IN this week's Throwback Thursday gallery we look back at the origins of Great Lakes Council which can trace its origins back to 1906 and the Stroud Shire Temporary Council. Here is a brief history:
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THE Shire of Stroud was gazetted on March 7, 1906 and on May 16, 1906 five gentlemen were appointed by Sir Harry Holdsworth Rawson, the Governor of New South Wales, to form a temporary council of the new shire. The gentlemen appointed were: Donald Cameron, James Charles McIntyre, John Andrew McKenzie, John McKim and Donald Noble.
The first meeting of the Stroud Shire Temporary Council took place on June 13, 1906 at the Court House at Bulahdelah. John Andrew McKenzie was appointed chairman and John McKim was appointed acting secretary.
Subsequent meetings were held at the Stroud Court House. The main purpose of the temporary council was to set up the basic structure for the new council’s operation and prepare the lists and rolls of electors for the first shire elections which were to be held on November 24, 1906. The temporary council was to hold meetings, prepare business papers and record minutes, appoint servants and hand over the records to the new council following the election.
At the commencement of the State financial year, an advance of ?20 was lodged to the credit of the chairman of the temporary council to meet current expenses. Accounts had to be rendered fortnightly so that recoupment could be made frequently and keep the temporary council in funds. The police were designated as the collectors of lists of names of persons entitled to be enrolled under the ordinances and these lists were then to be scrutinised by the temporary council and publicly exhibited prior to the final lists being compiled.
The Temporary Council, at its first meeting, set up an account at the Bank of Australasia at Stroud, made the decision that meetings should be held at Stroud, called for tenders for the Clerkship and commenced the preparation of the electoral rolls.
At its second meeting on June 26, 1906, the temporary council approved the purchase of stationery not to exceed the amount of ?5. It also appointed Mr J W Gossip as the temporary shire clerk at a salary of 30/- (30 shillings) per week.
The honorary councillors met twice monthly until December 8, 1906. They dealt with the matters that had been entrusted to them – exhibiting lists of electors at each police station within the shire, setting up the polling booths etc.
They argued over where meetings should be held – Bulahdelah or Stroud? The matter of where meetings should be held was a contentious issue from the beginning. The place of meeting was originally proclaimed as Bulahdelah, but the temporary councillors voted three to two against Bulahdelah – (For: Cameron and McKim; Against: McKenzie, McIntyre and Noble). Letters were received from the Bulahdelah Progress Association and others in relation to this matter, and the response was that the majority of councillors were of the opinion that they would not be justified in altering the meeting place.
The Temporary Council had to query whether the temporary shire clerk, Mr Gossip, was eligible to be nominated as a shire councillor without resigning his temporary clerkship. The outcome of this query was that Mr Gossip resigned, but continued to serve without pay.
There was a problem with the first batch of ballot papers and it was necessary to have a fresh batch printed. The Temporary Councillors faithfully fulfilled the requirements of their honorary positions and handed over to the newly elected council on December 8, 1906.
