Managing our city

Roads, rates and rubbish. Historically, these are the core business of local government. But running a city, especially a capital city that for several years now has won ‘The Economist’ magazine’s World’s Most Liveable City title, is not so simple. Acting under the direction of Melbourne City Council, the City of Melbourne’s CEO currently oversees more than 30 branches and work areas.

Represented in the collection are engineering, arts, parking, health, recreation, social services, design, planning, parks, media, resilience and smart city. The list does go on. The depth of holdings generally corresponds with the longevity of the branch and the material it has created. A street-cleaning cart, parking meters, designs for a ‘one-man urinal’, historic pit lids removed from the street, and many, many photographs offer the barest of examples.