Shire of Carpentaria explained

Type:lga
Shire of Carpentaria
State:qld
Image Upright:0.81
Pop:2090
Area:64121
Area Footnotes:[1]
Est:1883
Seat:Normanton
Mayor:Jack Bawden
Region:Far North Queensland
Logo Upright:1.2
Url:http://www.carpentaria.qld.gov.au/
Stategov:Traeger, Cook
Fedgov:Kennedy
Near-Nw:Gulf of Carpentaria
Near-N:Kowanyama
Near-Ne:Cook
Near-W:Gulf of Carpentaria
Near-E:Mareeba
Near-Sw:Burke
Near-S:Cloncurry, McKinlay
Near-Se:Croydon

The Shire of Carpentaria is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia on the Gulf of Carpentaria, for which it is named.

In the, the Shire of Carpentaria had a population of 2,090 people.

Geography

The Shire of Carpentaria covers an area of 64121km2, and has existed as a local government entity since 1883. Its two main population centres are the towns of Karumba, a fishing port, and Normanton, the administrative centre, both of which are located on the Norman River.

History

The Doonmunya Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 396. However, the divisional board appeared to be completely inactive, perhaps because the division was so large (being the area surrounding the southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria) and was very sparsely settled.[2] Nonetheless some of the citizens were unhappy about this.[3] Consequently, on 11 January 1883, the Doonmunya Division was abolished and a new Carpentaria Division was created to replace it.

Given the size of the Carpentaria Division, the distance to its headquarters in Normanton was an issue for residents in the Cloncurry area, leading to a desire to create their own local division.[4] On 7 February 1884, part of Carpentaria Division was separated to create the new Cloncurry Division.

However, once the Carpentaria Divisional Board became operational, the residents of the Burketown area became concerned that their rates were likely to be spent on the Normanton area rather than their own and began to agitate for their own division west of the Leichhardt River.[5] On 30 January 1885, the Burke Division was created from lands formerly within the Carpentaria Division with some adjustments to the Cloncurry Division.

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Carpentaria Division became the Shire of Carpentaria on 31 March 1903.

Prior to 2005, two Aboriginal communities (Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw) administered under Deed of Grant in Trust by community councils since the mid-1980s, were part of the Shire's area, but they were formally excised and given a new status as Aboriginal Shires.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Carpentaria includes the following settlements:

Chairmen and mayors

Demographics

Prior to 1971, Aboriginal people who form a majority of the population were not counted in census statistics.

Until 1 July 2002, the Australian Bureau of Statistics included the Island and DOGIT councils within the Shire of Cook statistical local area. Information for the reduced Shire back to 1996 has been provided on the ABS website through the Time Series Profile.

YearPopulationNotes
1879 396
1933 696
1947 610
1954 566
1961 834
1966 1,031
1971 2,558
1976 2,809
1981 3,273
1986 3,287
1991 3,807
1996 2,790 4,271
4,801
1,939
2,053
1,958
2,090

Amenities

The Carpentaria Shire Council operates libraries in Normanton and Karumba.[11]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018 . Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  2. News: Local Government Practically Applied. . . Brisbane . 15 January 1881 . 4 October 2013 . 71 . National Library of Australia.
  3. News: NORMANTON. . . 12 January 1883 . 4 October 2013 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
  4. News: CLONCURRY. . . 23 January 1884 . 5 October 2013 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
  5. News: BURKETOWN. . . 26 September 1884 . 5 October 2013 . 6 . National Library of Australia.
  6. Book: Pugh. Theophilus Parsons. Pugh's Almanac for 1927. 1927. 13 June 2014.
  7. Web site: 2012 Carpentaria Shire - Mayoral Election - Election Summary. Electoral Commission of Queensland. https://web.archive.org/web/20170612095140/http://results.ecq.qld.gov.au/elections/local/LG2012/CarpentariaShireCouncil/results/mayoral/summary.html. 12 June 2017. live. 12 June 2017.
  8. Web site: Mayor Fred Pascoe. Carpentaria Shire. Carpentaria Shire Council. 15 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140615001314/http://www.carpentaria.qld.gov.au/council/mayor_pascoe.shtml. 15 June 2014. dead.
  9. Web site: 2016 Carpentaria Shire Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary. Electoral Commission of Queensland. https://web.archive.org/web/20170612094951/http://results.ecq.qld.gov.au/elections/local/LG2016/CarpentariaShireCouncil/results/mayoral/summary.html. 12 June 2017. live. 12 June 2017.
  10. Web site: 2020. 2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200616100501/https://prodresults.elections.qld.gov.au/lga2020. 16 June 2020. 16 June 2020. Electoral Commission of Queensland.
  11. Web site: Visitor Information Centres and Libraries. Carpentaria Shire Council. 15 January 2018.