The City of Rockingham in Perth, Western Australia, was gazetted on 4 February 1897 as the Rockingham Road Board with a chairman and councillors under the Roads Boards Act 1871. With the passage of the Local Government Act 1960, all road boards became Shires with a shire president and councillors effective 1 July 1961, the Rockingham Road Board thereby becoming Shire of Rockingham. Rockingham attained city status on 12 November 1988, at which point the president became a mayor.
Rockingham's current mayor, Lorna Buchan was elected in October 2025, with her predecessor being Deb Hamlin who was the first female to hold this office. Barry Sammels retired in August 2021 had been the longest-serving active mayor in Western Australia, having first been elected mayor of Rockingham in 2003.
Previous to the 2021 elections, the mayor of Rockingham had historically been elected by the councillors. After an eight year debate, the council voted in September 2020 to change to a publicly-elected mayor.
Chairmen The chairman of the Rockingham Road Board: Chairman Term C. Parkin 1897–1902 E. Thorpe 1903–1908 C. G. Meade 1909–1912 S. Dvoretsky 1913–1916 D. Mitchinson 1917–1919 S. Dvoretsky 1920–1928 G. E. Grigg 1925–1938 S. Dvoretsky 1931–1932 T. H. Purdy 1939 F. W. Churcher 1940–1943 G. E. Grigg 1940–1947 H. E. France 1944 H. M. Growden 1947 W. L. Hughes 1948–1949 F. W. Churcher 1950 C. G. Lynch 1951–1953 N. H. France 1954–1956 Alf Powell 1957–1961
Shire presidents The shire presidents of the Shire of Rockingham: President Term Alf Powell 1962–1981 W. D. A. Mays 1982–1986 Laurie E. Smith 1986–1988 Richard R. Smith 1988
Mayors The mayors of the City of Rockingham: Mayor Term Richard R. Smith 1988–1991 Laurie E. Smith 1991–1994 F. W. Gardiner 1994–1997 Chris S. Elliott 1997–2003 Barry William Sammels 2003–2021 Deb A. Hamblin 2021–2025Lorna Buchan 2025–
Election results The election results since switching to a publicly-elected mayor: 2021
2025
References