The Gympie Region is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in the

Wide Bay–Burnett Wide Bay–Burnett is a region of the Australian state of Queensland, located between north of the state capital, Brisbane. The area's population growth has exceeded the state average over the past 20 years, and it is forecast to grow to more ...

region of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, about north of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, the state capital. It is between the Sunshine Coast and

Hervey Bay Hervey Bay () is a city on the coast of the Fraser Coast Region of Queensland, Australia. The city is situated approximately or 3½ hours' highway drive north of the state capital, Brisbane. It is located on the Hervey Bay (Queensland), bay of ...

and centred on the town of

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shires of Cooloola and Kilkivan and part of the Shire of Tiaro. The Regional Council, which governs the Region, has an estimated operating budget of A$50 million.

History

Gubbi Gubbi The Gubbi Gubbi people also known as Kabi Kabi are an Aboriginal Australian people native to south-eastern Queensland. They are now classified as one of several Murri language groups in Queensland. Naming As is often the case, ethnonyms dist ...

(Kabi Kabi, Cabbee, Carbi, Gabi Gabi)'' is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

spoken on Gubbi Gubbi country. The Gubbi Gubbi language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

Sunshine Coast Region The Sunshine Coast Region is a local government area located in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. It was created by the amalgamation in 2008 of the City of Caloundra and the Shires of Maroochy and Noosa. It cont ...

and Gympie Region, particularly the towns of

Caloundra Caloundra ( ) is a coastal town and the southernmost town in the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia. Geography Caloundra is north of the Brisbane central business district. Caloundra is accessible from Landsborough ra ...

Noosa Heads Noosa Heads is a coastal town and suburb in the Shire of Noosa, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Noosa Heads had a population of 4,484 people. It is a popular holiday destination. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west by We ...

and extending north towards Maryborough and south to

Caboolture Caboolture () is a town and suburb in Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 26,433 people. It is located on the north side of the Caboolture River, which separates the town from Morayfi ...

''.'' Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Gympie Region existed as four distinct local government areas: * the

Shire of Cooloola The Shire of Cooloola was a local government area located about north of Brisbane – the state capital of Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and was the product of a merger in 1993 between the City of Gympie and the Shire of ...

; ** the

City of Gympie A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

; ** the

Shire of Widgee The Shire of Widgee is a former local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett area of Queensland, Australia. It was located in the rural areas around the town of Gympie but did not include the town itself, which was always in a separate local g ...

; * the

Shire of Kilkivan The Shire of Kilkivan was a local government area about north-northwest of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1886 until its merger with several other local government areas to ...

; * and Division 3 (

Theebine Theebine is a small town and locality split between the Gympie Region and the Fraser Coast Region, both in Queensland, Australia. Geography The town is located north of the Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. Most of the locality and the t ...

Gunalda Gunalda is a rural town in the Gympie Region and a locality split between Gympie Region and Fraser Coast Region in Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gunalda had a population of 392 people. Geography The town is from the state c ...

areas) of the Shire of Tiaro. StateLibQld 1 233828 Deep Creek Bridge in Gympie almost inundated, 1893

StateLibQld 2 198331 Maternity ward of the Gympie General Hospital, 1935

The Gympie area was originally settled for grazing purposes. The discovery of gold in 1867 led to a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

and the development of the Mary River valley for closer agricultural pursuits. The Widgee Divisional Board was incorporated on 11 November 1879 under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''. On 3 July 1886, its western part separately incorporated as the Division of Kilkivan. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', both Widgee and Kilkivan became shires on 31 March 1903. On 21 November 1940, the Widgee Shire Council moved into new premises formerly occupied by the

Bank of New South Wales The Bank of New South Wales (BNSW), also known commonly as The Wales, was the first bank in Australia, being established in Sydney in 1817 and situated on Broadway, New South Wales, Broadway. During the 19th century, the bank opened branches ...

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 The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor Governors of the Australian states, performs c ...

. On 2 November 1993, the

and the

merged under the terms of the ''Local Government (Shire of Cooloola) Regulation 1993'' to form the

. The first elections were held on 27 November 1993 and Adrian McClintock, the former Widgee chairman, was elected for a four-year term. In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Cooloola and Kilkivan amalgamate with part of the Shire of Tiaro. The first two councils opposed amalgamation, but in the event of amalgamation, thought the Commission's proposal the best option. Tiaro wished to amalgamate with the

Shire of Woocoo The Shire of Woocoo was a local government area located in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, containing the rural residential area to the west of the town of Maryborough, and surrounding countryside. The shire covered a ...

and opposed the plan. On 15 March 2008, the three shires ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect eight councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council. Ron Dyne, the former mayor of Kilkivan, was elected as the region's first mayor. The former Cooloola Shire Council Chambers is now used as the

Gympie Regional Council Chambers The Bank of New South Wales is a heritage-listed former bank at 242 Mary Street, Gympie, Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey and built from 1890 to 1891 by T. Kelly. It is also known as Widgee Shire Council C ...

