The Mackay 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 ...

located in

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 ) , 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. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869. It has an estimated operating budget of A$118 million.

History

Yuwibara The Yuwibara, also written Yuibera and Juipera and also known as Yuwi, after their language, are an Aboriginal Australian people, originating from the area around present-day Mackay, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Country Accordin ...

(''also known as ''Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra)'' 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 Yuwibara country. It is closely related to the Biri languages/dialects. The Yuwibara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mackay Region.' Prior to 2008, the Mackay Region was an entire area of three previous and distinct local government areas: * the

City of Mackay The City of Mackay was a local government area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay and the surrounding region. The City was created as a municipal borough in 1869, and pr ...

; * the

Shire of Mirani The Shire of Mirani was a local government area located in the North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Mirani, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1916 until 2 ...

; * and the

Shire of Sarina The Shire of Sarina was a local government area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Sarina, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1912 until 200 ...

. The city had its beginning in the Mackay Municipality which was proclaimed on 22 September 1869 under the ''Municipal Institutions Act 1864''. Its first mayor was David Dalrymple, and the council first met on 1 December 1869. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the ''Local Government Act''. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Mackay became a Town on 31 March 1903, and was ultimately proclaimed a City on 17 August 1918. On 11 December 1879, the Pioneer Division came into being as one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' on 11 November 1879, chaired by John Ewen Davidson. On 31 March 1903, Pioneer became a Shire. Two areas split away from it over the next decade; the

on 1 January 1912, and the

on 4 September 1913. On 21 November 1991, the

Electoral and Administrative Review Commission The Electoral and Administrative Review Commission (1989–1993) was an agency of the Government of Queensland, Australia to investigate the electoral system and public administration of the state and local government authorities of Queensland. ...

, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Mackay area be rationalised. The ''Local Government (Mackay and Pioneer) Regulation 1993'' was gazetted on 17 December 1993, and on 30 March 1994, the two amalgamated into a larger City of Mackay, which first met on 8 April 1994. In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released a report making recommendations for statewide reform of local government boundaries, and recommended that the three areas of Mackay, Mirani and Sarina amalgamate, due mainly to Mackay's role as a regional centre and all three shires' involvement in sugar production. The City of Mackay endorsed the suggestion, but the two shires proposed alternative options. In the end, the commission's proposal was unchanged. On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Mayors

* 2000–present: Gregory Roy Williamson

Wards

The Mackay Regional Council does not contain divisions or wards and remains undivided and has an elected body consisting of 10 councillors and a mayor. Current councillors and there relevant political affiliations are as follows:

Towns and localities

The Mackay Region includes the following settlements: Mackay suburbs: * Mackay City ** East Mackay **

West Mackay West Mackay is a suburb of Mackay in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , West Mackay had a population of 6,210 people. According to the , West Mackay includes the largest Maltese Australian community of any suburb in Queensland, n ...

North Mackay North Mackay is a suburb of Mackay in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , North Mackay had a population of 5,933 people. Although in present times North Mackay is an officially and precisely bounded area, historically and in inf ...

South Mackay South Mackay is a coastal suburb of Mackay in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Mackay had a population of 6,706 people. Geography As its name suggests, the suburb of South Mackay is immediately to the south of the centra ...

* Andergrove *

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

* Blacks Beach * Bucasia * Cremorne * Dolphin Heads * Eimeo * Erakala * Foulden * Glenella * Mackay Harbour * Mount Pleasant * Nindaroo * Ooralea *

Paget Paget is a surname of Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin which may refer to: * Lord Alfred Paget (1816–1888), British soldier, courtier and politician * Almeric Paget, 1st Baron Queenborough (1861–1949), British cowboy, industrialist, yachtsman ...

Racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

* Rural View * Shoal Point * Slade Point * Te Kowai Mackay towns: * Bakers Creek * Ball Bay *

Brampton Island Brampton Island is an island in the Cumberland Group, off shore from Mackay in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. The island lies within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, and the majority of the island forms the Brampton Isla ...

