City of Townsville

City of Townsville Queensland
Location within Queensland
Population	193,946 (2015)[1] (26th)
• Density	51.954/km2 (134.561/sq mi)
Established	1865
Area	3,733 km2 (1,441.3 sq mi)[2]
Mayor	Jenny Hill
Council seat	Townsville City
Region	North Queensland
Federal Division(s)	Herbert, Dawson, Kennedy
Website	City of Townsville
LGAs around City of Townsville: Hinchinbrook Coral Sea Coral Sea Charters Towers City of Townsville Burdekin Charters Towers Charters Towers Burdekin

The City of Townsville is an Australian local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock and Reid River, and to the north are Northern Beaches and Paluma, and also included is Magnetic Island. It currently has a population of 175,542 residents,^[3][4] and is the 18th largest LGA in Australia.

History

Prior to 2008, the new City of Townsville was an entire area of two previous and distinct local government areas:

• the former City of Townsville;
• and the City of Thuringowa.

Townsville's Town Hall 1895 with, from left to right, Aldermen T. Enright, E.J. Forrest, D.F. Treehy (Townclerk), P. Lillis (Rate Receiver), J. N. Parkes, B.P. McDougall (Accountant)

The City of Townsville was first established as the Borough of Townsville under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864 on 15 February 1866. The surrounding rural area, which was given the name Thuringowa Division, was established on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 31 March 1903, Thuringowa Division became the Shire of Thuringowa and Townsville was granted city status under the Local Authorities Act 1902, the ancestor of the current Local Government Act 1993.

The borders of the Townsville municipality were expanded to keep pace with urban growth in 1882, 1918, 1936, 1958 and 1964 – the purpose of expanding the borders was to keep urban and rural administrations separate.^[5] This state government convention changed under the Bjelke-Peterson government and the borders between the two local governments became static. By 1986 the Shire of Thuringowa had grown to a population of 27 000 and was declared a city.^[5]

In 1939, Fred Paterson stood successfully as an alderman for the Townsville City Council, becoming the first member of the Communist Party to win such an office in Australia. He was then re-elected in 1943. The same year, he stood for the federal seat of Herbert, but was narrowly defeated. He then contested and won the Bowen seat in the Queensland Parliament, holding it from 1944 until 1950.

A succession of endorsed Australian Labor Party mayors and majority councillors held a continuous civic government from 1976–2008, this was the longest continuous Labor administration in the country until Tony Mooney was defeated in 2008.

Following local government reform undertaken by the State Government of Queensland, the City of Townsville and the City of Thuringowa were amalgamated in 2008.^[6] The process of amalgamation was completed on the election of a new combined council on 15 March 2008.

Mayors

• 1866–1867: John Melton Black (first mayor)^[7][8]
• 1868: William Alfred Ross^[7][9]
• 1869: William Aplin^[7]
• 1870: Frederick Coleman^[7][9]
• 1871–1872: Patrick Hanran (total of 7 terms as mayor)^[7][9]
• 1873: S. F. Walker^[7]
• 1874: Joseph Fletcher^[7][9]
• 1875: S. F. Walker^[7]
• 1876: Henry Knapp (briefly)^[9]
• 1876–1877: Patrick Hanran^[7]
• 1878: E. A. Head^[7]
• 1879: Patrick Hanran^[7]
• 1880–1881: Thankful Percy Willmett (was mayor several times)^[7][9]
• 1882: Patrick Hanran^[7]
• 1883: W.V. Brown^[7]
• 1883–1884: Thankful Percy Willmett^[7]
• 1885: Eugene J. Forrest^[9]
• 1885: Henry Barbenson Le Touzel Hubert^[7][9]
• 1886: W.P. Walker^[7]
• 1887–1888: Arthur Glennie Bundock^[7][9][10]
• 1889: John Newport Parkes^[7][9]
• 1890: William Clayton^[7][9]
• 1891: Lionel Fairley^[7][9]
• 1892: Patrick Hanran^[7]
• 1892: C.F.A. Sparre^[7]
• 1893: Patrick Hanran^[7]
• 1894: Murdo Cameron^[7][9]
• 1895: Eugene J. Forrest^[7]
• 1896: Patrick Hanran^[7]
• 1897: Michael McKiernan^[7][9]
• 1898: A.E. McCreedy^[7][9]
• 1899: Thomas Enright^[7][9]
• 1900: A.E. McCreedy^[7][9]
• 1901: Murdo Cameron^[7][9]
• 1902: Thankful Percy Willmett^[7]
• 1903: William Archer Ackers^[7][9]
• 1904: Thomas Smyth ^[7]
• 1905: Murdo Cameron ^[7][9]
• 1906: J. Thompson ^[7]
• 1907: Peter Minehan ^[7][9]
• 1988: G. Murray ^[7]
• 1909: Thomas Smyth ^[9]
• 1910: Joseph Hodel^[9][11]
• 1911: George Murray^[9]
• 1912: John Henry Tyack^[7][12]
• 1913: Robert Wilson McClelland^[7]
• 1914–1915: William Henry Swales^[7]
• 1916: Robert Wilson McClelland^[7][9]
• 1917–1918: John Edward Clegg^[7][9]
• 1919: Thomas George Melrose^[7][9]
• 1920–1923: William Green^[7][9]
• 1924–1926: Anthony Ogden^[7][9]
• 1927–1932: William John Heatley^[7][9]
• 1933–1952: John Stewart Mitchell Gill^[7][9]
• 1952–1967: Angus J. Smith^[7][9]
• 1967–1972: Harold Phillips^[7][9]
• 1972–1976: Max Hooper^[7]
• 1976–1980: Perc Tucker^[7]
• 1980–1989: Mike Reynolds^[7]
• 1989–2008: Tony Mooney^[7]
• 2008–2012: Les Tyrell (previously mayor of the City of Thuringowa)^[7][13]
• 2012– :Jenny Hill^[14][15]

Other notable aldermen include:

• 1936–1949 (deputy mayor 1939–1944) Tom Aikens, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Mundingburra and Townsville South^[16]

Townsville City Council

Townsville City Council is the Local Government Authority that services the Local Government Area of Townsville. The council is represented by 10 councillors and the mayor, who have been elected by the whole city. The current mayor is Cr Jenny Hill,^[15] who was formerly the deputy mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Townsville in 2007 and early 2008.

The council provides many services to residents of the city of Townsville, including infrastructure, water, garbage, public works, and entertainment and leisure i.e. parks, theatres, events etc.

In 2006 the council had an operating expenditure of $201.3M and a capital works budget of $103.3M^[17]

Civic cabinet

The current civic cabinet consists of one mayor, elected at large, and 10 councillors, elected from 10 individual divisions. At the last Queensland Local Government election, held on 19 March 2016, Jenny Hill from the centre-left Team Jenny Hill was elected mayor of Townsville, along with 10 other councillors from the same team.^[18] No councillors were elected from the rival centre-right Jayne Arlett's team, nor were any independents, effectively creating an undivided council. Les Walker, from Team Jenny Hill, was elected as deputy mayor.^[19]

Towns and localities

Population

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The 2011 census, was the first for the new City.

Sister cities

• Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea since 1983
• Shunan, Japan since 1990
• Iwaki City, Japan since August 1991
• Changshu, People's Republic of China since 1995
• Suwon, South Korea since 1996
• Foshan, People's Republic of China since 2006^[20]

References

External links

• Official website
• Population stats of LGA
• Townsville Region Social Atlas (2001 Census)

Coordinates: 19°15′27.50″S 146°49′04.45″E / 19.2576389°S 146.8179028°E / -19.2576389; 146.8179028