The Southern Downs 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

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

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, along the state's boundary with

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the

Shire of Warwick The Shire of Warwick was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The administrative centre and major town of the shire was the town of Warwick. History On 19 March 1992, the Electoral and Administrative R ...

and the

Shire of Stanthorpe The Shire of Stanthorpe was a local government area of Queensland, Australia on the Queensland-New South Wales border. It was on the Great Dividing Range and was part of the Granite Belt. Its main industries included fruit and vegetable growing, ...

. It has an estimated operating budget of A$22.8 million.

History

The majority of the former Warwick Shire is home to the Githabul people who have lived around this area for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans in the early 1840s. The current area of the Southern Downs Region existed as two distinct local government areas: * the

; which in turn consisted of four previous local government areas: ** the City of Warwick; ** the

Shire of Allora The Shire of Allora was a local government area north of the regional centre of Warwick in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. The shire, administered from Allora, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1869 unt ...

; ** the

Shire of Glengallan The Shire of Glengallan was a local government area south and east of the regional centre of Warwick in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. The shire, administered from Warwick, covered an area of , and existed as a local government ent ...

; ** the Shire of Rosenthal; * and the

. The City of Warwick came into being as the Warwick Municipality on 25 May 1861 under the ''Municipalities Act 1858'', a piece of New South Wales legislation inherited by Queensland at its separation two years earlier. On 21 July 1869, the Municipality of Allora was established under the ''Municipal Institutions Act 1864''. On 11 November 1879, the

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

, Glengallan and Stanthorpe Divisions were created as three of 74 divisions within Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''. In 1886, Rosenthal was created out of parts of Glengallan. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Warwick and Allora became Towns and the four Divisions became Shires. On 23 January 1915 the Town of Allora was abolished and a new

was created from the southern part of the Shire of Clifton. On 4 April 1936, Warwick was proclaimed a city. 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 Warwick area be rationalised. The ''Local Government (Allora, Glengallan, Rosenthal and Warwick) Regulation 1994'' was gazetted on 20 May 1994. On 25 June, an election was held for the new

, and on 1 July 1994, the original entities passed out of existence. Stanthorpe was unaffected by these changes. In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Warwick and Stanthorpe amalgamate. It noted that

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

was the regional centre for the region, with the maximum travelling time between Warwick and any other town being one hour. Both councils opposed the amalgamation citing cultural differences and different river catchment areas and economic drivers. On 15 March 2008, the two Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect eight councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Wards

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

Mayors

* 2008–2012 : Ron Bellingham * 2012–2016: Peter Blundell * 2016–2020: Tracy Dobie *2020–present: Victor Frank Pennisi

Towns and localities

The Southern Downs Region includes the following settlements:

Warwick region

Warwick area: *

Allora area: *

Allora Allora is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Allora had a population of 1,223 people. Geography Allora is on the Darling Downs in south-eastern Queensland, Australia, by ro ...

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in th ...

* Clintonvale * Deuchar *

Ellinthorp Ellinthorp is a rural town and a locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , ...

Goomburra Goomburra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Goomburra had a population of 259 people. Inverramsay is a neighbourhood in Goomburra (). Geography Goomburra is on the Darli ...

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

* Mount Marshall * Talgai * Willowvale^* Glengallan area: *

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

* Canningvale * Danderoo * Elbow Valley * Emu Vale * Freestone * Gladfield * Glengallan * Junabee *

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

* Maryvale * Morgan Park * Mount Colliery * Mount Sturt *

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( he, הר תבור) (Har Tavor) is located in Lower Galilee, Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bible (Joshua, Judges), Mount Tabor is the site of the Battle of Mount Tabo ...

* Sladevale * Swanfels *

Tannymorel Tannymorel is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Tannymorel had a population of 161 people. History The name ''Tannymorel'' comes from a village in Ireland and means ''a ben ...

The Falls The Falls may refer to: * ''The Falls'' (Oates novel), 2004 novel by Joyce Carol Oates * ''The Falls'' (Rankin novel), 2001 crime novel by Ian Rankin * The Falls (mall), an open-air shopping mall in Kendall, Florida * The Falls, Nova Scotia, a ...

Tregony Tregony ( kw, Trerigoni), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village there is a post office (now ...

* Wiyarra * Womina * Yangan Rosenthal area: * Rosenthal Heights *

Allan Allan may refer to: People * Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name * Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker * Allan (footballer, born 1989) ...

Cunningham Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin, see Clan Cunningham. Notable people sharing this surname A–C * Aaron Cunningham (born 1986), American baseball player *Abe Cunningham, American drummer * Adrian Cunningham (born 1960), Australian ...

* Dalveen * Greymare * Karara * Leslie *

Leslie Dam Leslie Dam is a dam in the locality of the same name Leslie Dam, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It is from Warwick town centre. Freshwater fishing and water sports facilities are available. The dam was named after Patrick Lesli ...

Leyburn Leyburn is a market town and civil parish in the district of Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, England, sitting above the northern bank of the River Ure in Wensleydale. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, the name was derived from 'L ...

* Palgrave * Pratten * Rosehill *

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas ...

* Wheatvale ^* - not to be confused with

Willow Vale, Queensland Willow Vale is a rural locality in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Willow Vale had a population of 2,096 people. Before the naming of this locality, the area was generally referred to as Pimpama. History In the , Wil ...

Stanthorpe region

Stanthorpe Stanthorpe is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Stanthorpe had a population of 5,406 people. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt. Geography Stanthorpe lies on the New ...

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

* Applethorpe *

Ballandean Ballandean is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Ballandean had a population of 338 people. Ballandean is in the Granite Belt Region of the Southern Downs. It is on the Quee ...

* Broadwater * Cottonvale * Dalcouth * Diamondvale * Eukey * Glen Aplin * Greenlands * Kyoomba *

Lyra Lyra (; Latin for lyre, from Greek ''λύρα'') is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra wa ...

* Messines * Mingoola * Nundubbermere * Passchendaele * Pikedale *

Pikes Creek Pikes Creek (also known as Pike Creek) is a tributary of Harveys Creek in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Lake Township, Lehman Township, Jackson Township, and Plymouth Township. ...

* Pozieres * Severnlea * Somme * The Summit * Thorndale *

Wallangarra Wallangarra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia on the border with New South Wales. In the , the locality of Wallangarra had a population of 468 people. It is the third-most southerly town in Queens ...

* Wyberba

Libraries

The Southern Downs Regional Council operates public libraries at

, and

. It also operates a

mobile library A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...

servicing Dalveen, Karara,

, Maryvale, Pratten, Wheatvale and Yangan.

Population

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The next census, due in 2011, will be the first for the new Region.

References

{{coord, 28, 13, 05.65, S, 152, 00, 42.75, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-QLD, display=title

Southern Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...

Darling Downs 2008 establishments in Australia