The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of 2,428 square kilometres (937.5 sq mi),[1] and existed as a local government entity from 1880 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Cairns to become the Cairns Region. Following a poll in 2013, the Shire of Douglas was re-established on 1 January 2014.
| Shire of Douglas Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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 Location within Queensland | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 12,660 (2022)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 5.2142/km2 (13.505/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 1880 until 2008, 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 2,428 km2 (937.5 sq mi)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Mayor | Lisa Scomazzon | ||||||||||||||
| Council seat | Mossman | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Far North Queensland | ||||||||||||||
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| Website | Shire of Douglas | ||||||||||||||
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The major industries are tourism and sugar production. Minor industries include tropical fruit and beef.
History edit
Kuku Yalanji (also known as Gugu Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, and Kuku Yelandji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Mossman and Daintree areas of North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area of Shire of Douglas and Shire of Cook, particularly the localities of Mossman, Daintree, Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, Palmer, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal.[2]
Yalanji (also known as Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, Kuku Yelandji, and Gugu Yalanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Far North Queensland. The traditional language region is Mossman River in the south to the Annan River in the north, bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east and extending inland to west of Mount Mulgrave. This includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Douglas, the Shire of Cook and the Aboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal and the towns and localities of Cooktown, Mossman, Daintree, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal. It includes the head of the Palmer River, the Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, and Palmerville.[3]
On 11 November 1879, the Cairns Division was one of the initial 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879.[4] On 3 June 1880, the northern part of Cairns Division was excised to create Douglas Division.[5]
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Douglas Division became the Shire of Douglas on 31 March 1903.
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 Douglas merged with the City of Cairns to form the Cairns Region.
In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Douglas from the Cairns Region.[6] On 6 December 2012, the Queensland Minister for Local Government, the Hon. David Crisafulli, granted the people of the former Douglas Shire a vote on possible de-amalgamation from the Cairns Regional Council, even though the Queensland Treasury Corporation had calculated the costs to be too high a burden on the few ratepayers of this small Shire, and the Shire to be unviable in the long term. Despite strong opposition from many parties, on 9 March 2013 the citizens of the former Douglas shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate.[7] The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.[8][9]
Towns and localities edit
The Douglas Shire Council's administrative centre is in Mossman.[10]
The Shire of Douglas includes the following settlements:
|
1 – shared with the Shire of Cook
2 – until 1995, it was part of the Shire, now it's part of the Cairns Region
Libraries edit
The Douglas Shire Council operates public libraries at Mossman and Port Douglas.[11]
Population edit
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1933 | 2,901 |
| 1947 | 2,493 |
| 1954 | 3,100 |
| 1961 | 3,354 |
| 1966 | 3,919 |
| 1971 | 4,072 |
| 1976 | 4,746 |
| 1981 | 5,957 |
| 1986 | 7,750 |
| 1991 | 12,440 |
| 1996 | 12,980 |
| 2001 | 13,966 |
| 2006 | 14,024 |
| 2011 | 11,380 |
| 2016 | 12,070 |
| 2021 | 12,441 |
Council edit
Douglas Shire Council | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Mayor | Lisa Scomazzon, [Independent] |
Deputy Mayor | Damian Meadows, Independent |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 5 elected representatives, including a Mayor and 4 councillors |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
Last election | 16 March 2024 |
Next election | . March 2028 |
Below is the current council, elected in 2024:[12]
| Name | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Rees | Independent | ||
| Lisa Scomazzon | Independent | Mayor | |
| Abigail Noli | Independent | ||
| Damian Meadows | Independent | Deputy Mayor | |
| Roy Zammataro | Independent | ||
Election results edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Michael Kerr | 3,386 | 54.95 | +54.95 | |
| Independent | Julia Leu | 2,776 | 45.05 | −20.07 | |
| Total formal votes | 6,162 | 98.12 | +0.50 | ||
| Informal votes | 118 | 1.88 | −0.50 | ||
| Turnout | 6,280 | ||||
| Independent gain from Independent | Swing | +54.95 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Lisa Scomazzon (elected 1) | 3,951 | 16.40 | ||
| Independent | Peter McKeown (elected 2) | 3,527 | 14.64 | ||
| Independent | Roy Zammataro (elected 3) | 3,179 | 13.20 | ||
| Independent | Noli Abigail (elected 4) | 2,959 | 12.28 | ||
| Independent | Natalie Johnson | 2,888 | 11.99 | ||
| Independent | Kym Rowley | 2,338 | 9.71 | ||
| Independent | Bruce Clarke | 2,021 | 8.39 | ||
| Independent | Terry Melchert | 1,967 | 8.17 | ||
| Independent | Steve Cruickshank | 1,258 | 5.22 | ||
| Total formal votes | 6,022 | 96.03 | |||
| Informal votes | 249 | 3.97 | |||
Chairmen and mayors edit
The following were the chairmen and mayors of the Shire of Douglas in its first incarnation:[14]
| Term | Incumbent |
|---|---|
| 1900 | Andrew Jack |
| 1901–1903 | James Reynolds |
| 1904–1905 | Richard Augustine "Dick" Donnelly |
| 1906 | William Mackay |
| 1907 | Daniel Joseph Kirwan |
| 1908 | Robert David Low |
| 1909 | Richard James Walsh |
| 1910 | Robert Punton Tunnie (first term) |
| 1911–1912 | Frederick "Fred" Thompson |
| 1913 | James Patrick Reynolds (first term) |
| 1914 | Robert Punton Tunnie (second term) |
| 1915–1921 | James Patrick Reynolds (second term) |
| 1921–1927 | John Quill |
| 1927–1933 | Severin Berner "Barney" Andreassen |
| 1933–1955 | Raymond David Rex |
| 1955–1964 | Ernest William Berzinski |
| 1964–1967 | George Quaid Jr |
| 1967–1970 | J.S. Allen |
| 1970–1981 | Onslow Rutherford Andrews |
| 1981–1991 | Anthony Mijo |
| 1991–2008 | Mike Berwick |
The following were the mayors of Shire of Douglas in its second incarnation:
| Term | Incumbent |
|---|---|
| 2014–2020 | Julia Leu[15][16] |
| 2020–2024 | Michael John Kerr[17] |
| 2024–current | Lisa Jayne Scomazzon[18] |
References edit
- ^ a b c "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. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
- ^
This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Kuku Yalanji". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Yalanji". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ "Proclamation [Cairns Division]". Queensland Government Gazette. 11 November 1879. p. 25:1008.
- ^ "Proclamation [Cairns & Douglas Divisions]". Queensland Government Gazette. 5 June 1880. p. 26:1317–1318.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Douglas Area De-amalgamation Poll – Douglas – Poll Area Summary". Electoral Commission Queensland. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "De-amalgamation". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Contact the Douglas Shire Council". Douglas Shire Council. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
- ^ "Douglas Shire". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ "Meet the Mayor & Councillors".
- ^ "Electoral Commission of Queensland". July 2019.
- ^ "Mayors of the Douglas Divisional Board" (PDF). Cairns Heritage Page. Cairns Regional Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
- ^ "2013 Douglas Shire Council – Mayoral Election". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ "2016 Douglas Shire Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- ^ "2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.[dead link]
- ^ "2024Local Government Elections: Saturday, 16 March 2024". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.[dead link]
Further reading edit
- "Douglas Heritage Study: Thematic History" (PDF). Douglas Shire Council. September 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 November 2019. — a history of the Shire of Douglas
External links edit
