City of Knox

City of Knox
Local government area
Map of Melbourne showing City of Knox
Interactive map of City of Knox
Country	Australia
State	Victoria
Region	Greater Melbourne
Established	1963
Council seat	Wantirna South
Government
• Mayor	Paige Kennett
• State electorates	Bayswater Monbulk Rowville
• Federal division	Aston
Area [2]
• Total	114 km2 (44 sq mi)
Population
• Total	159,103 (2021)[1] (42nd)
• Density	1,396/km2 (3,615/sq mi)
Website	City of Knox
LGAs around City of Knox Whitehorse Maroondah Yarra Ranges Monash City of Knox Yarra Ranges Greater Dandenong Casey Casey

The City of Knox is a local government area in Victoria, Australia in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It is headquartered in the suburb of Wantirna South. It has an area of 114 square kilometres (44.0 sq mi) and recorded a population of 159,103 at the 2021 census.[1] This municipality is one of only a handful that survived the widespread municipal amalgamations that occurred in Victoria in the early 1990s.[3]

The City of Knox was named after Sir George Hodges Knox (1885–1960), a former soldier and speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.[4] The City of Knox Crest incorporates his family's motto 'Move and Prosper'.[5]

The area which is now Knox was once part of the Scoresby Riding of the Shire of Berwick. On 23 May 1889, the riding was severed to create the Shire of Fern Tree Gully, which extended as far east as Olinda and Monbulk in the Dandenong Ranges. Post-World War II development in the area closer to Melbourne led to rapid urbanisation and population growth—over 21,000 residents lived in the Knox area by the 1961 Census. A plebiscite to determine local residents' views led to the creation of the Shire of Knox on 9 October 1963, which was proclaimed on 16 November 1963 by the Governor of Victoria.[6] It was declared a City on 4 July 1969.

By the 1986 Census, the area was home to over 100,000 residents.[7][8] Before the local government reforms of the 1990s, the Cities of Knox and Waverley were the state's two most populous municipalities, with around 125,000 residents each.[9]

The City of Knox was one of the few councils (and one of only four in Melbourne) to survive the statewide amalgamations. On 15 December 1994, its boundaries were extended to add the suburb of Upper Ferntree Gully and part of Lysterfield from the former Shire of Sherbrooke,[3] while it ceded the locality of Lysterfield South to the City of Casey.

The City of Knox before (green) and after (brown) the 1994 reforms

At present, the City of Knox has nine wards, each electing one councillor for a period of four years.[10]

• Baird ward
• Chandler ward
• Collier ward
• Dinsdale ward
• Dobson ward
• Friberg ward
• Scott ward
• Taylor ward
• Tirhatuan ward

Prior to 1994, the Council had three wards, each of which elected three councillors:

• Bayswater/Wantirna ward
• Boronia ward
• Rowville/Scoresby ward

Knox City Council is composed of nine single-member wards. The mayor and deputy are elected by councillors at an annual meeting in November.[10]

The most recent election was held in October 2024. The current council, as of November 2024, is:

This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2024 Victorian local elections in Eastern Melbourne § Knox results.[edit]

2024 Victorian local elections: Knox[12]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independent		62,340	67.69		6	1
	Independent Liberal		18,863	20.48		2	1
	Independent Labor		10,114	10.98		1
	Animal Justice		784	0.85		0
Formal votes			92,101	96.93
Informal votes			2,921	3.07
Total			95,022	100.00		9
Registered voters / turnout			111,492	85.23

At the 2021 census, the city had a population of 159,103, up from 154,110 in the 2016 census.[13]

^ - Territory divided with another LGA

• CityLife Church – CityLife Church Weblink
• Hills Bible Church- Hills Bible Church is a Reformed Baptist congregation
• Knox Community Baptist Church
• St. Jude's Parish, Scoresby
• Knox Presbyterian Church
• Our Saviours Lutheran Church
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• The Salvation Army
• Truth and Liberation Concern
• St.Thomas Anglican Church Upper Ferntree Gully

There are a number of bus routes that service the city run by Ventura Bus Lines the city has 4 train stations that are run by Metro Melbourne.

• List of places on the Victorian Heritage Register in the City of Knox

• Media related to City of Knox at Wikimedia Commons
• Knox City Council – official website
• Knox Historical Society Inc.
• Link to Land Victoria interactive maps. Archived 24 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine.
• City of Knox Community Profile
• Public Transport Victoria local public transport map (archived)
• Interactive map of Victorian local government areas (pre-1994 vs present) - Victorian Government - Digital Twin Victoria

[1]37°53′S 145°13′E / 37.883°S 145.217°E / -37.883; 145.217