Shire of Crows Nest

Shire of Crows Nest
Queensland

Location within Queensland
Population 12,595 (2006 census)[1]
 • Density 7.7275/km2 (20.0141/sq mi)
Established 1913
Abolished 2008
Area 1,629.9 km2 (629.3 sq mi)
Council seat Crows Nest
Region Darling Downs
Website Shire of Crows Nest
LGAs around Shire of Crows Nest:
Rosalie Nanango Esk
Rosalie Shire of Crows Nest Esk
Toowoomba Gatton Gatton

The Shire of Crows Nest was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately northeast of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Crows Nest, covered an area of 1,629.9 square kilometres (629.3 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1913 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the Toowoomba area to form the Toowoomba Region. Its growth in later years has been fuelled by the expansion of Toowoomba, particularly the suburbs of Highfields and Blue Mountain Heights which, with a combined population of 7,333 in 2006, were home to over half the shire's population.

History

Crows Nest was named after an Aboriginal man called Jimmy Crow, who lived in a hollow tree near the present council swimming pool. Timber hauling bullock teams would stop in this area overnight and Jimmy Crow used to give them directions. There is a 6 ft statue of Jimmy Crow in Centenary Park, Crows Nest to honour this legend.[2]

The first local government in the area was the Highfields Division, which was incorporated on 11 November 1879 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Highfields Division became the Shire of Highfields on 31 March 1903.

On 25 January 1913, the Shire of Crows Nest was excised from the Shire of Highfields,[3] initially over a somewhat smaller area. When the Shires of Highfields and Drayton were abolished on 19 March 1949, part of each was included within the Shire of Crows Nest.[2] The council had two divisions each of which returned four councillors, and a separately elected chairman (mayor from 1993).

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

Towns and localities

Former Crows Nest Shire offices, 2014

The Shire of Crows Nest includes the following settlements:

1 - split with the former City of Toowoomba

Chairmen

The following were the chairmen of the Crows Nest Shire Council.[2] The use of the title mayor was only introduced in 1993.

# Chairman Term
1 James Nolan 1913
2 John Alexander McRae 1914
3 Lewis Dascombe 1915
4 Alfred Trevethen Littleton 1916
5 Alfred King 1917
6 Maurice Collins 1918
7 Alfred Trevethen Littleton 1919—1930
8 John Breydon 1930—1933
9 Alfred Trevethen Littleton 1933—1946
10 Johann Christian Vandersee 1946—1967
11 Ernest Matthies Schefe 1967—1970
12 Colin Alan Littleton 1970—1988
13 Ivan Albert Vonhoff 1988—1993
14 Geoffrey Robert Patch 1993—2008 (mayor)

Population

Year Population
1933 2,850
1947 2,361 #
1954 3,733
1961 3,474
1966 3,244
1971 3,111
1976 3,445
1981 4,125
1986 5,308
1991 6,644
1996 8,644
2001 10,005
2006 12,595

# The estimated 1947 population of the post-1949 area was 4,036.[4]

Notable residents

Schools

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Crows Nest (S) (Local Government Area)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  2. 1 2 3 Crow's Nest & District Tourist & Progress Association (1988), From tall timbers : a folk history of Crow's Nest Shire, 1988, Crow's Nest & District Tourist & Progress Association Inc, ISBN 978-0-7316-3402-6
  3. ↑ "Crows Nest Shire". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Queensland Year Book, No.11 (1950), p.47.

Further reading

Coordinates: 27°15′43.52″S 152°03′19.52″E / 27.2620889°S 152.0554222°E / -27.2620889; 152.0554222

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