City of Toowoomba

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City of Toowoomba
Queensland

City CBD Looking South
Population: 90,466 (2006 census)[1]
Established: 1860
Area: 116.5 km² (45.0 sq mi)
Council Seat: Toowoomba
Region: Darling Downs, South East Queensland
Website: http://www.toowoomba.qld.gov.au/
LGAs around City of Toowoomba:
Rosalie Crows Nest Gatton
Jondaryan City of Toowoomba Gatton
Jondaryan Cambooya Gatton
This article is about a former local government area. For the urban locality of Toowoomba, see Toowoomba, Queensland.
For the new local government area, see Toowoomba Regional Council.

The City of Toowoomba was a Local Government Area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the centre and inner suburbs of the regional city of Toowoomba. The city covered an area of 116.5 square kilometres (45.0 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity in various forms from 1860 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the surrounding area to become the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Contents

[edit] History

The Toowoomba Municipality was proclaimed on 19 November 1860 under the Municipalities Act 1858,[2] a piece of New South Wales legislation inherited by Queensland when it became a separate colony in 1859. William Henry Groom, sometimes described as the "father of Toowoomba", was elected its first mayor. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the Local Government Act. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Toowoomba became a town council on 31 March 1903. On 29 October 1904, Toowoomba was proclaimed a City.[3]

Toowoomba absorbed parts of the Shire of Middle Ridge and Town of Newtown on 23 February 1917, and on 19 March 1949, following a major reorganisation of local government in South East Queensland,[4] Toowoomba grew its area to include parts of the Highfields and Drayton Shires.

In 2006 the Mayor proposed a controversial plan to recycle sewage into one of the dams to be used for drinking water. The federal government agreed to provide partial funding subject to a number of conditions including a requirement to hold a referendum on the issue. On 29 July 2006, Toowoomba voted against the recycled sewage project with the 'No' vote winning by 62% to 38%.

In 2005 Toowoomba City Councillor Lyle Shelton called for Toowoomba's boundaries to be expanded to encompass the area some refer to as "Greater Toowoomba", reflecting Toowoomba's suburban spread beyond the city boundaries.

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the City of Toowoomba merged with the Shires of Cambooya, Clifton, Crows Nest, Jondaryan, Millmerran, Pittsworth and Shire of Rosalie to form the Toowoomba Regional Council. The former mayor of the Shire of Jondaryan won the mayoralty of the new entity.

[edit] Suburbs

  • Centenary Heights
  • Cranley
  • Darling Heights
  • Drayton
  • East Toowoomba
  • Glenvale (split with Shire of Jondaryan)
  • Harlaxton
  • Harristown
  • Kearneys Spring
  • Middle Ridge
  • Mount Kynoch
  • Mount Lofty
  • Newtown
  • North Toowoomba
  • Prince Henry Heights
  • Rangeville
  • Redwood
  • Rockville
  • South Toowoomba
  • Toowoomba
  • Wilsonton
  • Wilsonton Heights

[edit] Population

Year Population
1954 43,149
1961 50,134
1966 55,799
1971 59,524
1976 66,436
1981 66,698
1986 73,390
1991 81,043
1996 83,633
2001 86,642
2006 90,466

[edit] Mayors

  • Dianne Thorley (2000—2008)
  • Tony Bourke (1997—2000)
  • Ross Miller (1993—1996)
  • Clive Berghofer (1982—1992)
  • Jack Duggan (1981—1982)
  • Nellie Robinson (1967—1981)
  • John McCafferty (1958—1967)
  • M.J.R. "Curly" Anderson (1952—1958)
  • James Annand (1952)
  • Dr Alexander McGregor (1949—1952)
  • James Annand (1933—1949)
  • Francis Patterson (1930—1933)
  • James Annand (1924—1930)
  • Alfred Godsall (1920—1924)
  • Thomas Burstow (1919; also 1904 and 1907)

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Local Government Areas in South East Queensland