Shire of Beaudesert Queensland
Location withinQueensland
Population	62,902 (2006 census)[1]
• Density	22.0376/km2 (57.0772/sq mi)
Established	1879
Area	2,854.3 km2 (1,102.1 sq mi)
Council seat	Beaudesert
Region	South East Queensland
Website	Shire of Beaudesert
LGAs around Shire of Beaudesert: Ipswich Logan Logan Boonah Shire of Beaudesert Gold Coast Kyogle (NSW) Kyogle (NSW) Tweed (NSW)

TheShire of Beaudesert was alocal government area located inSouth EastQueensland, Australia, stretching from theNew South Wales border, along theGold Coasthinterland to the urban fringes of the cities ofBrisbane andIpswich. The Shire covered an area of 2,854.3 square kilometres (1,102.1 sq mi), and existed from 1879 until its abolition on 15 March 2008, following which it was split betweenLogan City and the newScenic Rim Region.

The Tabragalba Division was incorporated on 11 November 1879 under theDivisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 869, centred onBeaudesert.^[2]

On 18 January 1884, there was an adjustment of boundaries between subdivision No. 1 of Tabragalba Division and subdivision No.2 of theCoomera Division.^[3][4]

With the passage of theLocal Authorities Act 1902, Tabragalba Division becameShire of Tabragalba on 31 March 1903, and on 8 August 1903 was renamed Shire of Beaudesert by an Order in Council.

On 23 November 1912, a separateTown of Beaudesert was established to manage the town itself, but on 14 September 1929 it was merged back into the shire.^[5]

On 9 December 1948, as part of a major reorganisation of local government inSouth East Queensland, an Order in Council replacing ten former local government areas between theCity of Brisbane and theNew South Wales border with only four.^[6][7] The former ten were:

• Beaudesert
• Beenleigh
• Cleveland
• Coolangatta
• Coomera
• Nerang
• Southport
• Tamborine
• Tingalpa
• Waterford

The four resulting local government areas were:

• an enlarged Shire of Beaudesert, an amalgamation of Beaudesert and Tamborine with the western part of Waterford
• the newShire of Albert: a merger of Beenleigh, Coomera, Nerang (except for theBurleigh Heads area), the southern part of Tingalpa and the eastern part of Waterford^[8]
• Town of South Coast, an amalgamation of the Towns of Southport and Coolangatta with the Burleigh Heads part of Nerang (which later becameCity of Gold Coast)
• the newRedland Shire, an amalgamation of Cleveland and the northern part of Tingalpa (which later becameRedland City)

The Order came into effect on 10 June 1949, when the first elections were held.

The enlarged Shire of Beaudesert was split into four divisions with a total of eight councillors—Division 2 with four, Division 4 with two and the others with one each. The chairman (later mayor) was to be chosen from amongst the councillors. The new council was formally established at elections on 31 May 1949 and a Special Meeting was held on 7 June. It had grown 40% in population and gained 1,045 km² (403 sq mi) in the process.

On 8 June 1978, theShire of Logan was created out of parts of Beaudesert and theShire of Albert. The council lost 146.1 km² (56.4 sq mi) of its area and 11,550 people to Logan. At the 1979 council elections, Beaudesert was resubdivided into eight divisions each electing one councillor.

On 15 March 2008, under theLocal Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by theParliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Beaudesert was abolished and became one of only three Queensland councils, alongsideTaroom andTiaro, to be split in two. The northern area, which while still largely rural was part ofBrisbane's growth corridor, became part ofLogan City, while the southern rural section became part of theScenic Rim Region alongside theShire of Boonah.

Beaudesert became the administrative centre for the Scenic Rim Region and the Beaudesert Shire Council building now houses the Scenic Rim Regional Council. There are 6 Councillors and a Mayor for an area of 4,238sq km and a regional population of 38,000.

The Shire of Beaudesert included the following settlements:

Northern Beaudesert section:

¹ - split with theCity of Gold Coast
² - split withLogan City
³ - split with theScenic Rim Region

Southern Beaudesert section:

# The estimated 1947 population of the post-1949 area was 8,968.^[9]

The chairmen and mayors of the Beaudesert Division and Shire of Beaudesert were:

• 1915-1916Tom Plunkett^[10]
• 1927-1929: Joseph Hopkins^[11][12]
• 1949–1957: James McDonald Sharp
• 1957–1973: Euguene Tilley
• 1973–1977: Andrew Drynan
• 1977–1979: Eugene Tilley
• 1979–1991: Alan Struss
• 1991–1997: Michael Fraser
• 1997–2000: Joy Drescher
• 2000–2004: Ron Munn
• 2004–2008: Joy Drescher

The mayors of the Town of Beaudesert (1912—1929) were:

• 1916: De Burgh Bannatyne Bentinck Persse^[13]
• 1917: Stephen Mylett^[13]
• 1918-29: Montagu Selwyn Smith^[11]

• List of tramways in Queensland

• Nutting, Kathleen (1974).Then and now : the story of Beaudesert, 1874–1974. Beaudesert & District Centenary Committee.ISBN 0-9598193-0-4. (59 pages)

• "Beaudesert Shire".Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
• Official website at theWayback Machine (archive index)

27°59′15.01″S152°59′43.49″E / 27.9875028°S 152.9954139°E /-27.9875028; 152.9954139

• Populated places established in 1879
• 1879 establishments in Australia
• Former local government areas of Queensland
• 2008 disestablishments in Australia
• Populated places disestablished in 2008

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