With the passing of The Municipalities Act, 1858, on 20 January 1866 139 residents of the St Leonards district petitioned the Colonial Government for the incorporation of the area as a "Municipality of Saint Leonards".[1] This petition was subsequently accepted and the Governor of New South Wales, Sir John Young, proclaimed the establishment of the "Municipality of St Leonards" on 31 May 1867.[2] On 24 December 1868 the Borough was divided into three wards: Victoria Ward (after Queen Victoria), Albert Ward (after Prince Albert) and Belmore Ward (after Governor Earl Belmore).[3]
Edward Mawney Sayers was appointed as Returning Officer for the first election to be held on 4 July 1867.[4][5] The first council, comprising nine councillors and two auditors, was first elected on 6 July 1867, and the first Chairman, William Tunks, was also elected.[6] The Council's status was short-lived however, as the Council was granted title changes with Councillors becoming Aldermen and the Chairman becoming Mayor from 20 September 1867.[7]
By mid-1870 a petition of 172 names was presented to the Colonial Secretary asking for the secession of the Victoria Ward and the creation of a separate borough council.[8][9] The petition was accepted and on 20 January 1871 the Borough of Victoria was proclaimed by the Governor.[10] With the excision of Victoria Ward, the Borough of St Leonards was reconstituted without wards.[11] The Borough was divided into wards again from 30 June 1883 with the creation of Albert Ward, Tunks Ward and Belmore Ward, but with the continuing growth of population in the area the wards were reorganised on 18 September 1889 by splitting Tunks Ward into Waringa Ward and Mossman's Ward.[12][13]
The Borough lasted until 29 July 1890 when it merged with the Borough of East St Leonards (1860) and the Borough of Victoria to form the "Borough of North Sydney".[14] The Mayor, Francis Punch, became the first Mayor of North Sydney, and the Council Clerk, William Barnett Smith, became the first Council Clerk of North Sydney.
^"PETITION UNDER THE MUNICIPALITIES ACT". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 23. New South Wales, Australia. 23 January 1866. p. 243. Retrieved 13 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPALITY OF ST. LEONARD'S". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 86. New South Wales, Australia. 31 May 1867. p. 1336. Retrieved 13 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PROCLAMATION". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 313. New South Wales, Australia. 28 December 1868. p. 4616. Retrieved 13 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPALITY OF ST. LEONARDS". Sydney Mail. Vol. VIII, no. 365. New South Wales, Australia. 29 June 1867. p. 3. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPALITY OF ST. LEONARD'S". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 97. New South Wales, Australia. 14 June 1867. p. 1445. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPALITY OF ST. LEONARDS". Empire. No. 4, 888. New South Wales, Australia. 8 July 1867. p. 5. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ab"MUNICIPALITY OF ST. LEONARD'S". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 164. New South Wales, Australia. 21 September 1867. p. 2283. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"SEPARATION FROM ST. LEONARDS MUNICIPALITY". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 177. New South Wales, Australia. 29 July 1870. p. 1593. Retrieved 13 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 19. New South Wales, Australia. 20 January 1871. p. 191. Retrieved 13 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 19. New South Wales, Australia. 20 January 1871. p. 192. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 282. New South Wales, Australia. 3 July 1883. p. 3597. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 486. New South Wales, Australia. 18 September 1889. p. 6568. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 411. New South Wales, Australia. 31 July 1890. p. 6059. Retrieved 7 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPALITY OF ST. LEONARD'S". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 42. New South Wales, Australia. 18 February 1868. p. 485. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 37. New South Wales, Australia. 19 February 1869. p. 455. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 33. New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1870. p. 366. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 35. New South Wales, Australia. 14 February 1871. p. 356. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 51. New South Wales, Australia. 20 February 1872. p. 462. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 37. New South Wales, Australia. 18 February 1873. p. 507. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 36. New South Wales, Australia. 17 February 1874. p. 498. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 34. New South Wales, Australia. 12 February 1875. p. 447. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 55. New South Wales, Australia. 18 February 1876. p. 727. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 67. New South Wales, Australia. 28 February 1879. p. 956. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 60. New South Wales, Australia. 13 February 1880. p. 741. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 57. New South Wales, Australia. 11 February 1881. p. 888. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 71. New South Wales, Australia. 17 February 1882. p. 946. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"The Late Mr. William Tunks". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. XXXV, no. 1189. New South Wales, Australia. 21 April 1883. p. 729. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"THE LATE MR. WILLIAM TUNKS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 14, 053. New South Wales, Australia. 13 April 1883. p. 7. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 358. New South Wales, Australia. 8 September 1882. p. 4675. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 59. New South Wales, Australia. 16 February 1883. p. 916. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"DEATH OF A BOWLER". The Daily Telegraph. No. 6932. New South Wales, Australia. 28 August 1901. p. 7. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 79. New South Wales, Australia. 19 February 1884. p. 1271. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 67. New South Wales, Australia. 17 February 1885. p. 1216. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 83. New South Wales, Australia. 11 February 1887. p. 998. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 123. New South Wales, Australia. 21 February 1888. p. 1406. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"DEATH OF CAPTAIN JENKINS". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 19, 756. New South Wales, Australia. 6 July 1901. p. 14. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Death of Captain Jenkins". The Sydney Mail And New South Wales Advertiser. Vol. LXXII, no. 2147. New South Wales, Australia. 31 August 1901. p. 542. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 110. New South Wales, Australia. 19 February 1889. p. 1387. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 88. New South Wales, Australia. 18 February 1890. p. 1485. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Municipal". Evening News. No. 7199. New South Wales, Australia. 20 June 1890. p. 2. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPAL MATTERS". The Australian Star. No. 799. New South Wales, Australia. 26 June 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 344. New South Wales, Australia. 27 June 1890. p. 5026. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"MUNICIPALITY OF ST. LEONARD'S". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 64. New South Wales, Australia. 17 March 1868. p. 757. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARD'S". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 99. New South Wales, Australia. 29 April 1868. p. 1201. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 149. New South Wales, Australia. 28 May 1872. p. 1376. Retrieved 15 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 288. New South Wales, Australia. 18 December 1874. p. 3783. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 224. New South Wales, Australia. 2 June 1885. p. 3534. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"BOROUGH OF ST. LEONARDS". New South Wales Government Gazette. No. 179. New South Wales, Australia. 26 March 1886. p. 2070. Retrieved 16 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.