Cairns Region

The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional centre of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas. However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was separated from the Cairns Region and re-established as a local government authority.

Cairns Region Queensland
Location within Queensland, 2013, prior to de-amalgamation of Shire of Douglas
Population	165,525 (2018)[1] (38th)
• Density	98.002/km^2 (253.82/sq mi)
Established	2008
Area	1,689 km^2 (652.1 sq mi)[1]
Mayor	Bob Manning
Council seat	Cairns City
Region	Far North Queensland
State electorate(s)	Barron River, Cairns, Cook, Mulgrave
Federal Division(s)	Leichhardt
Website	Cairns Region
LGAs around Cairns Region: Mareeba Wujal Wujal Shire of Douglas Coral Sea Mareeba Cairns Region Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Tablelands Cassowary Coast Coral Sea

The Cairns Regional Council has an estimated operating budget of A$300 million.

History

Yidinji (also known as Yidinj, Yidiny, and Idindji) is an Australian Aboriginal language. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as Cairns, Gordonvale, and the Mulgrave River, and the southern part of the Atherton Tableland including Atherton and Kairi.[2]

Tjapukai (also known as Djabuganydji, Djabugay, and Djabuganydji) is the traditional Aboriginal country and language north of the Barron River in the Cairns Region, with the traditional group extending west towards Mareeba and north towards Douglas Shire and Port Douglas.[3]

Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the new Cairns Region consisted the entire area of three previous local government areas:

• the City of Cairns;
• the Shire of Douglas;
• and the Shire of Mulgrave.

The City, which for most of its existence covered only the central business district and inner suburbs of Cairns, had its beginning in the Borough of Cairns which was proclaimed on 28 May 1885 under the Local Government Act 1878.[4] With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, it became a Town on 31 March 1903 and was proclaimed a City on 12 October 1923.[5]

The Shire of Mulgrave had its origins in the Cairns Division, one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879. The Douglas Division was created on 3 June 1880. They became the Shire of Cairns and the Shire of Douglas on 31 March 1903. On 20 December 1919, it grew to include some territory from the abolished Shire of Barron, and on 16 November 1940, the shire was renamed Mulgrave.

On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Cairns area be rationalised, and that the Shire be dissolved and amalgamated with the City of Cairns. The Local Government (Cairns, Douglas, Mareeba and Mulgrave) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 16 December 1994. On 22 March 1995, the Shire was abolished and became part of the new City of Cairns.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Cairns amalgamate with the Shire of Douglas, and that the new Cairns Regional Council be undivided with 10 councillors and a mayor.[6] On 15 March 2008, the City and Shire formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Douglas from the Cairns Region.[7] On 9 March 2013, the citizens of the former Douglas shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate.[8] The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.[9][10]

Wards

The Region is divided into nine divisions, each of whom elects one councillor to the Cairns Regional Council. The mayor is elected by the entire region.

Division 1 covers the southern districts which were part of the Shire of Mulgrave prior to 1995. At the time of the 2008 amalgamation, Division 10 contained all of the former Shire of Douglas.

Towns and localities

The Cairns Region includes the following settlements:

Cairns Central area: Aeroglen Bungalow Cairns City Cairns North Earlville Edge Hill Kanimbla Manoora Manunda Mooroobool Parramatta Park Portsmith Westcourt Whitfield

Northern Mulgrave area: Barron Barron Gorge Brinsmead Buchan Point Caravonica Clifton Beach Ellis Beach Freshwater Holloways Beach Kamerunga Kewarra Beach Lamb Range Macalister Range Machans Beach Palm Cove Redlynch Smithfield Stratford Trinity Beach Trinity Park Yorkeys Knob

Southern Mulgrave area: Aloomba Babinda Bartle Frere Bayview Heights Bellenden Ker Bentley Park Bramston Beach Deeral East Russell East Trinity Edmonton Eubenangee^1 Fishery Falls Fitzroy Island Glen Boughton Goldsborough

Gordonvale Green Hill Green Island Kamma Little Mulgrave Meringa Miriwinni Mount Peter Mount Sheridan Ngatjan^1 Packers Camp Waugh Pocket White Rock Woopen Creek Wooroonooran^2 Woree Wrights Creek

¹ – shared with Cassowary Coast Region
² – shared with Cassowary Coast Region and Tablelands Region

Libraries

The Cairns Regional Council operate public libraries at Babinda, Cairns City, Earlville, Edmonton, Gordonvale, Manunda, Smithfield and Stratford.[11]

Population

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The next census is due in 2021.

The only census in which the Cairns Region included the Douglas Shire was conducted in 2011.

