The City of Bayside is a local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is within the southern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of 36 square kilometres and in 2018 had a population of 105,718 people.
History
City of Brighton
In 1858, after receiving two petitions, the Government proclaimed the Municipality of Brighton. Brighton was proclaimed a borough in 1863, a town in 1887, and a city in 1919.
City of Sandringham
The Moorabbin Road District was created in 1862 and became the Shire of Moorabbin in 1871. In 1917, parts of the West and South ridings were severed to create the Borough of Sandringham and three years later parts of the South and Cheltenham ridings were severed to create the Borough of Mentone and Mordialloc. The two boroughs became the Town of Sandringham and the Town of Mentone and Mordialloc in 1919 and 1923 respectively and Sandringham the City of Sandringham in 1923.
City of Moorabbin
Created a road district on 16 May 1862 and later proclaimed a shire in January 1871. A portion of Moorabbin Shire severed and annexed to Brighton Town in 1912 and a portion severed in 1917. The Borough of Mentone and Mordialloc was established in 1920 and re-subdivided in 1929 and later proclaimed a city in 1934.
City of Mordialloc
Created as the Borough of Mentone and Mordialloc by severance from Moorabbin Shire in May 1920. Redefined as a portion of Moorabbin Shire being severed and annexed in 1921. Declared a town in April 1923 and its name changed to Town of Mordialloc in April 1923 and later gazetted a city on 5 May 1926.
City of Bayside
On 15 December 1994 a new municipality was created to form Bayside City Council which comprises the former City of Brighton, the former City of Sandringham and part of the former City of Mordialloc west of Charman Road and part of the City of Moorabbin between the railway and Charman Road.
Under the initial proposal for the LGA, it was to be named "City of Warrain", warrain being a Boon wurrung word for "by the sea" (and also an earlier name for North Road), but the City of Sandringham proposed that the name "Bayside" be used instead.
Bayside was rated eighth of 590 Australian Local Government Areas in the Bankwest Quality of Life Index 2008.
Council Council composition
WardPartyCouncillorNotesBeckett Independent Liberal Debbie Taylor-Haynes MayorBleazby Independent Liberal Robert IrlichtBoyd Independent Kylie McIntoshCastlefield Independent Elli MurrayDendy Independent Hanna El Mouallem Ebden Independent Liberal Geoff LeighIvison Independent Andrew Hockley Deputy Mayor
Past councillors 1997−2008 (nine wards) YearAbbottCharmanClaytonDendyEbdenMairMoyseySmithWereCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillorCouncillor 1997 Michael Harwood (Ind.) Terry O'Brien (Ind.) Craig Tucker (Ind.) Elizabeth Francis (Ind.) Simon Russell (Ind.) Alex del Porto (Ind.) Vivien Kluger (Ind.) Graeme Disney (Ind.) Jill McKiggan (Ind.) 2000 Nicholas Eden (Ind.) Gary Andrews (Ind.) Ken Beadle (Ind.) Michael Heffernan (Liberal) 2003 Chris Carroll (Ind.) Craig Tucker (Ind.) Andrew McLorinan (Ind.) Derek Wilson (Ind.) Mike Dwyer (Ind.) Tim Ryan (Ind.) 2005 Michael Norris (Ind.) Terry O'Brien (Ind.) Kristin Stegley (Ind.) John Knight (Ind.) James Long (Ind.) Clifford Hayes (Ind.)
2008−2020 (three wards) Central Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2008 James LongIndependent Felicity FredericoLiberal Louise Cooper-ShawIndependent 2012 Stephen HartneyLiberal 2014 Bruce LoweIndependent 2016 Rob GrinterLiberal Sonia CastelliIndependent
Northern Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2008 Alex del PortoIndependent Clifford HayesIndependent 2010 Sustainable Australia 2012 Michael HeffernanLiberal 2016
Southern Ward + YearCouncillor PartyCouncillor Party 2008 Michael NorrisIndependent Simon RussellIndependent 2012 Lawrence EvansIndependent Heather StewartIndependent 2016 Clarke MartinIndependent
2020−2024 (seven wards)
WardPartyCouncillorNotesBeckett Independent Clarke Martin Bleazby Independent Alex Del PortoBoyd Independent Fiona StitfoldCastlefield Independent Jo Samuel-KingDendy Independent Hanna El Mouallem MayorEbden Independent Laurence EvansIvison Independent Sonia Castelli
Election results 2024
Townships and localities The 2021 census, the city had a population of 101,306 up from 97,087 in the 2016 census
Population Locality 2016 2021 13,349 13,947 6,159 6,389 23,253 23,252 ^ 15,998 16,757 ^ 22,291 23,992 13,391 13,518 4,689 5,069 ^ 10,454 12,016 10,241 10,926
^ - Territory divided with another LGA
Controversies Fence signs in 2022 Federal Election campaign
Prompted by one of the candidates for the Goldstein federal electorate, the council warned residents against erecting candidate fence signs too early in the 2022 Federal Election campaign period. This was challenged in the Victorian Supreme Court by representatives of another candidate, which ruled that the signs were legal. The Age called the ruling a "humiliating result" for Bayside Council.
Suppression of accolades for volunteer award winner
Zaina Amro (16 y.o. at the time) was presented with Bayside's 2025 Julian Gurrieri Memorial Award for Bayside Youth Participation . This was celebrated in online forums of council and the recipient's school .
An article celebrating the award was published in "Let's Talk Bayside", the city's newsletter for residents, with a photograph on the front cover featuring the award recipient. Following delivery of a fraction of the physical newsletter to residents, letters of complaint were received by council from seven people, objecting to a small Palestine emblem on the necklace worn by the recipient. This prompted Bayside to destroy the remaining printed copies of the newsletter and reissue it without the article and with a different cover image.
No record of the Julian Gurrieri award remains on the City of Bayside website, for 2025 or any previous year.
The suppression of the accolades for Ms. Amro has been noted publicly in the Australian Parliament,
and in the media.
See also List of mayors of Bayside List of Melbourne suburbs
References
External links
Metlink local public transport map Link to Land Victoria interactive maps Demographics of City of Bayside