Shire of Perth

The City of Stirling, as we now know it, was first established on 24 January 1871 as the Perth Road District under the District Roads Act 1871. The district at that time included what are now the Cities of Wanneroo, Joondalup, Bayswater and Belmont.

The Local Government Act 1960 reformed all roads districts into shires. The Shire of Perth came into effect on 1 July 1961 and had a population of 84,000. 

It was declared a city and renamed Stirling in honour of James Stirling the first governor of Western Australia on 24 January 1971.

The Shire of Perth Offices in Osborne Park were opened in 1963. The move to have offices in the Shire of Perth area emerged from a plan to demolish the existing Cecil Building in 1958 and replace it with the new Cecil Building. The Perth Road Board had been operating 92 years and was the second largest local authority in WA at the time with a population of nearly 100,000 people. The cost of the new Shire of Perth buildings was 63,228 pounds and the builders were Anderson Constructions Pty Ltd. Architect J. William Hawkins, A.R.A.T.A. was awarded the contract to build the main offices in 1962.  The drawings were initially of an X shaped building, with double storey facing Hertha Road that was intended to give each branch of Council activities its own section. It was not to exceed 60,000 pounds cost and it was planned to permit the use of natural lighting. The Shire of Perth civic administration was built in the then geographical centre of the municipality, on land owned by the Osborne Park Agricultural Society.  The purchase price of the 23 acres was 6,250 pounds. The Referendum had been held in 1937 in which majority of enrolled ratepayers who responded voted for office buildings within the municipality, this was delayed by advent of World War II. The issue of offices within the municipality was raised again in 1956, finally resulting in the opening of the buildings in Hertha Road in 1963.