City Engineer's Department I

Unique IDAG-0005DescriptionThe City Engineer's Department, established by a Resolution of Council on 1 June 1936, was created by splitting CA 61, City Engineering and Building Surveyor's Department. (CA 16, City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department took up the other functions). The department was initially divided into 6 branches - Management, Cleansing, Construction and Maintenance, Engineering, Parks and Transport.

In July 1937, a Town Planning section was established in the Engineering Branch. The responsibilities of the Department included public licenses and permits; road construction and maintenance extending to surveys, plans and resumptions; Council stores and depots; Council building construction and maintenance; rubbish collection; street cleaning; public conveniences; parks; playgrounds; and Council vehicles.

In September 1948, responsibility for administration and maintenance of the parks, playgrounds and baby health centres was split from the City Engineer's Department and established as a separate Department (CA 10, Parks and Recreations Department, 1948-1988).

The following year, Council's boundaries were extended under the Local Government Areas Act 1948, which precipitated a reorganisation in the City Engineer's Department. By a Resolution of Council on 4 April 1949, the cleansing function was removed and established as a department in its own right. City Engineer's retained responsibility for maintenance of Cleansing vehicles until 1974-1975 when it passed to Cleansing itself. The personnel from the predecessor Councils were incorporated into a restructured City Engineer's Department, now with 8 Branches - Management; Engineering; Surveying; Drafting and Recording; Town Planning; Construction and Maintenance; Garage and Motor Transport; Stores.

In 1971 a major reorganisation saw the move of the Town Planning function to CA 8, Planning and Building Department, and the reduction in the number of Branches to 5:

Engineering Design (taking over drafting and recording)
Mechanical Engineering and Transport (amalgamation of two Branches)
Management and Stores
Construction and Maintenance (with the addition of a Civil Defence Section)
Survey

The Department's structure was further simplified when South Sydney Municipal Council was amalgamated with Sydney City Council on 1 January 1982. The four branches operating from 1982 consisted of Operations, Management Branch, Survey Branch, and Investigation and Design. The Department was responsible for all major Council construction and maintenance work, traffic management, street lighting and liaison with the Sydney State Emergency Services. The Department controlled the majority of Council's outdoor workers and the garages, depots, workshops etc.

In 1988 the three City Commissioners were empowered under the City of Sydney Act 1988 to prepare organisational structures for the two Councils (Sydney City and South Sydney City) established by the Act. The new structure was gazetted as Schedule 3 of the Act on 2 December 1988, to take effect on 1 January 1989.

Under the new structure the City Engineer's Department was abolished. The functions of engineering operations (with the workforce) was transferred to the City Engineer's Department of South Sydney City Council. The contract supervision and overall control for engineering work in the City of Sydney area remained in Sydney City Council in the new Works Department. The Works Department was renamed the City Engineer's Department (CA 28) by a Resolution of Council on 13 March 1989.

Responsibility for the management of Council's vehicles was transferred to CA 11, Properties II.

SOURCES:
CRS 230, Proceedings of Council, 1971-1978.
CRS 34, Town Clerk's Correspondence Files, 1914-1978: TC 5200/24, 1474/37, 2201/48, 3037/69, 4209/70, 2557/73.
CRS 42, Annual Reports, City Engineer's Department, 1936-1940, 1941-1945, 1948, 1949-1954.
Oral history - Mr Gordon Milwain, 1987.CreationResolution of Council 1 June 1936AbolitionSchedule 3 of the City of Sydney Act 1988, proclaimed 2 December 1988

Description

Start date1st June 1936End date31st December 1988Relationship legacy dataPRECEDED BY: South Sydney Municipal Council Municipal Engineers Department AG-0017 (01/01/1982)
PRECEDED BY: City Engineering and Building Surveyors Department AG-0061 (01/06/1936)
PRECEDED BY: Waterloo Municipal Council AG-0071 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Paddington Municipal Council AG-0070 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Redfern Municipal Council AG-0069 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Newtown Municipal Council AG-0068 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Glebe Municipal Council AG-0066 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Erskineville Municipal Council AG-0065 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Darlington Municipal Council AG-0064 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Alexandria Municipal Council AG-0062 (01/01/1949)
RELATED TO: Streets engineering FN-0016 (01/06/1936 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Sydney City Council OR-0001 (01/06/1936 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Traffic management FN-0018 (01/06/1936 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Streets lighting FN-0008 (01/06/1936 to 31/12/1988)
RELATED TO: Parks and public spaces management FN-0014 (01/06/1936 to 21/09/1948)
RELATED TO: Community services and facilities FN-0013 (01/06/1936 to 21/09/1948)
RELATED TO: Town planning FN-0011 (01/07/1937 to 25/10/1971)
RELATED TO: Garbage and refuse cleansing FN-0003 (01/06/1936 to 04/04/1949)
SUBORDINATE AGENCY: Sydney Streets Opening Conference AG-0138 (01/06/1936 to 31/12/1988)
SUBORDINATE AGENCY: Parking Advisory Committee AG-0161 (17/02/1955 to 30/06/1971)
Source System ID5

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City Engineer's Department I