List of mayors of Rockingham

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.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Rockingham's current mayor, Deb Hamblin was elected on 16 October 2021 and thereby became the first female to hold this office.^[5] Her predecessor, Barry Sammels, at the time of the announcement of his retirement in August 2021 had been the longest-serving active mayor in Western Australia, having first been elected mayor of Rockingham in 2003.^[6]^[7]

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.^[8]

Chairmen

The chairman of the Rockingham Road Board:^[2]

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:^[3]

President	Term
Alf Powell	1962–1981
W. D. A. Mays	1982–1986
Laurie E. Smith	1986–1988^[9]
Richard R. Smith	1988

Mayors

The mayors of the City of Rockingham:^[4]

Mayor	Term
Richard R. Smith	1988–1991^[10]
Laurie E. Smith	1991–1994^[9]
F. W. Gardiner	1994–1997
Chris S. Elliott	1997–2003^[11]
Barry William Sammels	2003–2021^[12]
Deb A. Hamblin	2021–present^[5]^[13]

Election results

The election results since switching to a publicly-elected mayor:

2021

2021 Ordinary Election - Rockingham^[14]
Candidate	Votes	%
Deb Hamblin	6,386	25.79
Lornan Buchan	5,489	22.17
Mark Jones	4,411	17.81
Craig Buchanan	4,203	16.97
Cullum Ashton	2,573	10.39
Jack Pleiter	1,699	6.86
Total formal votes	5,519	93.32
Informal votes	395	6.68
Turnout	5,914	6.72

References

^ "City of Rockingham profile". rockingham.wa.gov.au. City of Rockingham. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Rockingham Road Board 1897–1961 (Honour board). City of Rockingham council chambers: City of Rockingham. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Shire of Rockingham 1962–1988 (Honour board). City of Rockingham council chambers: City of Rockingham. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b City of Rockingham 1988 (Honour board). City of Rockingham council chambers: City of Rockingham. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Cooper, Daniela (19 October 2021). "Deb Hamblin voted in as first ever female mayor for Rockingham". Mandurah Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^ Thompson, Holly (3 August 2021). "Sunset on Sammels' City reign". Sound Telegraph. Mandurah. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
^ Welhan, Monique (2 August 2021). "End of an era for Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels". 97.3 Coast FM. Mandurah. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
^ Fraser, Chloe (30 September 2020). "Rockingham community to decide mayor at 2021 ballot". Sound Telegraph. Mandurah. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b Seeber, Elisia (11 June 2014). "Local leader reflects". Sound Telegraph. West Australian Newspapers. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^ Morton, Arran (1 November 2013). "Smith elected to deputy role". Sound Telegraph. West Australian Newspapers. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^ "Former Rockingham mayor to retire from council at October local government elections". Sound Telegraph. West Australian Newspapers. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^ Welhan, Monique (13 October 2021). "City of Rockingham farewells departing Mayor Barry Sammels". 97.3 Coast Live. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^ "Deb Hamblin". Business News. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^ 2021 Ordinary Election - Rockingham, Western Australian Electoral Commission

[1] "City of Rockingham profile". rockingham.wa.gov.au. City of Rockingham. Retrieved 29 October 2021.

[Board-2] Rockingham Road Board 1897–1961 (Honour board). City of Rockingham council chambers: City of Rockingham. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2021.

[Shire-3] Shire of Rockingham 1962–1988 (Honour board). City of Rockingham council chambers: City of Rockingham. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2021.

[City-4] City of Rockingham 1988 (Honour board). City of Rockingham council chambers: City of Rockingham. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2021.

[Deb_Hamlin-5] Cooper, Daniela (19 October 2021). "Deb Hamblin voted in as first ever female mayor for Rockingham". Mandurah Mail. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

[6] Thompson, Holly (3 August 2021). "Sunset on Sammels' City reign". Sound Telegraph. Mandurah. Retrieved 19 October 2021.

[7] Welhan, Monique (2 August 2021). "End of an era for Rockingham Mayor Barry Sammels". 97.3 Coast FM. Mandurah. Retrieved 19 October 2021.

[8] Fraser, Chloe (30 September 2020). "Rockingham community to decide mayor at 2021 ballot". Sound Telegraph. Mandurah. Retrieved 29 October 2021.

[Laurie_E._Smith-9] Seeber, Elisia (11 June 2014). "Local leader reflects". Sound Telegraph. West Australian Newspapers. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

[10] Morton, Arran (1 November 2013). "Smith elected to deputy role". Sound Telegraph. West Australian Newspapers. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

[11] "Former Rockingham mayor to retire from council at October local government elections". Sound Telegraph. West Australian Newspapers. 13 August 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

[12] Welhan, Monique (13 October 2021). "City of Rockingham farewells departing Mayor Barry Sammels". 97.3 Coast Live. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

[13] "Deb Hamblin". Business News. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

[14] 2021 Ordinary Election - Rockingham, Western Australian Electoral Commission

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]