The City of Cockburn in Perth, Western Australia was originally established on 12 February 1871 as the Fremantle Road Board with a chairman and councillors under the District Roads Act 1871. It was renamed Cockburn on 21 January 1955, and with the passage of the Local Government Act 1960, all road boards became Shires with a shire president and councillors effective 1 July 1961. The Shire of Cockburn was declared a town on 24 January 1971, at which point the president became a mayor. Cockburn attained city status on 26 October 1979.