Unique IDAY-0104Description*** This activity applies to the City of Sydney only ***
Provision of emergency disaster relief services by (and through) Sydney City Council.
This activity has taken place on an ad hoc basis in response to disaster emergencies, such as major bush fire outbreaks which cause extraordinary loss of life and property.
It has usually been organised on the basis of a special appeal fund headed by the Lord Mayor, to which the Council donates funds but also acts in the role of coordinator and symbolic leader.
The first mention of disaster relief seems to be a reference to the suggested initiation of a movement to assist the famine in China in 1878 (CRS 11/7). On 21 November 1927 Council approved a Lord Mayor's Minute to establish a Lord Mayor’s Fund Office to assist with disasters. The Minute noted "that from time to time it has been found necessary for the Lord Mayor to issue an appeal for funds in connection with deserving objectives. At the present moment it is proposed to call on the public for subscriptions towards a fund to be established for the purpose of alleviating the distress amongst the dependents of those who lost their lives in the recent "Greycliffe" disaster. It has appeared to the Lord Mayor for some time past that with the lord Mayor as Chairman, and an Executive Committee appointed by the meeting as custodians of any monies received in response to appeals of this nature, it is highly desirable that a Lord Mayor's Fund Office should be established to ensure that the wishes of the donors are carried into effect".
The bush fire disasters of 1939 and 1994 both took place well outside the boundaries of the City Council, and also resulted in the creation of relief funds.CreationLord Mayors Minute 21 November 1927.
Lord Mayors Minute 17 January 1939
Lord Mayors [decision] 4 January 1994
Start date21st November 1927End date21st November 1927Relationship legacy dataRELATED TO: Mayoralty / Lord Mayoralty FN-0023 (21/11/1927)
RELATED TO: Charitable aid FN-0007 (21/11/1927)
RELATED TO: External committees FN-0028 (17/01/2001)
