The City of Newcastle is a local government area in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The City of Newcastle incorporates much of the area of the Newcastle metropolitan area.
The Lord Mayor-elect of the City of Newcastle Council is Gavin Morris, an Independent politician elected at a by-election in April 2026.
History The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by council as the traditional custodians of the land and waters of Newcastle.
Municipality of Newcastle
Following the passing of the Municipalities Act 1858 by the New South Wales parliament, the Municipality of Newcastle was proclaimed on 7 June 1859. The new Municipality was divided into three wards – City, Macquarie, and Honeysuckle. Eight years later, the Municipalities Act 1867 classified the Newcastle Municipality as a "Borough".
Creation of modern council The Greater Newcastle Act 1937 merged the City of Newcastle with 10 of its suburban municipalities to form the City of Greater Newcastle. The Act also transferred parts of the Lake Macquarie Shire and Tarro Shire to the new city. The amalgamations and transfers took effect from 2 April 1938.
The newly created City of Greater Newcastle was subsequently renamed to City of Newcastle on 23 March 1949. MunicipalityDate establishedPopulationDocherty, p. 2991891190119111921Adamstown31 December 18852,0302,4202,6603,959Carrington28 March 18872,1372,5472,6853,115Hamilton11 December 18714,8446,1247,90814,196Lambton26 June 18713,4363,1592,7963,691Merewether20 August 18854,3994,5474,1515,908New Lambton1 August 18891,5481,5781,8273,550Stockton12 October 18892,4172,5492,1064,598Wallsend27 February 18746,9456,9976,0076,446Waratah23 February 18712,7183,0804,41912,192Wickham25 February 18716,5827,7528,43412,151
21st Century proposed amalgamation After a 2015 review by the NSW Government Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal found that Newcastle City Council was not "fit for the future", it was recommended that the City of Newcastle merge with Lake Macquarie City Council. However, the Minister for Local Government subsequently proposed that Newcastle City Council instead merge with Port Stephens Council to form a new council with an area of and support a population of approximately 230,000. The outcome of an independent review was completed by mid–2016. On 14 February 2017, the NSW Government announced it would not be proceeding with further regional council mergers, including the Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council merger.
Suburbs, towns and villages The towns and villages in the City of Newcastle are split into four wards – Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 3, Ward 4. These include:
Ward 1 Carrington Cooks Hill Islington Maryville Mayfield Mayfield East Mayfield North Mayfield West Newcastle Newcastle East Newcastle West Stockton The Hill Tighes Hill Warabrook Wickham
Ward 2 Adamstown Adamstown Heights Bar Beach Broadmeadow Cooks Hill Hamilton Hamilton East Hamilton South Kotara Merewether Merewether Heights Newcastle West The Junction
Ward 3 Birmingham Gardens Callaghan Georgetown Jesmond Hamilton North Kotara Lambton New Lambton New Lambton Heights North Lambton Rankin Park Wallsend Waratah Waratah West
Ward 4 Beresfield Black Hill Elermore Vale Fletcher Hexham Lenaghan Maryland Minmi Sandgate Shortland Tarro Wallsend
Notes
Demographics At the 2021 census, there were people in the City of Newcastle local government area, of these 49.1 per cent were Male and 50.9 per cent were Female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.4 per cent of the population, which was higher than the national and state averages of 3.2 and 3.4 per cent respectively. The median age of people in the City of Newcastle was 37 years, just below the national median of 38. Children aged 0–14 years made up 16.2 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 16.9 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 38.7 per cent were married and 12.7 per cent were either divorced or separated.
Population growth in the City of Newcastle between the 2001 census and the 2006 census was 3.91 per cent; and in the subsequent ten years to the 2016 census, population growth was 9.64 per cent. When compared with total population growth of Australia for the same periods, being 5.78 per cent and 17.86 per cent respectively, population growth in the City of Newcastle local government area was significantly lower than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Newcastle was marginally higher than the national average.
