Shire of Cloncurry explained

Type:lga
Shire of Cloncurry
State:qld
Image Upright:0.81
Pop:3644
Area:47971
Area Footnotes:[1]
Est:1884
Seat:Cloncurry
Mayor:Greg Campbell
Region:North West Queensland
Logo Upright:1.2
Url:http://www.cloncurry.qld.gov.au/
Stategov:Traeger
Fedgov:Kennedy
Near-Nw:Burke
Near-N:Carpentaria
Near-Ne:Carpentaria
Near-W:Mount Isa
Near-E:McKinlay
Near-Sw:Boulia
Near-S:Boulia
Near-Se:Winton

The Shire of Cloncurry is a local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of 47971km2, and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the shire is Cloncurry.

Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Mitakoodi, Kalkadoon and Pitta Pitta Aboriginal people.

The ghost town of Mary Kathleen, a town servicing a uranium mine since closed, is in the shire.

In the, the Shire of Cloncurry had a population of 3,644 people.

History

Wanamarra (also known as Maykulan and Wunumura is an Australian Aboriginal language in North West Queensland. The language region includes areas within the Shire of McKinlay, Shire of Cloncurry and Shire of Richmond, including the Flinders River area, and the towns of Kynuna and Richmond.[2]

Yulluna (also known as Yalarnga, Yalarrnga, Jalanga, Jalannga, Wonganja, Gunggalida, and Jokula) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country. The Yulluna language region includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Cloncurry.[3] The first Europeans to visit the area were Wills and Burke in 1861, and the latter named the river Cloncurry after his cousin. In 1867, Ernest Henry wandered to this site in search of a grazing land and found copper. He is considered the founder of the town as well as its vast mineral deposits. In 1876, the town was named Cloncurry after the river. It is regarded as the place of innovations as Qantas began its operations here and the Royal Flying Doctor Service was established in Cloncurry in 1928.[4]

The Doonmunya Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 396. However, the divisional board appeared to be completely inactive, perhaps because the division was so large (being the area surrounding the southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria) and was very sparsely settled.[5] Nonetheless some of the citizens were unhappy about this.[6] Consequently, on 11 January 1883, the Doonmunya Division was abolished and a new Carpentaria Division was created to replace it.

Given the size of the Carpentaria Division, the distance to its headquarters in Normanton was an issue for residents in the Cloncurry area, leading to a desire to create their own local division.[7] On 7 February 1884, part of Carpentaria Division was separated to create the new Cloncurry Division.

On 30 January 1885, adjustments were made to boundaries of the Cloncurry Division when the Burke Division was also split off from the Carpentaria Division.

On 31 March 1903, Cloncurry Division became the Shire of Cloncurry.

Mining

Mining was and important for the growth and development of the region. There are a number of continuing functional mines in the region as well as some abandoned mines. The abandoned Lady Fanny mine was located in Kuridala. Some of the abandoned mines have been re-explored recently for mining potential.

Libraries

The Cloncurry Shire Council operates a public library in Cloncurry.[8]

Towns and localities

The Shire of Cloncurry includes the following settlements:

Demographics

YearPopulationNotes
1933 6,184
1947 6,267
1954 3,052
1961 4,869
1966 3,348
1971 3,623
1976 4,036
1981 3,651
1986 3,194
1991 3,382
1996 3,878
4,797
3,138
3,229
3,032
3,644

Chairmen and mayors

Other notable members of the council included:

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018 . Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  2. Wanamarra. Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. 5 February 2020.
  3. Yulluna. Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. 28 January 2020.
  4. Web site: Our History. Cloncurry Shire Council.
  5. News: Local Government Practically Applied. . . Brisbane . 15 January 1881 . 4 October 2013 . 71 . National Library of Australia.
  6. News: NORMANTON. . . 12 January 1883 . 4 October 2013 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
  7. News: CLONCURRY. . . 23 January 1884 . 5 October 2013 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
  8. Web site: Cloncurry Shire Council. 20 September 2016. Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. https://web.archive.org/web/20180205140051/http://plconnect.slq.qld.gov.au/networking/directory-of-public-libraries/services/cloncurry. 5 February 2018. live. 6 February 2018.
  9. News: Memorable Jubilee. . . Qld. . 12 February 1944 . 10 July 2014 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
  10. Book: Consolidated Index to Queensland Government Gazette 1859–1919. 2004. Queensland Family History Society. 1-876613-79-3.
  11. Book: Pugh. Theophilus Parsons. Pugh's Almanac for 1927. 1927. 13 June 2014.
  12. Web site: Elected Representatives. Cloncurry Shire Council. Cloncurry Shire Council. 15 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140615003626/http://www.cloncurry.qld.gov.au/elected-representatives. 15 June 2014. dead. dmy-all.
  13. Web site: 2016 Cloncurry Shire Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary. 20 April 2016. Electoral Commission of Queensland. https://web.archive.org/web/20160531024657/http://results.ecq.qld.gov.au/elections/local/LG2016/CloncurryShireCouncil/results/mayoral/summary.html. 31 May 2016. 16 March 2017.
  14. Web site: 2020. 2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200616100501/https://prodresults.elections.qld.gov.au/lga2020. 16 June 2020. 16 June 2020. Electoral Commission of Queensland.
  15. Web site: Aikens, Mr Thomas (Tom). Re-Member Database. Queensland Parliament. 18 June 2014.