Mornington is noted for its commanding site and magnificent view of the city of Dunedin, the harbour, and surrounding country. It is situated on the hill south-west of Dunedin, from which it is separated only by the width of the Town Belt. There are some handsome residences in Eglinton Road, where several wealthy business men have made their homes. These houses have been built in various styles of architecture, and range in value from £1,000 up to £6,000. The municipal cable tramways are owned by the borough, which has recently acquired them, with the intention of spending, in all, about £40,000 on the system, which will include a long extension to Balaclava. A portion of this line is already let, and another extension runs through the township of Belleknowes. On the tramways at present in use, there is one of the steepest cabletram grades in the world, it being 1 in 3 3/4. The Dunedin Suburban Gas Company supplies the inhabitants of Mornington with gas; and the residents are at present (1904) thinking seriously of requesting the city authorities to connect Mornington with the Dunedin new high-level water supply. The footpaths of the borough are asphalted, and edged with a concrete kerb and channel, and other street improvements are being made by means of a loan of £8,000. Mornington has a public school, and a kindergarten school, and Wesleyan, Anglican, and Presbyterian churches, and two Baptist chapels. There is also a public library, which is supported by subscriptions and Government aid, and the building is owned by the Council. The Mornington Brass Band, of thirty members, and the Mornington Orchestral Society, uphold the prestige of the borough with respect to music. About 200 of the residents of the borough are employed at the Roslyn Woollen Mills, and Napier's boot factory and Lochhead's workshops give a fair amount of employment, but the bulk of the residents are engaged in business in Dunedin. A recreation reserve, managed by the Domain Board, is mostly native bush, and is much used for grazing purposes.

Mornington was declared a munictpality on the 12th of May, 1877. It is bounded on the north by the borough of Roslyn; on the east, by the Town Belt; on the west, by Roslyn and Taieri county; and on the south by the borough of Caversham. Mr. William Barr was its first Mayor, and he has had as successors in office Messrs D. L. Simpson, R. S. Nicholson, J. English. Thomas Brown, J. Stansfield, John Grindley, James Scoular, William Wills, H. A. Reynolds, James Horsborgh, Thomas Scott, Francis Anderson, William Dawe, Walter Gow, E. T. Clarke, page 411 James Annand and J. P. Simon. The borough has an area of 654 acres; population, 4,095; dwellings, 825; ratepayers, 818; rateable properties, 1,002; annual rateable value, £28,587; general rate, 1s 6d in the £; and a drainage rate of 2d, struck on the 5th of May, 1903. The assets, on the 31st of March, 1903, stood at £13,727 14s 2d; and the liabilities at £2,146 17s 10d. The present Mayor is Mr. J. P. Simon, and the councillors are Messrs H. A. Le Cren, William Henderson, F. Anderson, John Hope, S. Dickson, E. T. Clarke, A. C. Birt and Joseph Garside. Mr. Francis B. Smith is Town Clerk.

His Worship The Mayor Of Mornington , Mr. James Petch Simon, was first elected to the Mornington Borough Council in 1900, and became a member of the Finance Committee. He was elected Mayor in April, 1994. Mr. Simon is also a member of the Mornington district school committee.

Councillor Herbert A. Lecren , who was elected to the Mornington Borough Council in 1903, is a member of the Tramway Committee.

Councillor William Henderson was elected to the Mornington Borough Council in 1903, and is a member of the Works Committee. Since 1894, Mr. Henderson has been an elder of the Mornington Presbyterian church. He was born in Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1855, and arrived in New Zealand in 1879.

Councillor Francis Anderson , J.P., has been a member of the Mornington Borough Council since 1892, and in 1897 occupied the mayoral chair. He is chairman of the Works Committee, also a member of the Tramway, Water and Lighting Committees. Mr. Anderson is a member of the Ocean Beach Domain Board, and was for some time a member of the Charitable Aid and Hospital Boards. He has been a member of the Loyal Albion Lodge, Manchester Unity, Independent Order of Oddfellows, since 1874. and, for a time, occupied the position of Grand Master of his Lodge. Mr. Anderson was born in the parish of Insch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in 1848, and after leaving school served an apprenticeship to the building trade with Messrs Walker and Son, of Colpy. He arrived in New Zealand in the ship “Christian McCausland,” in 1870, and shortly afterwards engaged in the building trade in Southland. In 1873, Mr. Anderson came to Dunedin, where he was engaged in the construction of the University, Grand Hotel, Town Hall, Butterworth's block and several other large buildings, and finally started in business for himself as a builder and contractor. He has been a member of St. Andrew's Presbyterin church since 1874, and an official since 1892. Mr. Anderson was married in Dunedin, to Miss J. Naismith, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and has three daughters and two sons. One of his sons is a surveyor, and the other a dentist.

Wriggtesworth and Binns, photo.
Councillor F. Anderson.

Councillor John Hope , who was elected to the Mornington Borough Council in 1903, is chairman of the General Committee.

Councillor Samuel Dickson was elected to the Mornington Borough Council in 1903, and is a member of the Works Committee. Mr. Dickson is chairman of the Mornington district school committee, of which he has been a member since 1895.

Councillor Edward Thomas Clarke has been a member of the Mornington Borough Council at different periods since 1889, and has also held the office of Mayor. He is at present (1904) a member of the General Committee and the Tramway Committee. Mr. Clarke was a member of the Mornington school committee for fifteen years.

Councillor Alfred Charles Birt , who was elected to the Mornington Borough Council on the 9th of May, 1904, is a member of the Finance Committee. Mr. Birt also serves on the Mornington school committee.

Councillor Joseph Garside , who was elected to the Mornington Borough Council in April, 1904, is elsewhere referred to in connection with his business as a brass founder.

Mr. Francis B. Smith , Clerk to the Mornington Borough Council, has been connected with that body since 1883. Mr. Smith was born in Victoria, Australia, in 1856, and arrived in New Zealand by the ship “Omeo.”

The Mornington Cable Tramway . This tramway was originally owned by a company, but is now in the possession of the Mornington Borough Council. The line, which connects the suburb of Mornington with Dunedin, is a very great convenience to the residents of the district it serves, and during the management of Mr. Eunson the company regularly paid a dividend of seven per cent. per annum.