Wards

The council remains undivided and its elected body consists of eight councillors and a mayor, elected for a four-year term.

Current Councillors/Mayor

The mayor of the Gympie Regional Council is Glen Charles Hartwig. Mayor Glen Hartwig was elected in the Gympie Regional Council election on Saturday, 28 March 2020. The councillors are:, *Jess Milne – Division 1 *Nadine Jensen – Division 2 *Shane Waldock – Division 3 * Bruce Devereaux – Division 4 * Dan Stewart – Division 5 * Hilary Smerdon – Division 6 * Warren Polley – Division 7 * Robert Fredman – Division 8

Mayors

* 2008 – 2014 : Ron Dyne * 2015 - 2020 : Mick Curran * 2020 – Present : Glen Hartwig

Towns and localities

The Gympie Region includes the following settlements: Gympie area: *

* Araluen * Chatsworth *

Glanmire Glanmire () is a suburban town from Cork city centre, in the civil parish of Rathcooney, County Cork, Ireland. Glanmire is within the administrative area of Cork City Council and the Dáil constituency of Cork North-Central. The greater Gl ...

* Jones Hill * Kybong * Monkland * Nahrunda *

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of New ...

* Tamaree * The Dawn * Two Mile *

Veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

* Victory Heights * Woondum Widgee area: *

Amamoor Amamoor is a rural town and locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Amamoor had a population of 636 people. Geography Amamoor is south of Gympie. The Bruce Highway passes to the east of the town and the Am ...

* Bollier * Brooloo *

Calico Creek Calico Creek is a rural locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Calico Creek had a population of 156 people. Geography Mary Valley Road Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of ...

* Canina * Carters Ridge * Cedar Pocket * Cooloola * Cooloola Cove * Dagun *

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury ...

* Goomboorian * Greens Creek * Imbil *

Kandanga Kandanga is a town and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kandanga had a population of 665 people. Geography The town is located on the Mary Valley Road ( State Route 51) north of the state capita ...

Kia Ora Kia ora (, approximated in English as or ) is a Māori-language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It translates literally as "have life" or "be healthy", wishing the essence of life upon someone, from one speaker to the other ...

* Lagoon Pocket * Langshaw *

Melawondi Melawondi is a rural locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located south of Gympie. In the Melawondi had a population of 30 people. Geography Melawondi railway station is an abandoned railway station on the Mary Valley ...

* Mothar Mountain * Moy Pocket * North Deep Creek * Pie Creek *

Rainbow Beach Rainbow Beach is a coastal rural town and locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Rainbow Beach had a population of 1,249 people. It is a popular tourist destination, both in its own right and as a gateway to Fraser Islan ...

Tandur Tandur is a town in ''Vikarabad District'' in the Indian State of Telangana. It is a municipality and first Municipality in India consisting of 36 wards, as well as the headquarters of Tandur Mandal in the Tandur Revenue Division. It is known ...

* The Palms *

Tin Can Bay Tin Can Bay is a coastal town and locality in the Wide Bay–Burnett region in Queensland, Australia. The locality is split between the Fraser Coast Region (the northern part of the locality) and the Gympie Region (southern part of the locality) ...

¹ * Traveston *

Wallu Harri Sakari Vaalio (born 1956 in Järvelä, Kärkölä, Finland), also known by his artist name Wallu, is a Finnish cartoonist. He is known for his strip '' Punaniska'' (Finnish for "redneck") comic albums and his strips in Finnish magazines su ...

* Wilsons Pocket Kilkivan area: * Kilkivan * Booubyjan *

Cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and ...

Goomeri Goomeri ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Goomeri had a population of 664 people. Geography The town is located on the intersection of the Burnett, Bunya and Wide Bay Hi ...

* Johnstown * Kinbombi * Lower Wonga * Manumbar * Tansey *

Widgee Widgee is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Widgee had a population of 794 people. History The name is believed to have originated from the Aboriginal words ''Witchee Witche ...

* Woolooga South Tiaro - Division 3 area: * Anderleigh *

Curra Curra is a rural residential Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Curra had a population of 1,920 people. Geography Curra is in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland. It als ...

* Glen Echo *

* Miva * Neerdie * Scotchy Pocket *

¹ - split with

Fraser Coast Region The Fraser Coast Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is centred on the twin cities of Hervey Bay and Maryborough and also contains Fraser I ...

Libraries

The Gympie Regional Council operate public libraries at

, Imbil, Kilkivan,

, and

Local heritage register

The Gympie Regional Council established and maintains the Gympie Local Heritage Register.

Population

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. Estimates for the Tiaro component, not included in the figures below, are: 1,315 (1991); 1,695 (1996); 1,789 (2001) and 2,197 (2006).

References

External links

Gympie Regional Council website
{{Coord, 26, 11, 23, S, 152, 39, 53, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-QLD, display=title

Wide Bay–Burnett 2008 establishments in Australia