| Former City of Thuringowa Queensland | |
|---|---|
 Location withinQueensland | |
| Population | 59,164 (2006 census)[1] |
| • Density | 31.6910/km2 (82.0794/sq mi) |
| Established | 1846 1st Settlement, 1879–1903 Division, 1903–1986 Shire, 1986–2008 City. |
| Area | 1,866.9 km2 (720.8 sq mi) |
| Region | W/SW fromTownsville |
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| Website | Former City of Thuringowa |
TheCity of Thuringowa (19°18′26″S146°43′54″E / 19.30722°S 146.73167°E /-19.30722; 146.73167) was a city andlocal government area inNorth Queensland, Australia covering the northern and western parts of what is nowTownsville. The suburb ofThuringowa Central is the main business centre in this area.
Thuringowa was named after the German state ofThuringia where the shire's first chairman,John von Stieglitz, originated.[2] Prior to its proclamation as a city on 1 January 1986, Thuringowa was a large ruralshire, almost surrounding theCity of Townsville.
In 2007 theQueensland Government recommended that the Thuringowa City Council and theTownsville City Council be merged as part of the review of councils and boundaries, with the merged entity to be referred to as the Townsville City Council and the city being called the New Townsville City.[3] The transition was completed with the election of a new combined Council on 15 March 2008.
Prior to European settlement, theNyawaygiAboriginal people lived in the area around Thuringowa, Townsville and the Burdekin. The earliest European on record to live in Thuringowa was James Morrill whose boat washed ashore in 1846.[4]
In 1860, the newly formed Queensland Government passed an act opening up the area topastoral leases, and by 1861 there were manyruns in Thuringowa.[4] By 1865,Robert Towns andJohn Melton Black had purchased a number of properties throughout Thuringowa. In 1865 Robert Towns built aboiling down works – at the time, there was no facilities for shipping cattle or sheep, so in 1865Andrew Ball and Mark Reid leftWoodstock Station to find a harbour around theCleveland Bay shores and the Town and port ofTownsville was established at the mouth ofRoss Creek.[4]
The City of Thuringowa had its genesis in theThuringowa Division, created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under theDivisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 638.[5][4][6]
On 16 January 1888, theAyr Division was created out of Subdivision 3 of theThuringowa Division in 1888 under theDivisional Boards Act 1887.[7]
Considerable progress ensued over the following decades – by 1902, Thuringowa had 1,020 dwellings listed on its ratebooks.[4] Early chairmen Arthur Bundock and Joseph Hodel were involved in construction of key architecture such as theRoss River Bridge, the bridge at the Causeway and the Stuart Creek Bridge. These roads and bridges were constructed to serve not only Thuringowa's rural base but also its residential subdivisions ofHermit Park,Mundingburra andRosslea. Water reticulation and sanitary services were established in these suburbs and street lighting and beautification work was carried out along Charters Towers Road. Also during this period the Council's first administration building was constructed at the Causeway, near the intersection of Flinders Street West and Ingham Road.[4]
Under theLocal Authorities Act 1902, divisions were renamed shires, and on 31 March 1903, Thuringowa Division became theShire of Thuringowa.[6][8] The period up to 1918 was one of consolidation and minor works, rather than major projects.[4]
In 1918, much of the Shire of Thuringowa's urban area was transferred to Townsville.[4] This initially caused great hardship for the Shire, as its rate base had been reduced to 2,500 ratepayers and its council headquarters was outside the shire. The Council adopted a conservative approach to policy during this period that included not only the depression years of the 1930s but also duringWorld War II, when the area became an important staging point and was host to significant numbers of military personnel.[4]
From the 1960s onwards, significant suburban development and growth took place in the area and the Council was providing new facilities and infrastructure. In 1979, a new Shire administration centre was constructed, moving it back into the local area, and on 1 January 1986, the Shire of Thuringowa became the City of Thuringowa.[4][8][9]
In 2007, the state government engaged in a programme of local government reform centred on amalgamating LGAs across Queensland. The Local Government Advisory Committee recommended that the Cities of Thuringowa and Townsville should be amalgamated into a newCity of Townsville.[10] Though it was the source of some controversy, the merger ultimately took place, with the City of Thuringowa ceasing to exist in March 2008.[9][11]Les Tyrell, Thuringowa's mayor of 17 years, won against Townsville's mayor, 19-year incumbentTony Mooney, in the mayoral election for the combined city.
Thuringowa grew in population rapidly from the 1980s becoming one of the fastest-growing cities in Australia.[12] The population had increased from 26,000 in 1986 to over 65,000 in 2007.
| year | census population | % growth per annum |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | 1,500 | |
| 1954 | 2,627 | |
| 1961 | 2,572 | |
| 1966 | 2,863 | 2.17 |
| 1971 | 3,432 | 3.69 |
| 1976 | 10,914 | 26.03 |
| 1981 | 17,728 | 10.19 |
| 1986 | 30,104 | 11.17 |
| 1991 | 37,722 | 4.62 |
| 1996 | 44,319 | 3.27 |
| 2001 | 52,715 | 2.90 |
| 2006 | 62,935 | 2.96 |
| 2007[13] | 65,782 | 4.5 |
More:
Thuringowa travel guide from Wikivoyage
The City of Thuringowa included the following settlements:
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The following is a list of chairmen and mayors of the Thuringowa Division, Shire of Thuringowa and City of Thuringowa from 1880 until 2008:[14]
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XLS Speadsheet Download