The City celebrates its 150th year as a Local Government

Published on Friday, 12 February 2021 at 4:08:59 PM

The City of Busselton celebrates its 150^th year as a Local Government area this year. On the 21 February 1871, the area now known as the City of Busselton was formally declared under the Municipal Institutions’ Act.

Local Governments today are a lot different from local governments 150 years ago – particularly so here in the City of Busselton where we have seen such significant growth. Back then local governments were pretty much limited to road construction with very limited power to raise taxes to provide other services. Of course today Local Governments do much more than fix roads.

We pass local by-laws to protect our environment and lifestyle; we provide health services, libraries and recreational and cultural facilities; we manage waste and recycling; take care of the environment and plan for future development. Of course we still build roads and fix roads.

We thought it would be fun to look back and see how much things have changed since 1871. During the course of the year we’ll be sharing some fabulous images and recollections of our great municipality over the many decades. If you would like to share a special story or photograph with your community please contact media@busselton.wa.gov.au