Information about Mayor Henry William Douch
Dear Hobsons Bay City Council,
In 1994 the City of Williamstown and others were merged into the new City of Hobsons Bay. I am seeking biographical information/documentation about a former councillor and mayor of City of Williamstown, called Henry William Douch.
Specifically, I request the following:
1) Start and end dates of councillor terms and mayoral terms of office
2) Political party affiliation
3) A list of notices of motion
4) Transcriptions of speeches
5) Any awards or official recognitions
6) Confirmation about whether Douch St and Henry St are named after him
7) Any other information the assessor find and believes noteworthy while researching the above
I understand that not all of this information will have been recorded. Please let me know if any of the above cannot cannot be obtained.
Yours faithfully,
Tom
Dear Tom,
Thank you for contacting Hobsons Bay City Council.
We have forwarded your request to the Corporate Integrity department of
Council for a response.
Your reference number for this request is 9911.
If you have any further enquiries, please feel free to [1]contact us.
Kind regards,
Maryanne
Customer Service Officer
Community Learning and Service Centres
T: 1300 179 944
NRS users phone 133 677 and quote 03 9932 1000
Language Line 9932 1212
[2]Sent from Front
On May 27, 2025 at 7:49 PM GMT+10
[3][FOI #13223 email] wrote:
Dear Hobsons Bay City Council,
In 1994 the City of Williamstown and others were merged into the new
City of Hobsons Bay. I am seeking biographical information/documentation
about a former councillor and mayor of City of Williamstown, called
Henry William Douch.
Specifically, I request the following:
1) Start and end dates of councillor terms and mayoral terms of office
2) Political party affiliation
3) A list of notices of motion
4) Transcriptions of speeches
5) Any awards or official recognitions
6) Confirmation about whether Douch St and Henry St are named after him
7) Any other information the assessor find and believes noteworthy while
researching the above
I understand that not all of this information will have been recorded.
Please let me know if any of the above cannot cannot be obtained.
Yours faithfully,
Tom
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Our Reference: FOI-0043/2024-25
Dear Tom McGuire
Your freedom of information request
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Hobsons Bay
City Council (HBCC) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), which
we received on Tuesday , 27 May 2025.
Original Scope of your request:
“In 1994 the City of Williamstown and others were merged into the new City
of Hobsons Bay. I am seeking biographical information/documentation about
a former councillor and mayor of City of Williamstown, called Henry
William Douch.
Specifically, I request the following:
1) Start and end dates of councillor terms and mayoral terms of office
2) Political party affiliation
3) A list of notices of motion
4) Transcriptions of speeches
5) Any awards or official recognitions
6) Confirmation about whether Douch St and Henry St are named after him
7) Any other information the assessor find and believes noteworthy while
researching the above
I understand that not all of this information will have been recorded.
Please let me know if any of the above cannot cannot be obtained.”
Processing of your request
Pursuant to Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act, an application
fee of $32.70 is required for your FOI request to be considered valid.
To arrange payment, please contact HBCC’s Cashier Team directly via email
at [1][Hobsons Bay City Council request email] or by phone at 1300 179 944.
When making the payment, kindly quote the reference
number FOI-0043/2024-25.
We appreciate your attention to these requirements and look forward to
progressing your request.
Yours sincerely
Josephine
[2]Visit our website Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Integrity
NRS users phone 133 677 and quote 1300 179 944
[3]Visit our Facebook page [4]Follow us on
Instagram [5]Follow us on LinkedIn [6]Visit [8]Visit our website
our YouTube channel [7]Live Chat
We acknowledge the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation as the
Traditional Owners of the lands, rivers and coastal areas in Hobsons Bay.
We recognise the First Peoples’ relationship to this land and offer our
respect to their Elders past and present.
Everyone has the right to disconnect from work.
If you are receiving this email outside of your normal working hours
there is no expectation for you to respond, until your next working day.
Our Reference: FOI-0043/2024-25
Dear Tom McGuire
Good afternoon – I hope this email finds you well.
