Toowoomba Region

Toowoomba Region Queensland
Location within Queensland
Population:	155,124 (2008)[1]
Established:	2008
Area:	12973 km² (5,008.9 sq mi)
Mayor:	Peter Taylor[2]
Council Seat:	Toowoomba
Region:	Darling Downs
State District:	Dalrymple
Federal Division:	Groom Maranoa
Website: http://www.toowoombarc.qld.gov.au/
LGAs around Toowoomba Region: Western Downs South Burnett Somerset Western Downs Toowoomba Region Lockyer Valley Goondiwindi Southern Downs Lockyer Valley

The Toowoomba Region is a Local Government Area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and beyond.

It has an estimated operating budget of AUD162m.

History

The Toowoomba Region was previously eight separate entities:

• City of Toowoomba;
• Shire of Cambooya;
• Shire of Clifton;
• Shire of Crows Nest;
• Shire of Jondaryan;
• Shire of Millmerran;
• Shire of Pittsworth; and
• Shire of Rosalie.

The City had its beginning in the Toowoomba Municipality which was proclaimed on 19 November 1860 under the Municipalities Act 1858,^[3] a piece of New South Wales legislation inherited by Queensland when it became a separate colony in 1859. William Henry Groom, sometimes described as the "father of Toowoomba", was elected its first mayor. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the Local Government Act. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Toowoomba became a town council on 31 March 1903. On 29 October 1904, Toowoomba was proclaimed a City.^[4]

The Toowoomba Region also encompassed four of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879: Clifton, Highfields, Jondaryan and Rosalie. On 31 March 1903, these became Shires. Between 1913 and 1917, a number of changes occurred: the Millmerran and Pittsworth areas voted to split from Jondaryan on 24 April 1913, whilst in the same year Crows Nest became a shire, and in 1914, Cambooya followed. On 19 March 1949, Highfields and Drayton were abolished, with their land going to Crows Nest and Toowoomba respectively.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that the eight areas amalgamate. Its main reason for recommending such a large area was that the region was a growth area and a new organisation would have political advocacy capabilities on behalf of the region. Two other key factors were that Toowoomba's suburbs had expanded well beyond the City of Toowoomba and a new entity would be able to manage the entire area under one plan. Additionally, environmental and natural resource challenges could, in the Commission's view, be better met by an organisation with "a scale and capacity to undertake... management across the region in an integrated manner." Three of the councils, Jondaryan, Millmerran and Pittsworth, were rated as financially weak by the Queensland Treasury. While no council had supported the Commission's model, most were willing to consider some form of amalgamation, and the Commission considered whether Millmerran should be united with Dalby or Toowoomba carefully. In the end, its proposal was unchanged.^[5]

The legislation passed to effect the merger on 10 August 2007. A Local Transition Committee made up of staff and councillors of the eight dissolving entities was formed to manage the process. On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Wards

The council remains undivided and its elected body consists of 10 councillors and a mayor.

Towns and localities

Population

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The next census, due in 2011, will be the first for the new Region.

References