The Shire of Mareeba 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 ...

at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, inland from

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 ...

. The shire, administered from the town of Mareeba, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several councils in the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...

area to become the Tablelands Region. On 20 March 2013, Mareeba residents voted in favour of a proposal to reverse the amalgamation and to re-establish Mareeba Shire. The new Mareeba Shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.

History

The Woothakata Division, based in the mining town of Thornborough on the

Hodgkinson goldfield The Hodgkinson Mineral Area was a mining area near the Hodgkinson River about west of Cairns in the present-day Shire of Mareeba in Queensland, Australia. It was the site of a gold rush in the 1870s. History Prospector James Venture Mulligan ...

, was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' with a population of 1836. Woothakata is a

Wakaman The Wakaman(Tindale) otherwise spelt Wagaman are an Indigenous Australian people of the state of Queensland. According to some authorities, they may be interchangeable with the group identified by ethnographers as the Ewamin. Country The Wakam ...

and

Kuku Djungan Kuku may refer to: People * Emir-Usein Kuku (born 1976), Crimean Tatar human rights defender * Kuku people, an ethnic group in South Sudan * Kuku Yulanji, an Aboriginal people of the Daintree region in North Queensland, Australia Places * ...

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

word which describes the way (the journey) they travelled to Ngarrabullgan/

Mount Mulligan Mount Mulligan is a former mining town and now a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the Mount Mulligan had a population of 4 people. It is the site of the Mount Mulligan mine disaster, Queensland's worst mining ...

, an important meeting place. The name Woothakata lives on as the name of a property at Chillagoe. On 3 September 1881, the Tinaroo Division was created under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' out of parts of the

, 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 18 May 1889, the tin-mining area at

Stannary Hills Stannary Hills Tramways are a heritage-listed pair of tramways at Irvinebank, Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1901 to 1907. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 February 2005. History The Boonm ...

and

Irvinebank Irvinebank is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Irvinebank had a population of 125 people. Geography The Great Dividing Range forms the south-eastern and southern boundary of the ...

and its hinterland in and around the

Walsh River The Walsh River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river rise in the locality of Watsonville on the Atherton Tableland approximately north of Herberton and then flow in a ...

(an area of 4110 sq miles) were severed from Woothakata Division to create Walsh Division. On 20 December 1890, part of the Tinaroo Division was excised to create the new

Barron Division #REDIRECT Shire of Barron The Shire of Barron is a former local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. It existed between 1890 and 1919. History Under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'', the Cairns Division, Hinchin ...

, closer to

. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', the Divisions of Woothakata, Tinaroo and Barron became Shires of Woothaka,

Tinaroo Tinaroo is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Tinaroo had a population of 312 people. The town of Tinaroo Falls is on the eastern edge of the locality () beside Lake Tinaroo. Geography Tinaroo is located ...

and Barron on 31 March 1903. On 16 December 1908, a small part of Shire of Woothakata was transferred to the Shire of Walsh, which was then split with one part being proclaimed the new

Shire of Chillagoe The Shire of Chillagoe was a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. History On 16 December 1908, a small part of Shire of Woothakata was transferred to the Shire of Walsh The Shire of Walsh was a local government area in F ...

, based at Chillagoe. In 1919, Woothakata's seat of administration moved to Mareeba. Thornborough had declined steadily in importance, having a population of 58 in 1921 and 29 in 1933. The same year, on 20 December, the Shire of Barron was abolished, with its area being split between the Shire of Mulgrave and Shire of Woothakata. On 25 June 1932, the Shires of

Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places * Fort Walsh, one of the first posts of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police * Walsh, Ontario, Norfolk ...

and Chillagoe merged into the Shire of Woothakata, which was then organised into six divisions, of which the former Shires of Chillagoe and Walsh formed the greater part of the sixth division. Division 3 had 2 representatives and all the other divisions had only one representative. On 20 December 1947, the Shire of Woothakata was renamed the Shire of Mareeba. A new

Mareeba Shire Hall Mareeba Shire Hall is a heritage-listed former town hall at 136 Walsh Street, Mareeba, Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Eddie Oribin and built from 1960 to 1961 by Ernest William Lepinath. It is also known as Former ...

was built in Mareeba in 1961; it was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 11 October 2013. On 22 March 1995, parts of the Shires of Mareeba and Douglas and the whole of the abolished Shire of Mulgrave were added to the

City of Cairns The City of Cairns was a local government area centred on the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Established in 1885, for most of its existence it consisted of approximately around Cairns itself, with much of the metropolitan area being loc ...

. 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 Mareeba merged with the Shires of Atherton, Eacham and

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situa ...

to form the Tablelands Region. In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Mareeba from the Tablelands Region. On 9 March 2013, the citizens of the former Mareeba shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate. The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Mareeba includes the following settlements: * Mareeba * Almaden * Amber * Arbouin * Arriga * Barwidgi * Bellevue * Biboohra * Bilwon * Bolwarra * Bulleringa *

Chewko Chewko is a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the Chewko had a population of 194 people. Geography Chewko has the following mountains: * Mount Abbot () * Mount Aunt () * Mount Uncle () Chewko railway statio ...

* Chillagoe * Crystalbrook * Desailly *

Dimbulah Dimbulah is a town and locality in Far North Queensland, Australia, from Cairns by road, on the Atherton Tableland. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region). In ...

* Forty Mile * Fossilbrook * Gamboola * Glen Russell * Groganville * Highbury * Hurricane *

* Julatten * Kingsborough *

Koah Koah is a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the Koah had a population of 602 people. Geography The Tablelands railway line enters the locality from the north-west ( Kuranda) and passes through the north of ...

* Kowrowa * Kuranda * Lyndside * Mona Mona *

Mount Carbine Mount Carbine is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Carbine had a population of 101 people. Geography The locality is bounded to the east by the ridge of the Great Dividin ...

* Mount Carbine Tableland * Mount Molloy * Mount Mulgrave *

* Munderra * Mungana * Mutchilba * Myola * Paddys Green * Petford * Ravensworth * Red River * Rookwood *

Southedge Southedge is a rural locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the Southedge had a population of 21 people. Geography The major road thoroughfare in Southedge is the Mulligan Highway. The Southedge-Wangetti Road, also know ...

* Speewah *

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

* Staaten * Strathmore * Thornborough * Watsonville * Wrotham Note: * Prior to 1996, the Shire of Mareeba also included the localities of Barron Gorge, Lamb Range and Redlynch to the west of Cairns. These were incorporated into the

Libraries

Mareeba Shire Council operate public libraries at Chillagoe,

, Kuranda and Mareeba.

Population

Chairmen and mayors

In early years the elected councillors chose one among them to the chairman on an annual basis. The following are the chairmen of the Woothakata Division and Shire of Woothakata: * 1890–1907: George Jonathan Evenden * 1920: James Harris From 1921, chairmen of shires were elected by the voters for a period of 3 years. * August 1921– : Ernest Albert Atherton * 1927, 1929, 1931: George Henry O'Donnell The following are the chairmen in the first incarnation of Shire of Mareeba: * 1933–1935, –December 1939: William Gardner * December 1939– : J. M. Brown * 1950: J. M. Brown * 1973–1976: Martin Tenni, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Barron River The following are the mayors in the current incarnation of Shire of Mareeba: *2014–2020: Tom Gilmore, former Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Tablelands *2020–present : Angela Toppin

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mareeba Shire Far North Queensland 1879 establishments in Australia Local government areas of Queensland Former local government areas of Queensland 2008 disestablishments in Australia Populated places disestablished in 2008 2014 establishments in Australia