The Mackay Region is a Local Government Area located in North Queensland

North Queensland

North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...

, Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with histories extending back as far as 1869.

It has an estimated operating budget of A$118 million.

History

Prior to 2008, the Mackay Region was three distinct local government areas:

• City of Mackay
  City of Mackay
  The City of Mackay was a Local Government Area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay and the surrounding region. The City was created as a municipal borough in 1869, and prior to amalgamation with the Shire of Pioneer in 1994,...
  
  ;
• Shire of Mirani
  Shire of Mirani
  The Shire of Mirani was a Local Government Area located in the North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Mirani, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1916 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the City of Mackay and the...
  
  ; and
• Shire of Sarina
  Shire of Sarina
  The Shire of Sarina was a Local Government Area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Sarina, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1912 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the City of Mackay and the...
  
  .

The City had its beginning in the Mackay Municipality which was proclaimed on 22 September 1869 under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864. Its first mayor was David Dalrymple, and the council first met on 1 December 1869, 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, Mackay became a Town on 31 March 1903, and was ultimately proclaimed a City on 17 August 1918.

On 11 December 1879, the Pioneer Division

Shire of Pioneer

The Shire of Pioneer was a Local Government Area surrounding the city of Mackay and including all but its innermost suburbs. The shire, administered from Mackay itself, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 1994, when it was dissolved and amalgamated with...

 came into being as one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879, chaired by John Ewen Davidson. On 31 March 1903, Pioneer became a Shire. Two areas split away from it over the next decade; the Shire of Sarina

Shire of Sarina

The Shire of Sarina was a Local Government Area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Sarina, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1912 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the City of Mackay and the...

 on 1 January 1912, and the Shire of Mirani

Shire of Mirani

The Shire of Mirani was a Local Government Area located in the North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Mirani, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1916 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the City of Mackay and the...

 on 4 September 1913.

On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Mackay area be rationalised. The Local Government (Mackay and Pioneer) Regulation 1993 was gazetted on 17 December 1993, and on 30 March 1994, the two amalgamated into a larger City of Mackay, which first met on 8 April 1994.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released a report making recommendations for statewide reform of local government boundaries, and recommended that the three areas of Mackay, Mirani and Sarina amalgamate, due mainly to Mackay's role as a regional centre and all three shires' involvement in sugar production. The City of Mackay endorsed the suggestion, but the two shires proposed alternative options. In the end, the Commission's proposal was unchanged. 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.

Towns and localities

Suburbs: Mackay Mackay, Queensland Mackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar.... : East Mackay West Mackay South Mackay Andergrove Beaconsfield Blacks Beach Bucasia Cremorne Dolphin Heads Eimeo Erakala Foulden Glenella Mackay Harbour Mount Pleasant Nindaroo North Mackay Ooralea Paget Racecourse Richmond Rural View Shoal Point Slade Point Slade Point, Queensland Slade Point is a peninsular suburb north of Mackay, Queensland, Australia . Slade Point, a prominent coastal feature was named by Captain James Cook.-External links:*... Te Kowai Te Kowai, Queensland Te Kowai is a suburb in the Mackay Regional Council in Queensland, Australia. Its population at the 2006 census was 666 people.The name of the suburb is derived from a former railway station, itself derived from a nearby sugar plantation named after a New Zealand tree, kowhai...

