- City of Thuringowa
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City of Thuringowa
Queensland
Location within QueenslandPopulation: 59,164 (2006 census)[1] Established: 1846 1st Settlement, 1879-1903 Division, 1903-1986 Shire, 1986-2008 City. Area: 1866.9 km² (720.8 sq mi) Region: W/SW from Townsville 
The City of Thuringowa (19°18′26″S 146°43′54″E / 19.30722°S 146.73167°ECoordinates: 19°18′26″S 146°43′54″E / 19.30722°S 146.73167°E) was a City/Local Government Area in North Queensland, Australia covering the northern and western parts of what is now Townsville. The suburb of Thuringowa Central is the main business centre in this area and is situated at latitude and longitude of 19°19′04S 146°44′32E.
Thuringowa was named after the German region of Thuringia where the shire's first chairman, John von Stieglitz originated.[2] Prior to its proclamation as a city on 1 January 1986, Thuringowa was a large rural shire, almost surrounding the City of Townsville.
In 2007 the Queensland Government recommended that the Thuringowa City Council and the Townsville City Council be merged as part of the review of councils and boundaries, with the merged entity to be referred to as the Townsville City Council and the city being called the New Townsville City.[3] The transition was completed with the election of a new combined Council on 15 March 2008.
Contents
History
Early history
Prior to European settlement, the Nyawaygi Aboriginal people lived in the area around Thuringowa, Townsville and the Burdekin. The earliest European on record to live in Thuringowa was James Morrill whose boat washed ashore in 1846.[4]
In 1860, the newly formed Queensland Government passed an act opening up the area to pastoral leases, and by 1861 there were many runs in Thuringowa.[4] By 1865, Robert Towns and John Melton Black had purchased a number of properties throughout Thuringowa. In 1865 Robert Towns built a boiling down works - at the time, there was no facilities for shipping cattle or sheep, so in 1865 Andrew Ball and Mark Reid left Woodstock Station to find a harbour around the Cleveland Bay shores and the Town and port of Townsville was established at the mouth of Ross Creek.[4]
Local government
The City of Thuringowa had its genesis in the Thuringowa Division, created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879.[4]
Considerable progress ensued over the following decades - by 1902, Thuringowa had 1,020 dwellings listed on its ratebooks.[4] Early chairmen Arthur Bundock and Joseph Hodel were involved in construction of key architecture such as the Ross River Bridge, the bridge at the Causeway and the Stuart Creek Bridge. These roads and bridges were constructed to serve not only Thuringowa's rural base but also its residential subdivisions of Hermit Park, Mundingburra and Rosslea. Water reticulation and sanitary services were established in these suburbs and street lighting and beautification work was carried out along Charters Towers Road. Also during this period the Council's first administration building was constructed at the Causeway, near the intersection of Flinders Street West and Ingham Road.[4]
Under the Local Authorities Act 1902, divisions were renamed shires, and on 31 March 1903, the Shire of Thuringowa came into being. The period up to 1918 was one of consolidation and minor works, rather than major projects.[4]
In 1918, much of Thuringowa's urban area was transferred to Townsville.[4] This initially caused great hardship for the Shire, as its rate base had been reduced to 2,500 ratepayers and its council headquarters was based outside the shire. The Council adopted a conservative approach to policy during this period that included not only the depression years of the 1930s but also during World War II, when the area became an important staging point and was host to significant numbers of military personnel.[4]
From the 1960s onwards, significant suburban development and growth took place in the area and the Council was providing new facilities and infrastructure. In 1979, a new Shire administration centre was constructed, moving it back into the local area, and on 1 January 1986, the Shire became a City.[4]
In 2007, the state government engaged in a programme of local government reform centred on amalgamating LGAs across Queensland. The Local Government Advisory Committee recommended that the Cities of Thuringowa and Townsville should be amalgamated into a new City of Townsville.[5] Though it was the source of some controversy, the merger ultimately took place, with the City of Thuringowa ceasing to exist in March 2008. Les Tyrell, Thuringowa's mayor of 17 years, won against Townsville's mayor, 19-year incumbent Tony Mooney, in the mayoral election for the combined city.
