The Shire of Lowood is a former

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 south-east 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. It existed between 1912 and 1916.

History

From around 1890, increasing settlement in and around the town of

Lowood Lowood is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Lowood had a population of 4,159 people. Geography The town is on the Brisbane River, west of the ...

resulted in ongoing agitation to establish a new shire. An alternative proposal was to relocate the office of the Shire of Walloon away from

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...

and into Lowood on the grounds that the majority of the population of the Shire of Walloon used Lowood as their market town and that Lowood had the advantage of being on the railway line (which Marburg was not). In November 1907, the decision was made to relocate the office to Lowood, which was rescinded in the following month. The issue continued to be argued for some time, with petitions and counter-petitions. However, once it became clear the office would not be relocated to Lowood, the Lowood area residents resumed their push for the establishment of a separate shire. Eventually, on 19 January 1912, under the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', part of the Shire of Walloon was excised to create the Shire of Lowood.

The Greater Ipswich Scheme

On 13 October 1916, a rationalisation of the local government areas in and around

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

was implemented. It involved the abolition of five shires: * Brassall * Bundanba * Lowood * Purga * Walloon resulting in: * an enlarged

Shire of Esk The Shire of Esk was a local government area in South East Queensland, Australia, located about west - northwest of Brisbane. It stretched from the Lockyer Valley north and west to the Great Dividing Range and up the valley of the Brisbane Rive ...

by including all of the Shire of Lowood * an enlarged

Shire of Rosewood The Shire of Rosewood is a former local government area in the south-east of Queensland, Australia. History On 11 November 1879, the Walloon Division was created as one of 74 divisions within Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''. ...

by including part of the Shire of Walloon * a new

Shire of Ipswich The Shire of Ipswich is a former local government area in the south-east of Queensland, Australia. History The Greater Ipswich Scheme On 13 October 1916, a rationalisation of the local government areas in and around Ipswich was implemented. It ...

by amalgamating part of the Shire of Brassall, part of the Shire of Bundanba, part of the Shire of Walloon and all of the Shire of Purga * an enlarged

City of Ipswich The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...

by including part of the Shire of Brassall and part of the Shire of Bundanba

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowood Shire Former local government areas of Queensland 1912 establishments in Australia 1916 disestablishments in Australia