Contents: The proprietors of Port Phillip 1834-41 p3. The marketplace 1841 p17. Road trusts in rural areas 1841 p33. The establishment of the Melbourne Town Council 1842 p39. The civic scene in Melbourne town in the 1840s p44. The streets of Melbourne town in the 1840s p63. District councils 1843 p69. From district council to town council: Geelong in the 1840s p72. Early country town development p79. The road board system 1853 p84. The making of councillors p94. Melbourne City Council in the early 1850s p103. Moves towards new urban municipalities 1853 p116. The reorganization of urban government 1854 p123. The first suburban municipalities 1855 p135. The first municipalities in country towns 1855-6 p159. More suburban and country municipalities 1856-7 p175. Melbourne City Council in the late 1850s and early 1860s p199. The fragmentation of the City of Melbourne 1856-60 p217. Geelong in the 1850s p228. Profile of a country town [Kyneton] p231. The spread of local government in gold towns 1857-62 p236. Suburban close-up p247. Mechanics' institutes and town halls p257. Gasworks and street lighting p266. Sanitation p272. Protecting life and property p278. Municipal conferences p286. The civic network p291. Appendix: Melbourne's first hundred councillors 1841-56 p303..