Demographics
Thuringowa grew in population rapidly, becoming one of the fastest growing cities in Australia.[6] The population had increased from 26,000 in 1986 to over 65,000 in 2007.
year census
population% growth
per annum1936 1 500 1954 2 627 1961 2 572 1966 2 863 2.17 1971 3 432 3.69 1976 10 914 26.03 1981 17 728 10.19 1986 30 104 11.17 1991 37 722 4.62 1996 44 319 3.27 2001 52 715 2.90 2006 62 935 2.96 2007[7] 65 782 4.5 More: Thuringowa travel guide from Wikitravel
Suburbs
Main article: Suburbs of Thuringowa City- Urban
- Alice River
- Bluewater
- Bohle
- Bohle Plains
- Bushland Beach
- Condon
- Deeragun
- Kelso
- Kirwan
- Pinnacles
- Rasmussen
- Thuringowa Central
- Rural
- Balgal Beach
- Black River
- Burdell
- Jensen
- Mount Low
- Mutarnee
- Pamula
- Rollingstone
- Saunders Beach
- Shaw
- Toolakea
- Toomulla
- Yabulu
Municipal leaders of Thuringowa
The following is a list of chairmen and mayors of the Thuringowa Division, Shire of Thuringowa and City of Thuringowa from 1880 until 2008:[8]
Year Name 1880-1882 William Aplin 1882-1883 F. Gordon 1883-1884 James Miller and Arthur Bundock 1884-1885 William Clayton and Arthur Bundock 1885-1888 Arthur Bundock 1888-1890 Frederick Johnson 1890-1891 Joseph Hodel 1891-1892 Joseph Hodel and Frederick Johnson 1892-1898 Joseph Hodel 1898-1900 Robert Mawby 1900-1901 Frederick Johnson 1901-1910 Joseph Hodel 1910-1912 Henry Abbot 1912-1914 Joseph Hodel Year Name 1914-1915 Edward Crowder or Joseph Hodel 1915-1916 Joseph Hodel 1916-1917 Edward Crowder 1917-1920 William Ireland 1920-1929 James Cummins 1930-1948 Charles Wordsworth March-May 1949 James Kelso 1949-1960 W.H.F. Wordsworth 1961-1966 J. R. Brabon 1967-1969 William DeCourcey 1970-1973 J. R. Brabon 1973-1976 William DeCourcey 1976-1991 Dan Gleeson (Mayor 86-91) 1991-2008 Les Tyrell References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Thuringowa (C) (Local Government Area)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=LGA36800&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2007-12-25.
- ^ Bateman, Daniel (13 June 2007). "Save Thuringowa". Townsville Bulletin. p. 13.
- ^ Welcome to the New Townsville City
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thuringowa City Council (2004-11-15). "History of Thuringowa". Archived from the original on 2006-09-18. http://web.archive.org/web/20060918160056/http://www.thuringowa.qld.gov.au/thuringowa/history/. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
- ^ Queensland Local Government Reform Commission (July 2007). Report of the Local Government Reform Commission. 2. pp. 334–339. ISBN 1921057114. http://www.dlgp.qld.gov.au/resources/map/reform/townsville-rationale.pdf. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
- ^ Townsville Region: A Social Atlas - Townsville City Council
- ^ http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/subscriber.nsf/log?openagent&32180ds0002_2001-07.xls&3218.0&Data%20Cubes&399AA3AACFA076F6CA25741A000DEB28&0&2006-07&31.03.2008&Latest
- ^ Thuringowa Library Heritage Services. "INFORMATION SHEET NUMBER 10 - CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF CHAIRMEN AND MAYORS" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2007-07-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20070709040950/http://library.thuringowa.qld.gov.au/resources/9.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
External links
- Former Thuringowa City Council
- New Townsville city website
- History of the area
- More history of Thuringowa, including searchable historical image collection - from Thuringowa Library Heritage Services
Local Government Areas of Queensland South East Brisbane · Gold Coast · Ipswich · Lockyer Valley · Logan · Moreton Bay · Redland · Scenic Rim · Somerset · Sunshine CoastWide Bay-Burnett Darling Downs Central Central Highlands · Gladstone · Isaac · Mackay · Rockhampton · WoorabindaNorth Far North Aurukun · Cairns · Cassowary Coast · Cook · Hopevale · Kowanyama · Lockhart River · Mapoon · Napranum · Northern Peninsula Area · Pormpuraaw · Tablelands · Torres · Torres Strait Islands · Weipa · Wujal Wujal · YarrabahNorth West Central West South West Categories:- Former Local Government Areas of Queensland
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