City of Wanneroo

City of Wanneroo Western Australia
Population	188,212 (2016 census)[1] (27th)
• Density	274.442/km2 (710.80/sq mi)
Established	1902
Area	685.8 km2 (264.8 sq mi)
Mayor	Tracey Roberts
Council seat	Wanneroo
Region	North metropolitan Perth
State electorate(s)	Wanneroo, Burns Beach, Butler, Girrawheen, Mirrabooka, West Swan
Federal Division(s)	Cowan, Moore, Pearce
Website	City of Wanneroo
LGAs around City of Wanneroo: Gingin Chittering Indian Ocean City of Wanneroo Swan Joondalup Stirling

The City of Wanneroo is a local government area with city status in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It is centred approximately 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) north of Perth's central business district and forms part of the northern boundary of the Perth metropolitan area.

The city's main commercial and residential town centres are located at Wanneroo in the east and Clarkson in the north. Further urban centres are planned at Alkimos, Yanchep and Two Rocks in the future to coincide with rapid metropolitan expansion and development in the area.^[2] It is also home to the Yanchep and Neerabup National Parks, as well as the Neerabup Industrial Estate in the north.

From the city's inception until 1998, it also incorporated the neighbouring City of Joondalup in its entirety.

Geography

Wanneroo covers a land area totalling 685.8 square kilometres (264.8 sq mi). The city is bounded by Beach Road and the City of Stirling to the south, Alexander Drive and the City of Swan to the east, Wanneroo Road and Lake Joondalup to the south-west, the Indian Ocean to the west and the Shire of Gingin to the north.

Wanneroo's population is concentrated in three locations: at the southern end centred on Girrawheen; in the region surrounding Wanneroo near the city's geographical centre; and along the northern Perth coastline centred on Clarkson, separated from Joondalup by the rural localities of Neerabup and Tamala Park. Land in the city's north and east is predominantly rural in character.

Suburbs

The city's 36 suburbs and localities are grouped into the following four electoral wards:^[3]

* Part of Woodvale is located within the City of Joondalup.

History

Prior to 1902, Wanneroo was part of the Perth Road District, which eventually went on to become the City of Stirling. Wanneroo was established on 31 October 1902 as a road board under the Roads Act 1888. The board was named after the Wanneroo wetlands in the area, first explored and recorded by John Butler in 1834.^[4]

With the passage of the Local Government Act 1960, all road boards became shires effective from 1 July 1961,^[5] and the Shire of Wanneroo came into being, encompassing everything north of Beach Road and west of Alexander Drive. With the development of and subsequent population growth surrounding Joondalup, the Shire of Wanneroo attained City status on 31 October 1985.^[6]

On 1 July 1998, on the recommendation of a report by the Local Government Advisory Committee, the City of Wanneroo was bifurcated. The southwestern section, encompassing the urban centre of Joondalup, was separately incorporated as the new City of Joondalup. The remainder, including the inland suburbs east of Lake Joondalup and the coastal suburbs north of Burns Beach, formed a reduced Shire of Wanneroo, which quickly regained City status on 1 July 1999.^[7] As this was before the local government elections to elect a mayor and councillors, the second incarnation of the Shire did not have a Shire President.^[8]

Demographics

The City of Wanneroo has experienced significant population growth of almost 110,000 persons in the 15 years between the 2001 Census and 2016 Census. The city also has the second largest population of any other local government area in greater Perth.

Selected historical census data for Wanneroo local government area
Census year			2001[9]	2006[10]	2011[11]	2016[1]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	80,008	110,940	152,077	188,212
		LGA rank in terms of size within Western Australia		3rd	3rd	2nd
		% of Western Australia population	4.37%	5.66%	6.79%	7.60%
		% of Australian population	0.43%	0.56%	0.71%	0.80%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			31.0%	29.5%
		Australian			21.5%	19.9%
		Scottish			6.2%	6.2%
		Irish			5.7%	6.2%
		Italian			3.6%	3.3%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Vietnamese	3.8%	3.1%	2.7%	2.7%
		Italian	1.8%	1.4%	1.1%
		Macedonian	1.4%	1.2%	1.0%
		Arabic	0.6%	0.8%	1.0%	1.0%
		Polish	0.5%
		Spanish		0.5%
		Afrikaans			1.3%	1.6%
Gujarati				0.9%
Mandarin				0.9%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	25.3%	23.4%	23.3%	20.9%
		Anglican	21.3%	20.6%	19.6%	14.3%
		No religion	19.3%	21.7%	23.8%	31.8%
		Buddhism	3.5%	3.0%	3.0%
		Uniting	2.6%	2.6%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$491	A$662	A$724
		% of Australian median income		105.4%	114.7%	109.4%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1184	A$1722	A$1910
		% of Australian median income		101.1%	116.2%	110.2%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1094	A$1415	A$1595
		% of Australian median income		106.5%	114.7%	110.9%

With less than 53% of the population having been born in Australia at the 2016 Census, Wanneroo has a large immigrant populace. Over 13% of Wanneroo's residents were born in the United Kingdom, compared to less than 4.0% nationwide. New Zealanders, Vietnamese and South Africans compose the city's most significant minority populations.^[12]

• The 1991 population included 45,024 in what is now the City of Wanneroo, with the rest located in the City of Joondalup area. Similarly, the 1996 population includes 61,660 for Wanneroo.

Transport

The City of Wanneroo is served by two major north–south arterial roads, Wanneroo Road and Marmion Avenue. The two roads run parallel to each other through Wanneroo's eastern and western suburbs respectively. A third north–south arterial route, the Mitchell Freeway, is proposed to be extended from Burns Beach Road through to Toreopango Avenue and beyond.

The City of Wanneroo currently has two railway stations in Clarkson and Butler. As a result of the Public Transport Plan for Perth 2031, the Clarkson rail line is proposed to be extended north to Yanchep with stations at Alkimos, Eglinton, and Yanchep.

Governance

The Wanneroo City Council operates out of the Council Chambers on Dundebar Road, Wanneroo.

Elections are held every four years, for a mayor and 14 councillors across the city's four electoral wards. In 2011, five councillors were elected for the densely populated and urbanised South Ward, compared to four for the North Coast Ward, and four for the Central Ward.^[13]

Sister cities

Wanneroo has three sister cities. It was also formerly twinned with Sorrento in Italy, but this association was broken with the bifurcation of Wanneroo in 1998, when the Wanneroo suburb of Sorrento was incorporated into the City of Joondalup.^[14]

• Sinagra, Sicily, Italy
• Kastoria, Greece (1992)
• Guigang, Guangxi, China (2005)

References

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 31°44′49″S 115°48′11″E / 31.747°S 115.803°E / -31.747; 115.803