At the 2021 census, 80.8% of residents in the City of Newcastle local government area stated their country of birth as Australia significantly exceeding the national average of 66.9%. Almost 60% of all residents in the City of Newcastle nominated a religion with Catholicism being at almost 25%, which was slightly higher than the national average of 22.6%. As at the 2016 census, households in the City of Newcastle local government area had a significantly lower than average proportion (11.6%) where a language other than English is spoken (national average was 22.2%).
Selected historical census data for the City of Newcastle local government areaCensus year 20012006201120162021Population Estimated residents on Census night LGA rank in terms of size within New South Wales 18 % of New South Wales population 2.15% 2.08% 2.09%% of Australian population 0.73% 0.71% 0.69% 0.66% 0.66%Cultural and language diversity Ancestry,top responses English 29.2% 29.3% 40.7%Australian 30.4% 27.7% 37.8%Irish 8.9% 9.6% 12.5%Scottish 8.0% 8.3% 11.6%German 2.9% 3.0%Australian Aboriginal 4.2%Language,top responses(other than English) Mandarinn/c 0.4% 0.6% 1.2% 1.0%Macedonian1.1% 0.9% 0.8% 0.7% 0.6%Italian0.9% 0.7% 0.7% 0.5% 0.4%Greek0.7% 0.7% 0.6% 0.5% 0.4%Religious affiliation Religious affiliation,top responses No Religion12.7% 16.3% 22.6% 32.8% 44.8%Catholic26.6% 26.1% 25.3% 22.2% 18.9%Anglican27.0% 25.0% 22.3% 17.0% 12.3%Uniting Church8.2% 7.0% 5.9% 4.2% 2.9% Presbyterian and Reformed4.1% 3.5% 3.2% Median weekly incomes Personal income Median weekly personal income 409 563 660 852% of Australian median income 87.8% 97.6% 99.7% 105.8%Family income Median weekly family income % of Australian median income 96.7% 103.3% 102.5% 106.7% Household income Median weekly household income % of Australian median income 86.2% 94.4% 95.1% 100.8%Dwelling structure Dwelling type Separate house74.6% 73.3% 73.5% 71.1% 69.0%Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse10.0% 10.9% 12.1% 15.4% 16.2%Flat or apartment14.1% 14.9% 13.9% 12.7% 14.2%
Council
Current composition and election method Newcastle City Council is composed of thirteen councillors, including the Lord Mayor, generally for a fixed four-year term of office. The Lord Mayor is directly elected while the twelve other Councillors are elected proportionally as four separate wards, each electing three Councillors. The most recent elections were held on 14 September 2024 (full council) and 18 April 2026 (lord-mayoral by-election). The current makeup of the council, including the Lord Mayor, is as follows:
PartyCouncillors Labor 5 Greens 3 2 Liberal 2 Independent 1 Total 13
The current Council, largely elected in September 2024, in order of election by ward is:
WardCouncillorPartyNotes Lord Mayor Gavin Morris Independent Elected at a by-election in April 2026 Ward One Declan Clausen Labor Councillor since 2017 by-election Charlotte McCabe Greens Councillor since 2021 Peter Gittins Our Newcastle Councillor since 2024Ward Two Paige Johnson Labor Councillor since 2024 Jenny Barrie Liberal Councillor since 2021 Joel Pringle Greens Councillor since 2024Ward Three Peta Winney-Baartz Labor Councillor since 2025 count-back election Mark Brooker Our Newcastle Councillor since 2024 Siobhan Isherwood Greens Councillor since 2025 count-back electionWard Four Elizabeth Adamczyk Labor Councillor since 2021 Callum Pull Liberal Councillor since 2021 Deahnna Richardson Labor Councillor since 2021
Election results 2024
2026 lord mayoral by-election
Sister cities
Newcastle Council has sister city relations with the following cities: City Prefecture/State Country Year Ube 1980 Dubbo 1995 Arcadia
Coat of arms
Notes
References
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