on 9 December 1861 at the Stanmore Hotel. The population of the inner west increased greatly from the beginning of the 20th century, peaking at roughly 113,000 in 1948. It was in this year that the State Government introduced the Local Government (Areas) Act 1948, and Marrickville Municipal Council was enlarged by merging with St Peters and Petersham on 1 January 1949. The Camperdown and Newtown municipalities had already been merged with the City of Sydney, however in 1968 a boundary readjustment added parts of these areas to Marrickville. The area's background was traditionally working-class, making Marrickville Council a stronghold for the Australian Labor Party, and Labor Party ructions often affected the politics of the Council itself. In the 1980s, a toxic culture in inner-city party branches and inter-factional disturbances, which led to the assault of NSW Legislative Council member, Peter Baldwin, at his house in Marrickville, affected Marrickville Council most particularly, with a party committee recommending its dismissal in July 1980. Although initially opposed as an extreme act, particularly by Minister for Local Government, Lin Gordon, when five Labor aldermen, Barry Jones, Margaret Newman, Jack Passaris, Ken Brennan and Grahame Watson, resigned from the Council in December 1982, alleging that they had been "bashed out of office" and detailing "five years of threats and intimidation" (Newman and Brennan had both been assaulted in their own homes days before), Gordon finally took action. On 14 December 1982, Gordon dismissed Marrickville Council and appointed the former Shire Clerk of Gunnedah and Walgett, Alexander Trevallion as Administrator. Council remained under administration, which included debates over an amalgamation with Leichhardt Municipality, until elections were held on 22 September 1984. Israel boycott On 14 December 2010, Greens councillor Cathy Peters moved a motion to support the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. This motion was supported by Greens, Labor and one independent councillor, including the Mayor at the time, Fiona Byrne. The motion was widely condemned by politicians from both sides of politics including Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, then Premier Kristina Keneally and federal Greens leader, Bob Brown. The move received support from Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire. On 14 April 2011, it was revealed that the boycott would cost Marrickville ratepayers 3.4 million if implemented. The boycott also meant the council would have to replace goods from companies such as Hewlett Packard, Holden, Volvo and Motorola amongst