* Calen * Dalrymple Bay * Farleigh * Halliday Bay * Hampden * Kuttabul * Laguna Quays *

Lindeman Island Lindeman Island is an island in the Lindeman Group of the Whitsunday Islands off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The island was named by Captain Bedwell after his sub-lieutenant, George Sidney Lindeman whilst aboard the Royal Navy vessel ...

* McEwens Beach * Midge Point * Mount Ossa * Oakenden * Pindi Pindi * Seaforth *

St Helens Beach St Helens Beach is a coastal town and locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of St Helens Beach had a population of 197 people. History ''Yuwibara (''also known as ''Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra)'' is ...

* Walkerston National Parks: * Cape Hillsborough NP * Eungella NP * Mount Jukes NP * Mount Martin NP * Mount Ossa NP * Pioneer Peaks NP * Reliance Creek NP Mackay localities: *

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

* Balberra * Balnagowan * Belmunda *

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

* Chelona *

Dumbleton Dumbleton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. The village is roughly 20 miles from the city of Gloucester. The village is known to have existed in the time of Æthelred I who granted land to Abingdon Abbey, a ...

* Dunnrock * Greenmount *

Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Homebush Homebush is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. The name of ...

Mentmore Mentmore is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about three miles east of Wingrave, three miles south east of Wing. The village toponym is derived from the Old English for "Menta's moor ...

* Mount Charlton *

Mount Pelion Pelion or Pelium (Modern el, Πήλιο, ''Pílio''; Ancient Greek/Katharevousa: Πήλιον, ''Pēlion'') is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in northern Greece, forming a hook-like peninsula between the Pagasetic Gulf and the ...

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

* Pleystowe *

Rosella Rosellas are in a genus that consists of six species and nineteen subspecies. These colourful parrots from Australia are in the genus ''Platycercus''. ''Platycercus'' means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the ...

* Sandiford * Sunnyside * The Leap * Victoria Plains * Yalboroo Mirani area: * Benholme (village) * Brightly (locality) *

Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon in England. It stands on the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, about north west of Exeter and around from the M5 motorway ...

(village) * Dalrymple Heights (village) * Dows Creek (town) *

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

(town) * Eungella (village) *

Eungella Dam Eungella Dam is an earth and rockfill dam in the locality of Eungella Dam, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. It is one of Queensland's freshwater fisheries. Eungella has made a name for producing extra oversized sooty grunter and more rece ...

* Finch Hatton (town) * Gargett (town) * Hazledean (village) * Kinchant Dam (locality) *

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

(town) * Mirani (town) * Mia Mia (village) * Mount Martin (village) *

Netherdale Netherdale is a sports complex in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, consisting of two adjacent stadiums used for rugby union and football. The rugby ground is the home of Gala RFC and was formerly used by the professional Border Reivers team. It host ...

(village) * North Eton (locality) * Owens Creek (village) * Pinevale (village) *

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

(locality) * Septimus (town) Sarina area: * Alligator Creek (town) * Armstrong Beach (town) * Campwin Beach (town) * Freshwater Point (town) * Grasstree Beach (town) * Half Tide Beach (town) *

Hay Point Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...

(town) * Koumala (town) * Louisa Creek (village) * Munbura (village) * Sarina (town) * Sarina Beach (town) * Sarina Range * West Plane Creek (village)

Population

The population figures for each of the predecessor local government areas prior to the 2008 amalgamation: The estimated population figures (official census population figures are in bold) for the amalgamated Mackay Region from 2008

Services

The Mackay Regional Council operates libraries in Mackay, Mount Pleasant, Walkerston, Sarina and Mirani. A mobile library service visits the following districts on a fortnightly schedule: Yalboroo,

, Midge Point, Ball Bay, Seaforth, Koumala, Swayneville,

, Calen, Shoal Point, Oakenden,

Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Blacks Beach, Slade Point, Hampden,

, Gargett, Finch Hatton,

, Chelona, McEwens Beach and Bucasia.

References

External links

* {{North Queensland North Queensland Local government areas of Queensland