Year	Total Region	Cairns (C)	Mulgrave (S)	Douglas (S)
1933	25,197	11,993	10,303	2,901
1947	29,622	16,644	10,485	2,493
1954	37,597	21,020	13,477	3,100
1961	42,985	25,204	14,427	3,354
1966	45,927	26,696	15,312	3,919
1971	51,345	30,288	16,985	4,072
1976	62,628	34,857	23,025	4,746
1981	76,388	39,096	31,335	5,957
1986	91,688	42,227	41,711	7,750
1991	116,584	49,361	54,783	12,440
1996	129,698	116,718		12,980
2001	133,903	119,937		13,966
2006	150,484	136,460		14,024
2011	167,355	156,169		11,186
2016	178,798	166,728		12,070

Mayors

Tenure	Mayor
2008–2012	Val Schier[12]
2012 – current	Bob Manning[13][14][15]

Council members

The working logo of the Council (2008)

The Council members elected in 2020 were:[16]

Position	Person
Mayor of Cairns	Bob Manning
Division 1 Councillor	Brett Moller
Division 2 Councillor	Rob Pyne
Division 3 Councillor	Cathy Zeiger
Division 4 Councillor	Terry James
Division 5 Councillor	Amy Eden
Division 6 Councillor	Kristy Vallely
Division 7 Councillor	Max O'Halloran
Division 8 Councillor	Rhonda Coghlan
Division 9 Councillor	Brett Olds

The Council members elected in 2016 were:[17]

Position	Person
Mayor of Cairns	Bob Manning
Division 1 Councillor	Brett Moller
Division 2 Councillor	John Schilling
Division 3 Councillor	Cathy Zeiger
Division 4 Councillor	Terry James
Division 5 Councillor	Richie Bates
Division 6 Councillor	Linda Cooper
Division 7 Councillor	Max O'Halloran
Division 8 Councillor	Jessie Richardson
Division 9 Councillor	Brett Olds

The Council members elected in 2012 were:[18]

Position	Person
Mayor of Cairns	Bob Manning
Division 1 Councillor	Steve Brain
Division 2 Councillor	John Schilling
Division 3 Councillor	Rob Pyne
Division 4 Councillor	Terry James
Division 5 Councillor	Richie Bates
Division 6 Councillor	Linda Cooper
Division 7 Councillor	Max O'Halloran
Division 8 Councillor	Jessie Richardson
Division 9 Councillor	Gregory Fennell
Division 10 Councillor	Julia Leu

On 1 January 2014, Julia Leu ceased to be a Councillor upon the de-amalgamation of the Shire of Douglas.

On 31 January 2015, Rob Pyne was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland and resigned as a Councillor. Cathy Zeiger was appointed on 12 March 2015 to replace Rob Pyne by a panel comprising Mayor Bob Manning and former Councillors Fran Lindsay and Jeff Pezzutti.[19]

The Council members elected in 2008 were: [20]

Position	Person
Mayor of Cairns	Val Schier
Division 1 Councillor	Paul Gregory
Division 2 Councillor	Nancy Lanskey
Division 3 Councillor	Rob Pyne
Division 4 Councillor	Kristen Lesina
Division 5 Councillor	Alan Blake
Division 6 Councillor	Linda Cooper
Division 7 Councillor	Diane Forsyth
Division 8 Councillor	Margaret Cochrane
Division 9 Councillor	Sno Bonneau
Division 10 Councillor	Julia Leu

References

1. "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. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
2. This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Yidinji". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
3. "First people cultural history". Cairns Regional Council. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
4. Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. XXXVI (1885), p.1733.
5. Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. CXXI, 12 October 1923, p.1108.
6. Queensland Local Government Reform Commission (July 2007). Report of the Local Government Reform Commission (PDF). 2. pp. 65–70. ISBN 1-921057-11-4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
7. "A Proposal to the Minister for Local Government Hourable David Crisafulli M.P. in support of de-amalgamation of the former Douglas Shire from Cairns Regional Council" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
8. "Douglas Area De-amalgamation Poll – Douglas – Poll Area Summary". Electoral Commission Queensland. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
9. "De-amalgamation". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
10. "Local Government (De-amalgamation Implementation) Regulation 2013" (PDF). Local Government Act 2009. Queensland Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
11. "Cairns Libraries". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
12. "Mayors of Cairns 1885 to present" (PDF). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
13. "Mayors of Cairns 1885 to present" (PDF). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
14. "Bob Manning, Mayor of Cairns, Cairns Regional Council" (PDF). Far North Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
15. "2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 2020. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
16. "Electoral Commission Queensland". Electoral Commission Queensland. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
17. "2016 Cairns Regional Council – Councillor Election – Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 31 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
18. "2012 Cairns Regional Council – Councillor Election – Election Summary". results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
19. "Cathy the toast of kids". www.cairnspost.com.au. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
20. "2008 Cairns Regional Council – Councillor Election – Election Summary". results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 10 January 2020.

External links

• Cairns Regional Council