David Gilpin

David Gilpin JP (6 April 1863 – 21 May 1952), was an Australian schoolteacher, businessman, accountant and local government politician who served two terms as Lord Mayor of Sydney and was the last Mayor of Camperdown, leading the negotiations that led to Camperdown Council's amalgamation with the City of Sydney in 1908.[1]

David Gilpin JP
53rd Lord Mayor of Sydney
In office 1 January 1923 – 31 December 1924
Preceded by	William McElhone
Succeeded by	Patrick Vincent Stokes
Alderman of the Sydney City Council
In office 8 January 1909 – 30 November 1924
Constituency	Camperdown Ward
18th Mayor of Camperdown
In office February 1908 – 22 December 1908
Preceded by	Thomas Culbert
Succeeded by	Council abolished
Alderman of the Camperdown Municipal Council
In office 10 February 1906 – 22 December 1908
Constituency	Belmore Ward East Kingston Ward
City Member of the Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage
In office 31 March 1922 – 6 January 1925
Preceded by	William Patrick Fitzgerald
Succeeded by	Ernest Glasgow
Member of the Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage
In office 31 March 1925 – 19 February 1931
Preceded by	New Board
Succeeded by	Andrew Noble Campbell
Constituency	Fifth
Personal details
Born	(1863-04-06)6 April 1863 Carlisle, Cumberland, England, United Kingdom
Died	21 May 1952(1952-05-21) (aged 89) Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Civic Reform
Spouse(s)	Mary Ann Southam (m. 1884–1938; her death)

Early life

David Gilpin was born on 6 April 1863 at Carlisle, Cumberland, England, and emigrated to Australia aged 3 with his parents in 1866, arriving in Brisbane before moving to Sydney in 1867. Gilpin began his career in 1883 when he was appointed a public school teacher, serving in various country schools.[2][3][4] As a teacher he married Mary Ann Southam at Tilba Tilba on 21 October 1884 and they had five sons and two daughters.[1]

Later becoming a Sydney produce merchant and accountant, Gilpin settled with his family in the inner Sydney suburb of Camperdown.[1]

Political career

Gilpin first took elected office as an Auditor for the Council of the small Municipality of Camperdown in February 1904, but, as secretary of Camperdown Ratepayers Association, soon stood for election as an Alderman for Belmore Ward, to which he was elected in February 1906.[5][6][7]

Gilpin however joined the council during a period of severe crisis; the council had been running insolvent for the last few years and the Town Hall where council met was fully mortgaged. In the years before his election, Camperdown aldermen had been seeking to amalgamate with one or several of their neighbouring councils, with little success. Gilpin was elected mayor after the February 1908 municipal elections, and tasked himself with concluding the negotiations for Camperdown amalgamating with the City of Sydney.[8]

Gilpin presided over the final meeting of Camperdown council held on 7 December 1908, with Gilpin noting that "I am very pleased to say that the result of the negotiations, in the form of the present Bill, was unanimously agreed to by this council, and has met with the approval of all the ratepayers of Camperdown. The primary object for which we were elected was the extinction of Camperdown as a municipality, and in a few days this will be an accomplished fact."[9] The council officially ceased to exist and was absorbed into the City of Sydney when the Sydney Corporation (Amendment) Act 1908 was passed by the Parliament of New South Wales, with the council area becoming the Camperdown Ward returning two aldermen.

In January 1909, Gilpin was elected alongside his fellow former Camperdown alderman and mayor, Charles Mallett, to the Camperdown Ward of the City of Sydney.[10] Gilpin became one of the council's representatives on the Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage in March 1922.[11]

Joining the Civic Reform Association when it was created, Gilpin became honorary secretary and was elected Lord Mayor of Sydney for 1923 and 1924.[12][13][14]

Gilpin lost his bid for re-election to his Camperdown Ward seat on the council in the 1924 municipal elections and forfeited his seat on the Water Board as a result.[15] However, when the Water Board was reconstituted in March 1925 shortly after as an elected, rather than appointed body, Gilpin, who now lived in Burwood, stood for election and was successful for the Fifth Constituency (Annandale, Ashfield, Burwood, Concord, Enfield, Glebe, Homebush, Leichhardt, Lidcombe, and Strathfield).[16] After gaining re-election for a further four-year term in 1927, Gilpin was defeated in his 1931 bid for re-election by the Mayor of Leichhardt, Andrew Noble Campbell.[17][18]

Later life and legacy

Gilpin's wife, Mary Ann, died at their residence, "Kayla", on Parkes Street, Wentworth Falls on 5 November 1938. Gilpin died on 21 May 1952, aged 89 and was buried at Wentworth Falls Church of England Cemetery.[19] Gilpin Street in Camperdown is named after him.[20]

References

1. "David Gilpin". Sydney's Aldermen. City of Sydney. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
2. "Government Gazette Appointments and Employment". New South Wales Government Gazette (402). New South Wales, Australia. 25 September 1883. p. 5233. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Government Gazette Appointments and Employment". New South Wales Government Gazette (547). New South Wales, Australia. 28 October 1884. p. 7217. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Government Gazette Appointments and Employment". New South Wales Government Gazette (319). New South Wales, Australia. 3 June 1887. p. 3677. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "BOROUGH OF CAMPERDOWN". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (85). New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1904. p. 1293. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "BOROUGH OF CAMPERDOWN". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (76). New South Wales, Australia. 10 February 1905. p. 1019. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS". Evening News (12, 067). New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1906. p. 2. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "LOCAL GOVERNMENT". The Sydney Morning Herald (21, 863). New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1908. p. 12. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "Camperdown Council Dies". Evening News (12, 948). New South Wales. 8 December 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 29 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF SYDNEY". Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (4). New South Wales, Australia. 11 January 1909. p. 135. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "MEN AND WOMEN". The Sun (3563). New South Wales, Australia. 1 April 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "ALDERMAN GILPIN LORD MAYOR". The Sydney Morning Herald (26, 500). New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "NOTABLES OF TO-DAY-LORD MAYOR DAVID GILPIN". Sunday Times (1953). New South Wales, Australia. 8 July 1923. p. 6. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
14. "THE LORD MAYOR". The Sydney Morning Herald (26, 812). New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1923. p. 8. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
15. "WATER BOARD". The Sydney Morning Herald (27, 147). New South Wales, Australia. 7 January 1925. p. 14. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "WATER BOARD". The Sydney Morning Herald (27, 210). New South Wales, Australia. 21 March 1925. p. 17. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "WATER BOARD". The Sydney Morning Herald (27, 813). New South Wales, Australia. 25 February 1927. p. 11. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "WATER BOARD". The Sydney Morning Herald (29, 057). New South Wales, Australia. 20 February 1931. p. 10. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald (35, 700). New South Wales, Australia. 23 May 1952. p. 14. Retrieved 16 March 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
20. "A Short History of the Streets of Newtown". Newtown Project. City of Sydney.

Civic offices
Preceded by Thomas Culbert	Mayor of Camperdown 1908	Council abolished
Preceded by Richard Meagher	Lord Mayor of Sydney 1923–1924	Succeeded by John English