The Shire of Cloncurry is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

North West Queensland The Gulf Country or North West Queensland is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also ca ...

, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the shire is

Cloncurry Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is informally known by local people as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry. Cloncurry is known as the ''Friendl ...

. Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Mitakoodi, Kalkadoon and Pitta Pitta Aboriginal people. The ghost town of

Mary Kathleen Mary Kathleen was a mining settlement in north-western Queensland, Australia. It is located in the Selwyn Range (Australia), Selwyn Range between Mount Isa and Cloncurry. History Mary Kathleen was first settled during the 1860s. Uranium was f ...

, a town servicing a

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

mine since closed, is in the shire. In the , the Shire of Cloncurry had a population of 3,644 people.

History

'' Wanamarra'' (also known as ''Maykulan'' and ''Wunumura'' is an Australian Aboriginal language in

. The language region includes areas within the

Shire of McKinlay The Shire of McKinlay is a local government area in outback north-western Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1891. The shire economy is based on beef production and mining. BHP opera ...

, Shire of Cloncurry and

Shire of Richmond The Shire of Richmond is a local government area in north western Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1916. It is part of the Gulf Country. In the , the Shire of Richmond had a popul ...

, including the

Flinders River The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia, at approximately . It was named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The catchment is sparsely populated and mostly undeveloped. The Flinders rises on the western slopes o ...

area, and the towns of

Kynuna Kynuna is an outback town in the Shire of McKinlay and a locality split between the Shire of McKinlay and the Shire of Winton in Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kynuna had a population of 52 people. Geography Kynuna is on the b ...

and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. ''Yulluna'' (also known as ''Yalarnga'', ''Yalarrnga'', ''Jalanga'', ''Jalannga'', ''Wonganja'', ''Gunggalida'', and ''Jokula'') is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

of the

Gulf Country The Gulf Country or North West Queensland is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also ca ...

. The Yulluna language region includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Cloncurry. The first Europeans to visit the area were Wills and Burke in 1861, and the latter named the river Cloncurry after his cousin. In 1867, Ernest Henry wandered to this site in search of a grazing land and found copper. He is considered the founder of the town as well as its vast mineral deposits. In 1876, the town was named Cloncurry after the river. It is regarded as the place of innovations as Qantas began its operations here and the Royal Flying Doctor Service was established in Cloncurry in 1928. The

Doonmunya Division #REDIRECT Shire of Carpentaria The Shire of Carpentaria is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia on the Gulf of Carpentaria, for which it is named. In the , the Shire of Carpentaria had a population of 2,090 people. Geogr ...

was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' with a population of 396. However, the divisional board appeared to be completely inactive, perhaps because the division was so large (being the area surrounding the southern part of the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

) and was very sparsely settled. Nonetheless some of the citizens were unhappy about this. Consequently, on 11 January 1883, the Doonmunya Division was abolished and a new Carpentaria Division was created to replace it. Given the size of the Carpentaria Division, the distance to its headquarters in Normanton was an issue for residents in the

area, leading to a desire to create their own local division. On 7 February 1884, part of Carpentaria Division was separated to create the new Cloncurry Division. On 30 January 1885, adjustments were made to boundaries of the Cloncurry Division when the Burke Division was also split off from the Carpentaria Division. On 31 March 1903, Cloncurry Division became the Shire of Cloncurry.

Mining

Mining was and important for the growth and development of the region. There are a number of continuing functional mines in the region as well as some abandoned mines. The abandoned Lady Fanny mine was located in Kuridala. Some of the abandoned mines have been re-explored recently for mining potential.

Libraries

The Cloncurry Shire Council operates a public library in Cloncurry.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Cloncurry includes the following settlements: *

Dajarra Dajarra is a rural town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dajarra had a population of 186 people. Geography Dajarra is in North West Queensland near th ...

* Dobbyn *

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

* Four Ways *

Kajabbi Kajabbi is a rural town in the Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality of Three Rivers, Queensland, Three Rivers, Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. Geography The town is on the Leichhardt River in the remote north-west of Queens ...

* Kuridala * Malbon * Mount Cuthbert * Selwyn *

The Monument The Monument to the Great Fire of London, more commonly known simply as the Monument, is a fluted Doric column in London, England, situated near the northern end of London Bridge. Commemorating the Great Fire of London, it stands at the junc ...

* Three Rivers

Demographics

Chairmen and mayors

* 1884: George Seymour * 1919: J. Hedleffe * 1927: Walter Angus Rose * 2008–2016 : Andrew Daniels * 2016: Gregory Vincent (Greg) Campbell Other notable members of the council included: * 1924–1930 (deputy chairman 1927–1930)

Tom Aikens Tom Aikens (born 1970), also named Tom Aitkens, is an English Michelin star, Michelin-starred chef. Aikens briefly worked for chefs in London and Paris restaurants. Under his tenure from 1996 to 1999 as head chef and then chef patron, Pied à T ...

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former Electoral dis ...

for Munndingburra and Townsville South

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloncurry Shire Local government areas of Queensland North West Queensland 1884 establishments in Australia