History
On 11 November 1879, when the Divisional Boards Act 1879 came into effect proclaiming 74 divisions around Queensland, the nature and distribution of the population in the Tablelands region was vastly different today. Most of the area was divided between the Hinchinbrook and Woothakata divisions. On 3 September 1881, Tinaroo Division was proclaimed from part of Hinchinbrook, making the mining towns of Tinaroo and Thornborough the administrative centres of the region.
A number of changes occurred from that point:
- 15 September 1888 - Formation of the Borough of Herberton to manage the town of Herberton
- 14 May 1889 - Walsh Division (Irvinebank) separated from Woothakata
- 20 December 1890 - Barron Division separated from Tinaroo
- 11 May 1895 - Herberton Division separated from Tinaroo; amalgamated the Borough
- 31 March 1903 - Under the Local Authorities Act 1902, Barron, Herberton, Tinaroo, Walsh and Woothakata became Shires.
- 16 December 1908 - Shire of Chillagoe formed from part of Woothakata
- 18 November 1910 - Shire of Eacham formed from part of Tinaroo
- 20 December 1919 - Shire of Barron abolished and divided between Mulgrave and Woothakata
- 1933 - Shires of Walsh and Chillagoe amalgamated into Woothakata
- 1935 - Shire of Tinaroo renamed Shire of Atherton
- 20 December 1947 - Shire of Woothakata renamed Shire of Mareeba
From 1933 until 2008 the Tablelands region came under four separate local government areas: Shire of Atherton, Shire of Eacham, Shire of Herberton and Shire of Mareeba.
In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that the four areas amalgamate. Amongst its reasons given for this recommendation were that a community of interest revolved around the towns of Mareeba and Atherton, with residents travelling to Cairns for services not offered in the region. The opportunity for tourism and leisure promotion under a single banner, the close proximity of most major towns, the lack of natural barriers and similar economic interests including beef, dairy, fruit and sugar production. All councils opposed the amalgamation, although Atherton, Herberton and Eacham were willing to consider shared service delivery. On 15 March 2008, the Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.
On 20 March 2013, Mareeba residents voted in favor of a proposal to reverse the amalgamation and re-establish Mareeba shire .
Read more about this topic: Tablelands Region
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