BRIEF HISTORY OF FOOTSCRAY

We acknowledge the Indigenous Australians, the Wurundjeri people on whose land Footscray was founded.

Footscray was the meeting place of the lands of the Yalukit-willan, the Marin-balluk and the Wurundjeri.  Indigenous men stalked game, and women and children collected food and fished along the river junction, estuaries, swamps and lagoons.

The area was first mapped by Charles Grimes in 1803. The first European residents, immigrants from Ireland and the United Kingdom who were mainly squatters and shepherds, arrived in 1839. In 1859 the Municipality was created.

The name Footscray was taken from the village of Foots on the River Cray, Kent, England.
         
In the 1860-90s Footscray experienced its first economic boom, mainly brick making, blue-stone quarrying, fat boiling, meat canning and candle making industries. Blue stone from Footscray can be found throughout many cities in Europe and Australia.

Footscray's industries have been central to the development of this region. From the 1950's development was continued by a culturally diverse community increasingly involved with commerce and light industries.

Before the Second World War, the area was mainly populated by European migrants.
 
Since the end of the Second World War successive migrant groups have made an enormous contribution to the development of the City of Maribrynong.

Australian Bureau of Statistics Census data for the City of Maribyrnong shows that the proportion of persons born in non-English speaking countries in 1996 was 40% of the population.

The first woman elected to Council was Silka Kerry in 1972. Born in Belgrade of Russian parents, she was a very successful councillor and a strong advocate for local issues.

The first woman Mayor was Vietnamese born Mai Ho, from 1997-1998, after the change of boundaries and renaming of the City from Footscray to Maribyrnong.