compared with total population growth of Australia of 8.81% during the same period, population growth in the Ryde local government area was approximately 50% higher than the national average. The median weekly income for residents within the City of Ryde was around 25% above the national average. At the 2016 Census, the Ryde local government area was linguistically diverse, with a significantly higher than average proportion (51.1%) where two or more languages are spoken (national average was 22.2%); and a significantly lower proportion (47.7%) where English only was spoken at home (national average was 72.7%). Council Current composition and election method The City of Ryde is composed of twelve Councillors elected proportionally as three separate wards, each electing four Councillors. All Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office. The Mayor is elected by the Councillors for a two-year term at the first meeting of the council. The most recent election was held on 4 December 2021. The makeup of the council is as follows: The current Council, elected in 2021, in order of election by ward, is: Referendum on the position of mayor A referendum was also undertaken at the election held on 4 December 2021, asking residents the following question: "Do you support a popularly elected Mayor where the voters of the City of Ryde elect the Mayor for a four (4) year term, thereby adopting a thirteen (13) Councillor model (including the Mayor)?". The final declared results were: 76.18% YES and 23.82% NO. As a result, the position of mayor will be directly elected from the next local government elections scheduled for 2024. Council history In June 1870, 201 residents of the district of Ryde sent a petition to the Governor, requesting the incorporation of the "Municipal District of Ryde". This resulted in the municipality being formally proclaimed on 11 November 1870. With a total land area of 40.6 square kilometres, Ryde was the largest Sydney municipality. However, due to an error in the proclamation regarding the western boundary, a new proclamation was made on 11 June 1872. In June 1894 the northern section of the municipality known as Marsfield, was proclaimed as the "Municipal District of Marsfield". In 1907, Marsfield became known as the Municipality of Eastwood, and lasted until it was re-amalgamated with Ryde following the passing of the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948. With the passing of the Local Government Act, 1906,