Towns: Alligator Creek Armstrong Beach Bakers Creek Bakers Creek, Queensland Bakers Creek is a small town in Queensland, approximately south of Mackay on the Bruce Highway. Its main industry is a large meat processing plant operated by Thomas Borthwick & Sons Pty Ltd. The Bakers Creek watercourse runs through the township... Ball Bay Balnagowan Bloomsbury Brampton Island Calen Calen, Queensland Calen is a small town in Queensland, Australia on the Bruce Highway between Mackay and the Whitsundays. At the 2006 census, Calen had a population of 289.... Campwin Beach Chelona Dalrymple Bay Dows Creek Dumbleton Eton Farleigh Finch Hatton Freshwater Point Gargett Gargett, Queensland Gargett is a town in east central Queensland, Australia, located from MackayThe railway from Paget reached Gargett in 1902. It was a busy station during the sugar crushing season.... Grasstree Beach Habana Half Tide Beach Halliday Bay Hampden Hay Point Hay Point, Queensland Hay Point is a small town located approximately 40 kilometres south of the city of Mackay, Queensland, Australia. It is made up of two bulk coal terminals, Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, owned by Prime Infrastructure Holdings and Brookfield Asset Management , and Hay Point Services Coal Terminal,... Koumala Kuttabul Lindeman Island Lindeman Island Lindeman Island is an island in the Lindeman Group of the Whitsunday Islands off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The islands was named by Captain Bedwell after his sub-lieutenant, George Sidney Lindeman whilst aboard the Royal Navy vessel HMS Virago.... Marian Midge Point Mirani Mirani, Queensland Mirani is a town in the state of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Mirani had a population of 813.-External links:*... Mount Ossa North Eton Oakenden Pindi Pindi Pinnacle Pleystowe Sandiford Sarina Sarina, Queensland Sarina is a town in central Queensland, Australia. It is situated south of the city of Mackay, and approximately north of the city of Rockhampton. At the 2006 census, Sarina had a population of 3,285.... Sarina Beach Seaforth Seaforth, Queensland Seaforth is a small coastal holiday and fishing town located 35km North-northwest of Mackay. In 1899 the Queensland Government bought Seaforth Estate from H.M. Finlayson as a settlement and named it Springcliff, however local residents always called it Seaforth and it was officially renamed in... Septimus Walkerston Walkerston, Queensland Walkerston is a town in central Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Peak Downs Highway south-west of Mackay. Walkerston straddles Bakers Creek for about . At the 2006 census, Walkerston had a population of 2,563.... Yalboroo

Localities: Benholme Crediton Dalrymple Heights Dunnrock Eungella Eungella Dam Eungella Dam Eungella Dam is one of Queensland's more established freshwater fisheries. Eungella has made a name for producing extra oversized Sooty grunter and more recently Barramundi.The dam was constructed in 1969 for irrigation and hydro-electric power... Hazledean Homebush Kinchant Dam Kinchant Dam Kinchant Dam was built on Sandy Creek to provide irrigation & town water in 1977. Kinchant holds 62,800 ML of water at an average depth of 6.8 m and has a surface area of 920 hectares when full.... Laguna Quays Louisa Creek McEwens Beach Mia Mia Mount Charlton Mount Martin Mount Pelion Munbura Netherdale Owens Creek Pinevale Rosella St Helens Beach Sunnyside The Leap West Plane Creek National Parks: Cape Hillsborough NP Cape Hillsborough National Park Cape Hillsborough is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 837 km northwest of Brisbane. The park is a peninsula of volcanic origin, covered largely by rainforest; the maximum elevation is 267 m... Eungella NP Eungella National Park Eungella is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 80 km west of Mackay, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane. The original inhabitants are the Goreng goreng people. The park is covered by dense rainforest and is known for its platypuses.The national park was established in 1941 and is... Mount Jukes NP Mount Martin NP Mount Martin National Park Mount Martin is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 829 km northwest of Brisbane.... Mount Ossa NP Mount Ossa National Park Mount Ossa is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 838 km northwest of Brisbane.... Pioneer Peaks NP Pioneer Peaks National Park Pioneer Peaks is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 833 km northwest of Brisbane.... Reliance Creek NP Reliance Creek National Park Reliance Creek is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 818 km northwest of Brisbane....

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.

Year	Total Region	Mackay	Pioneer	Mirani	Sarina
1933	28,124	10,665	9,926	4,412	3,121
1947	32,947	13,486	11,606	4,587	3,268
1954	37,924	14,762	14,316	5,056	3,790
1961	41,196	16,809	15,741	4,760	3,886
1966	48,530	18,640	19,900	5,379	4,611
1971	51,903	19,148	22,561	4,772	5,422
1976	57,903	20,224	26,938	4,889	5,852
1981	66,057	20,664	33,732	4,739	6,922
1986	70,674	22,199	36,084	4,854	7,537
1991	76,372	23,052	40,614	4,625	8,081
1996	86,376	71,894		5,088	9,394
2001	89,877	75,020		5,220	9,637
2006	101,525	85,399		5,406	10,720