Shire of Cooloola Queensland |
|||||||||||||
Location within Queensland |
|||||||||||||
Population: | 36,956(2006 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
Established: | 1879 Shire of Widgee 1880 City of Gympie 1993 Shire of Cooloola (merged) |
||||||||||||
Area: | 2968.8 km² (1,146.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Council Seat: | Gympie | ||||||||||||
|
The Shire of Cooloola was a Local Government Area located about 170 kilometres (106 mi) north of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of 2,968.8 square kilometres (1,146.3 sq mi), and was the product of a merger in 1993 between the City of Gympie and the Shire of Widgee, which had both existed since 1879-1880. It merged with several other LGAs to form the Gympie Region on 15 March 2008.
Contents |
The Cooloola area was originally settled for grazing purposes. The discovery of gold in 1867 lead to a gold rush and the development of the Mary River valley for closer agricultural pursuits.
The Widgee Division was incorporated on 11 November 1879 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 3 July 1886, its western part separately incorporated as the Kilkivan Division. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Widgee became a shire on 31 March 1903, and on 21 November 1940 moved into new premises formerly occupied by the Bank of New South Wales at 242 Mary Street, Gympie.
The Municipal Borough of Gympie was incorporated on 25 June 1880, holding its first elections on 25 August. A town hall was built in 1890. It became a town under the new Act on 31 March 1903, and on 7 January 1905 was proclaimed a City by the Governor of Queensland.[2]
On 2 November 1993, the Shire of Widgee and the City of Gympie merged under the terms of the Local Government (Shire of Cooloola) Regulation 1993 to form the Shire of Cooloola. The first elections were held on 27 November 1993 and Adrian McClintock, the former Widgee chairman, was elected for a four-year term.
On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, Cooloola merged with the Shire of Kilkivan and part of Tiaro to form the Gympie Region.
On its creation, Cooloola was subdivided into four numbered divisions, containing 2, 4, 3 and 3 councillors respectively, plus an elected mayor. Before the 2000 local government elections, Division 2 was reduced to 3 councillors and a new one-councillor Division 5 was created.
Gympie | Other areas |
---|---|
|
Year | Population (Cooloola) |
Population (Gympie) |
Population (Widgee) |
---|---|---|---|
1921 | 12,095 | 6,539 | 5,556 |
1933 | 16,435 | 7,749 | 8,686 |
1947 | 16,247 | 8,413 | 7,834 |
1954 | 18,103 | 9,964 | 8,139 |
1961 | 19,042 | 11,094 | 7,948 |
1966 | 18,769 | 11,279 | 7,490 |
1971 | 18,055 | 11,096 | 6,959 |
1976 | 19,520 | 11,280 | 8,240 |
1981 | 21,960 | 11,420 | 10,540 |
1986 | 24,400 | 11,430 | 12,970 |
1991 | 27,773 | 14,122 | 13,651 |
1996 | 31,736 | 15,099 | 16,637 |
2001 | 32,989 | 15,021 | 17,968 |
2006 | 36,070 | 16,454 | 19,616 |
* Numbers in italics relate to non-existing entities.