill and Nunawading. The name Whitehorse came from the White Horse Inn, a tavern originally located in the area in the late 19th century. This name was applied to the major thoroughfare, Whitehorse Road, which runs through the municipality today.
In the original proposals for council amalgamations in Melbourne, Whitehorse was a suggested name for an area comprising the City of Box Hill, with the addition of residents east of Union Road (part of the old City of Camberwell). The affected residents were unhappy, believing an alignment with Box Hill would lower the value of their properties. A second proposal featured the current boundaries of Whitehorse. The City of Nunawading proposed the name "City of Koornung", claiming it was more appropriate, as both cities shared the Koonung Creek, but they failed to note they had spelled Koonung incorrectly in their proposal. Another suggestion was "City of Deakin", as the region of Whitehorse contains both the Federal electorate of Deakin, and the Melbourne campus of Deakin University, in Burwood.
Effective from the 2020 local council elections, Whitehorse has eleven single-member wards. The names of the eleven single-member wards are: Cootamundra, Eley, Elgar, Kingsley, Lake, Mahoneys, Simpson, Sparks, Terrara, Walker and Wattle. Councillors are elected every four years to represent their ward. Council elections are conducted by postal voting and votes are counted using instant-runoff voting. Voting is compulsory for residents who are on the electoral roll for state elections, but voters aged 70 years or over are not obliged to vote at local council elections. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council for a term of one year, at the end of which a council meeting is held to elect the mayor for another fixed term.
The current councillors, elected at the 2020 election, are as follows:
Whitehorse was formed in December 1994 by the amalgamation of the former cities of Box Hill and Nunawading. The name Whitehorse came from the White Horse Inn, a tavern originally located in the area in the late 19th century. This name was applied to the major thoroughfare, Whitehorse Road, which runs through the municipality today.
In the original proposals for council amalgamations in Melbourne, Whitehorse was a suggested name for an area comprising the City of Box Hill, with the addition of residents east of Union Road (part of the old City of Camberwell). The affected residents were unhappy, believing an alignment with Box Hill would lower the value of their properties. A second proposal featured the current boundaries of Whitehorse. The City of Nunawading proposed the name "City of Koornung", claiming it was more appropriate, as both cities shared the Koonung Creek, but they failed to note they had spelled Koonung incorrectly in their proposal. Another suggestion was "City of Deakin", as the region of Whitehorse contains both the Federal electorate of Deakin, and the Melbourne campus of Deakin University, in Burwood.
Effective from the 2020 local council elections, Whitehorse has eleven single-member wards. The names of the eleven single-member wards are: Cootamundra, Eley, Elgar, Kingsley, Lake, Mahoneys, Simpson, Sparks, Terrara, Walker and Wattle. Councillors are elected every four years to represent their ward. Council elections are conducted by postal voting and votes are counted using instant-runoff voting. Voting is compulsory for residents who are on the electoral roll for state elections, but voters aged 70 years or over are not obliged to vote at local council elections. The mayor is elected by the councillors at the first meeting of the council for a term of one year, at the end of which a council meeting is held to elect the mayor for another fixed term.
The current councillors, elected at the 2020 election, are as follows:
Map - City of Whitehorse (Whitehorse)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |