The Shire of Widgee 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

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 ...

area 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 was located in the rural areas around 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 ...

but did not include the town itself, which was always in a separate local government area ( Gympie Division,

Borough of Gympie A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Town of Gympie A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and

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 administrative offices of the Shire of Widgee were located in Gympie.

History

The Widgee Division was one of the original divisions incorporated on 11 November 1879 under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' with a population of 1609.

Kilkivan Division Kilkivan is a town and locality in the Gympie Region of Queensland, Australia. At the , Kilkivan had a population of 713. Geography The town is situated on the Wide Bay Highway, north of the state capital, Brisbane and west of Gympie. One M ...

was created on 1 July 1886 from the western part of the Widgee Division and part of the Barambah Division under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''. However, the changes to Widgee's boundaries were not welcomed by the Widgee Divisional Board; they felt so much territory had been removed from Widgee Division that it was effectively abolished and the board members all threatened to resign in protest. The government then hastily abolished Kilkivan Division on 30 July 1886, only four weeks after it was created, leading to protests by the residents of Kilkivan. Arguments about boundaries continued for a year. Kilkivan Division was eventually re-constituted on 17 November 1887, comprising part of No. 2 subdivision of Widgee Division and part of the No. 2 subdivision and all of the No. 3 subdivision of Barambah Division, to be governed by a board of six members. On 4 January 1895, Glastonbury Division was abolished and split between the Widgee Division and the

Bank of New South Wales (former) (2011), Gympie

With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Widgee Division became the Shire of Widgee on 31 March 1903, and on 21 November 1940 moved into new premises (the former Bank of New South Wales Building) at 242 Mary Street, Gympie. On 19 March 1992, 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 report ''External Boundaries of Local Authorities'', and recommended that the

and the Shire of Widgee should be amalgamated. The recommendation was implemented through the ''Local Government (Shire of Cooloola) Regulation 1993'' creating the new

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 ...

on 2 November 1993. The first elections were held on 27 November 1993 and Adrian McClintock, the former Widgee chairman, was elected for a four-year term. The

Widgee Shire 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 ...

continued to be used as the

Cooloola Shire 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 ...

. On 15 March 2008, under the ''Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007'' passed by the

Parliament of Queensland The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral s ...

on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Cooloola merged with 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 part of

Shire of Tiaro The Shire of Tiaro was a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, between the regional cities of Gympie and Hervey Bay about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The shire covered an area of , and exist ...

to form the

Gympie Region The Gympie Region is a local government area in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, the state capital. It is between the Sunshine Coast and Hervey Bay and centred on the town of Gympie. It was creat ...

. The Cooloola Shire Council Chambers continued to be 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 ...

Chairmen

William Tatlock Chippindall, chairman of WIdgee Divisional Board, 1897

The following were the chairmen of the Widgee Divisional Board and the Widgee Shire Council.

Chairmen of Widgee Divisional Board

* 1880–1884:

Matthew Mellor Mathew Mellor

, also mayor of

, and

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

for Wide Bay and

* 1884–1885: J Broadbent * 1885–1886: W Ferguson * 1886–1889: William Tatlock Chippindall * 1889–1890: W Ferguson * 1890–1891: William Tatlock Chippindall * 1891–1892: J Flood * 1892–1893: William Tatlock Chippindall * 1898–1899: J Fraser * 1899–1900: William Tatlock Chippindall * 1900–1902: J Fullerton * 1902–1903: W C Anderson * 1903–1904: J Fraser

Chairmen of the Widgee Shire Council

* 1903–1904: J Fraser * 1904–1907: W C Anderson * 1907–1908: G Preston * 1908–1911: J Fraser * 1911–1912: Z D S Skyring * 1912–1913: W M Tweed * 1913–1914: T T Powell * 1914–1915: T H Steele * 1915–1916: Thomas Edward Betts * 1916–1917: Z D S Skyring * 1917–1918: J E Farrell * 1918–1920: T H Steele * 1920–1921: R B Parkyn * 1921–1924: J T Tatnell * 1924–1969: W H Kidd * 1969-1873: W N Buchanan * 1973-1876: M V MacDonnell * 1976–1979: K De Vere * 1979–1993: A McClintock

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Widgee Shire Former local government areas of Queensland 1993 disestablishments in Australia 1879 establishments in Australia