The Shire of Hinchinbrook 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 ...

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

, Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Ingham, covers an area of , and has existed since its creation on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''. The council consists of a mayor plus six councillors, each of whom represents the entire Shire. Prior to 2008, the council consisted of a mayor plus eight councillors.

History

The Hinchinbrook Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' with a population of 326. It originally covered a much larger area, extending well into the Tablelands Region. On 3 September 1881, the Tinaroo Division was created on 3 September 1881 under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' out of parts of the

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, Hinchinbrook and

Woothakata The Shire of Mareeba is a Local government in Australia, local government area at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Far North Queensland, inland from Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mar ...

Divisions. On 28 October 1881, part of Hinchinbrook Division was separated to create the

Johnstone Division #REDIRECT Shire of Johnstone The Shire of Johnstone was a local government area of Queensland. It was located on the Coral Sea coast about south of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Innisfail, covered an area of , an ...

. On 18 January 1884 part of Hinchinbrook Division was separated to create the

Cardwell Division #REDIRECT Shire of Cardwell The Shire of Cardwell was a local government area of Queensland. It was located on the Coral Sea coast about halfway between the cities of Cairns and Townsville. The shire, administered from the town of Tully, covere ...

. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Hinchinbrook Division became Shire of Hinchinbrook on 31 March 1903. Hinchinbrook was one of the few shires outside of remote areas in Queensland not to be affected by amalgamations in 2007–2008. It was considered for amalgamation into the Cassowary Coast Region with

Cardwell Cardwell may refer to: Places Australia *Cardwell, Queensland United States *Cardwell, Missouri *Cardwell, Montana * Cardwell Hall, Kansas State University Canada *Cardwell Parish, New Brunswick People *Alvin B. Cardwell (1902–1992), America ...

and

Johnstone Johnstone ( sco, Johnstoun,
gd, Baile Iain) is a town ...

, but the Local Government Commissioners accepted arguments by the council that there was no significant community of interest between the three, that amalgamation would not improve financial sustainability and that the resulting council would have a large north-south distance which would impact upon economies of scale.

Shire hall

The first shire hall was constructed in 1883, but was destroyed by fire in May 1916. A new double-storey building was built at a different site in 1919. The present shire hall opened in 1963.

Libraries

Hinchinbrook Shire Council operates public libraries at Ingham and Halifax.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Hinchinbrook includes the following settlements: * Abergowrie *

Bambaroo Bambaroo is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bambaroo had a population of 126 people. Geography Bambaroo has two distinct parts geographically. The centre and n ...

* Bemerside * Blackrock * Braemeadows * Cordelia * Forrest Beach * Gairloch * Garrawalt * Halifax * Hawkins Creek * Helens Hill * Hinchinbrook * Ingham * Lannercost Extension * Long Pocket * Lucinda * Macknade * Mount Fox *

Stone River In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...

Taylors Beach Taylors Beach is a suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is largely undeveloped except for some commercial and light industrial developments in the southern part of the suburb. ...

* Toobanna *

Trebonne Trebonne is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. In the , Trebonne had a population of 397 people. History Prior to European settlement, the Trebonne area was inhabite ...

Victoria Plantation Victoria Plantation is a rural locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. In the Victoria Plantation had a population of 156 people. Geography Victoria Plantation is directly east of the town of Ingham. It is a sugarcan ...

* Yuruga

Population

Chairmen and mayors

;Chairmen of the Hinchinbrook Divisional Board * 1880–1882: Frank Neame * 1883–1886:

Alfred Sandlings Cowley Sir Alfred Sandlings Cowley (24 April 1848 – 1 December 1926) was a politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Early life Cowley was born in Fairford, Gloucestershire, England, the son ...

* 1887: Henry Stone * 1888: A. J. Traill (resigned) * 1888–1892: W. T. White * 1893: Arthur Gedge * 1894: W. T. White (again) * 1895–1899: Henry Stone (again) * 1900: P. J. Cochrane * 1901–1902: Arthur Gedge (again) ; Chairmen of the Hinchinbrook Shire Council * 1903: Frank Fraser * 1904–1905: R.G. Johnson (resigned) * 1905–1909: Francis Andrew O'Connor Cassady * 1910–1913: Martin Flynn (resigned) * 1913–1915: Francis Andrew O'Connor Cassady (again) * 1916–1920: J. W. Cartwright * 1921–1936: Francis Andrew O'Connor Cassady (again, died 23 March 1936) * 1936: F. J. Heard (temporary) * 1936–1942: James Lawrence Kelly * 1943–1945: F. N. Alston * 1946–1954: James Lawrence Kelly (again) * 1955–1977: W. O. Garbutt (died) * May 1977 – 1981 : S. Cavallaro * 1982–1984: A. J. Andrews * 1985–1987: J. J. Williams * 1988–1993 : R. S. Brown ;Mayors of Hinchinbrook Shire * 1994–1999 : Giuseppantonio (Pino) Giandomenico * 2000–2003 : Keith Thomas Phillips * 2004–2011: Giuseppantonio (Pino) Giandomenico * 2012–2016 : Mansell (Rodger) Bow * 2016–present: Ramon Jayo

References

External links

Hinchinbrook Shire Council
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hinchinbrook Shire Local government areas of Queensland 1879 establishments in Australia North Queensland