I’m writing in relation to your FOI request.
Following a response from the relevant team at Hobsons Bay City Council
(HBCC), I wish to advise that the current terms of your request are not
sufficiently clear. As such, it does not comply with section 17 of the
Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), which requires that a request
provide enough detail to enable the agency to identify the documents
sought.
To assist us in processing your request, we kindly ask that you provide
a clear and reasonable timeframe for the documents you are seeking.
Additionally, please note the following clarification from the relevant
HBCC team:
o The Williamstown City Council ceased to exist on 30 September 1994,
and was succeeded by Hobsons Bay City Council.
o Meeting minutes of the former Williamstown City Council are not
subject to FOI, as they are held by the Public Record Office Victoria
(PROV) and are publicly accessible. You may contact PROV directly via
their website: [1]Contact us | PROV.
If we do not hear from you by close of business on 10 July 2025, your
request may be closed without further processing. Please also note that we
may refuse to process your request if it continues to not comply with
section 17 of the FOI Act.
Contact us
If you have any questions about this letter, please contact us by email at
[2][email address].
We appreciate your attention to these requirements and look forward to
progressing your request.
Kind regards,
Josephine
[3]Visit our website Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Integrity
NRS users phone 133 677 and quote 1300 179 944
[4]Visit our Facebook page [5]Follow us on
Instagram [6]Follow us on LinkedIn [7]Visit [9]Visit our website
our YouTube channel [8]Live Chat
We acknowledge the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation as the
Traditional Owners of the lands, rivers and coastal areas in Hobsons Bay.
We recognise the First Peoples’ relationship to this land and offer our
respect to their Elders past and present.
Everyone has the right to disconnect from work.
If you are receiving this email outside of your normal working hours
there is no expectation for you to respond, until your next working day.
From: Freedom of Information <[email address]>
Sent: Wednesday, 11 June 2025 12:44 PM
To: [FOI #13223 email]
Cc: Freedom of Information <[email address]>
Subject: FOI-0043/2024-25 - Acknowledgement Letter
Our Reference: FOI-0043/2024-25
Dear Tom McGuire
Your freedom of information request
Thank you for your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Hobsons Bay
City Council (HBCC) under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (Vic), which
we received on Tuesday , 27 May 2025.
Original Scope of your request:
“In 1994 the City of Williamstown and others were merged into the new City
of Hobsons Bay. I am seeking biographical information/documentation about
a former councillor and mayor of City of Williamstown, called Henry
William Douch.
Specifically, I request the following:
1) Start and end dates of councillor terms and mayoral terms of office
2) Political party affiliation
3) A list of notices of motion
4) Transcriptions of speeches
5) Any awards or official recognitions
6) Confirmation about whether Douch St and Henry St are named after him
7) Any other information the assessor find and believes noteworthy while
researching the above
I understand that not all of this information will have been recorded.
Please let me know if any of the above cannot cannot be obtained.”
Processing of your request
Pursuant to Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act, an application
fee of $32.70 is required for your FOI request to be considered valid.
To arrange payment, please contact HBCC’s Cashier Team directly via email
at [10][Hobsons Bay City Council request email] or by phone at 1300 179 944.
When making the payment, kindly quote the reference
number FOI-0043/2024-25.
We appreciate your attention to these requirements and look forward to
progressing your request.
Yours sincerely
Josephine
[11]Visit our website Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Integrity
NRS users phone 133 677 and quote 1300 179 944
[12]Visit our Facebook page [13]Follow us on
Instagram [14]Follow us on LinkedIn [15]Visit [17]Visit our website
our YouTube channel [16]Live Chat
We acknowledge the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional
Owners of the lands, rivers and coastal areas in Hobsons Bay.
We recognise the First Peoples’ relationship to this land and offer our
respect to their Elders past and present.
Everyone has the right to disconnect from work.
If you are receiving this email outside of your normal working hours there
is no expectation for you to respond, until your next working day.