Shire of Bowen

The Shire of Bowen was a local government area in the North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Bowen, covered an area of 21,184.4 square kilometres (8,179.3 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the Shire of Whitsunday to form the Whitsunday Region.

Shire of Bowen
Queensland
Location within Queensland
Population12,377 (2006 census)[1]
 • Density0.584251/km2 (1.51320/sq mi)
Established1879
Area21,184.4 km2 (8,179.3 sq mi)
Council seatBowen
RegionNorth Queensland
LGAs around Shire of Bowen:
Burdekin Coral Sea Whitsunday
Dalrymple Shire of Bowen Mirani
Dalrymple Belyando Nebo

The Shire's economy was based on tropical agriculture, fishing, tourism and coal mining.

History

The Shire of Bowen had its origins in two entities:

  • the Borough of Bowen which was constituted as a municipality on 7 August 1863 under the Municipalities Act 1858 to provide local government within the urban area of Bowen
  • the Wangaratta Division which was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 to provide local government in the rural areas surrounding Bowen[2]

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, the Borough of Bowen became the Town of Bowen and Wangaratta Division became the Shire of Wangaratta on 31 March 1903.[2][3][4]

On 2 April 1960, the Town of Bowen was abolished, and merged into the Shire of Wangaratta, which was renamed Shire of Bowen.[3][4][5][6]

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Bowen merged with the Shire of Whitsunday to form the Whitsunday Region.[6][7]

Towns and localities

The Shire of Bowen included the following settlements:

Chairmen and mayors

Mayor of Borough/Town of Bowen
  • 1908: Malcolm Gillies [8]
  • 1927: T. B. Edwards [9]
  • (10 years): John Edward Kelly [10]

Population
Year Population
19337,543
19478,083
19548,518
19619,491
19669,342
197110,231
197611,292
198113,645
198614,364
199114,161
199614,411
200113,698
200614,625
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References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Bowen (S) (Local Government Area)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 18 March 2008.
  2. "Agency ID 11121, Wangaratta Divisional Board". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  3. "Agency ID 11123, Bowen Town Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  4. "Agency ID 11122, Wangaratta Shire Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  5. "Order in Council". Queensland Government Gazette. 4 February 1960. p. 203:477-478.
  6. "Agency ID 349, Bowen Shire Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  7. "Agency ID 11036, Whitsunday Regional Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  8. "LICENSING AUTHORITIES". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld.: National Library of Australia. 4 April 1908. p. 3. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  9. Pugh, Theophilus Parsons (1927). Pugh's Almanac for 1927. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  10. Australian History Publishing Co (1936), Queensland and Queenslanders : incorporating 'Prominent Queenslanders', Australian History Publishing Co, p. 168, retrieved 1 October 2015 — available online Archived 2017-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
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