The Shire of Banana is a
local government area located in the
Capricorn region of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, Australia, inland from the regional city of
Gladstone. The shire was named after the first township in the region (Banana), which in turn was named for the burial site of a huge dun coloured
bullock
Bullock may refer to:
Animals
* Bullock (in British English), a castrated male bovine animal of any age
* Bullock (in North America), a young bull (an uncastrated male bovine animal)
* Bullock (in Australia, India and New Zealand), an ox, an adu ...
named 'Banana'. The council sits in the town of
Biloela
Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Ban ...
, which is the largest town in the Shire.
Major industries in the shire include coal mining, beef production, power generation, dryland cropping and irrigation cropping such as lucerne and cotton.
History
Banana Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' with a population of 2155.
The name ''Banana'' does not relate to the fruit, but rather the area was named after a
dun-coloured bullock called ''Banana''.
On 20 April 1881 part of Banana Division was separated to create
Duaringa Division.
With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Banana Division became Shire on Banana on 31 March 1903.
The shire's administrative centre was in
Banana until 1930, when the building was physically relocated to
Rannes.
In 1946, the shire headquarters moved to
Biloela
Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Ban ...
.
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 Banana absorbed the northern part of the neighbouring
Shire of Taroom, including the town of
Taroom
Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. At the , Taroom had a population of 869 people.
Geography
The town is located on the Dawson River ...
itself, while the southern part was amalgamated into the Dalby Region (later renamed to the
Western Downs Region
Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ti ...
).
Offices
The council has 3 offices:
* Shire Chambers, 62 Valentine Plains Road, Biloela
* Administration Office, Gillespie Street, Moura
* Administration Office, Yaldwyn Street, Taroom
Towns and localities
The Shire of Banana includes the following settlements:
Banana area:
*
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
*
Banana
*
Baralaba
Baralaba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Banana in central Queensland, Australia. In the , Baralaba had a population of 314 people.
Geography
The Dawson River forms the western boundary of the locality. The town is located in the ...
*
Baroondah
*
Biloela
Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Ban ...
*
Broadmere
*
Callide
*
Camboon
*
Castle Creek
*
Cockatoo
A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the orde ...
*
Coorada
*
Cracow
*
Dakenba
Dakenba is a rural locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dakenba had a population of 116 people.
Geography
The Moura railway line
The Moura railway line is a railway in central Queensland, connecting several co ...
*
Deeford
*
Dixalea
*
Dululu
*
Dumgree
*
Dumpy Creek
*
Eurombah1
*
Glebe
Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...
*
Glenmoral
*
Goovigen
*
Hornet Bank
Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...
*
Isla
Isla or ISLA may refer to:
Organizations
* International Securities Lending Association, a trade association
* International School of Los Angeles
* International Bilingual School, later named International School of Los Angeles
People
* Isla ...
*
Jambin
*
Kianga
*
Kinnoul
*
Kokotungo
*
Lawgi Dawes
Lawgi Dawes is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. In the , Lawgi Dawes had a population of 144 people. It contains the neighbourhood of Lawgi, a former town.
Geography
Lawgi is an ...
*
Lonesome Creek
*
Mount Murchison
*
Moura
*
Orange Creek
Orange Creek is a small stream in north-central and northeast Florida, that drains Orange Lake to the Ocklawaha River. Privately owned Orange Springs provides part of the water volume.
Description
Part of the Ocklawaha River drainage basin, O ...
*
Peek-a-doo
*
Pheasant Creek
*
Prospect
*
Rannes
*
Roundstone
*
Spring Creek
A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring creek may additionally b ...
*
Tarramba
*
Thangool
*
Theodore
*
Ulogie
*
Valentine Plains
*
Warnoah
*
Westwood
*
Woolein
*
Wowan
North Taroom area:
*
Ghinghinda
*
Glenhaughton
*
Gwambegwine
*
Taroom
Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. At the , Taroom had a population of 869 people.
Geography
The town is located on the Dawson River ...
1 – shared with the
Western Downs Region
Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ti ...
Services and resources
Banana Shire Council operate libraries at
Biloela
Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Ban ...
,
Moura,
Taroom
Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. At the , Taroom had a population of 869 people.
Geography
The town is located on the Dawson River ...
, and
Theodore. The council operates a fortnightly mobile library service to
Banana (and Banana School),
Baralaba
Baralaba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Banana in central Queensland, Australia. In the , Baralaba had a population of 314 people.
Geography
The Dawson River forms the western boundary of the locality. The town is located in the ...
,
Goovigen (and Goovigen School),
Jambin (and Jambin School),
Mount Murchison School and
Prospect Creek School.
It has an abundance of natural resources, especially undeveloped coal deposits present in the Theodore, Moura and Baralaba area. Being a large supplier of methane gas, Banana Shire provides this huge resource for power generation and industrial use. Liquified Natural Gas pipelines are being developed presently in the region, which has also become the largest commodity producer in the Fitzroy Statistical Area.
Chairmen and mayors
The chairmen of the division and shire have been:
* 1929–1930: Horace Moncreith Roxburgh
[
* 1931: Robert Staines
* 2008–2012: John Hooper
* 2012–2016: Ron Carige
* 2016–present : Neville George Ferrier
]
Robert Staines
Robert Staines was born on 25 June 1883 in Teven, New South Wales the son of Sarah Jane (née Crawford) and Joseph Staines. He attended Alstonville Public School commencing in 1888 and Newington College
, motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge
, location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, pushpin_map = A ...
commencing in 1901. Staines married Daisy Emelie Gibb on 24 May 1911 at the bride's family home at John Street Stanmore, New South Wales
Stanmore is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia 6 kilometres south west of the Sydney central business district. It is part of the local government area of the Inner West Council. It is known for its long ...
. The union produced two daughters and a son.
At the 1926 Queensland state election, he was the Country and Progressive National Party
The Country and Progressive National Party was a short-lived conservative political party in the Australian state of Queensland. Formed in 1925, it combined the state's conservative forces in a single party and held office between 1929 and 1932 u ...
candidate for the Electoral district of Mount Morgan. Following that he was a candidate in the 1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
, 1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
and 1931 federal elections unsuccessfully contesting the seat of Capricornia. In 1928 when Staines first ran for Capricornia against Frank Forde from the Labor Party, Country Party ministers in the Bruce
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...
conservative coalition government were said to be confident of his ability to win the seat. Whilst mentioning this in coverage of non-NSW seats the Sydney Morning Herald ultimately considered Forde to be the likely winner. At the time Forde was the only non-conservative Commonwealth Queensland member of the House of Representatives and so Staines campaign was closely monitored by the press.
He served as Chairman of the Shire of Banana in 1931. He was a member of the Rockhampton Harbour Board.
On 8 January 1937, Staines was killed in a motor vehicle accident near Goulburn, New South Wales
Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters patent ...
, and was survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son. At the time of Staines death Frank Forde
Francis Michael Forde (18 July 189028 January 1983) was an Australian politician who served as prime minister of Australia from 6 to 13 July 1945. He was the deputy leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1932 to 1946. He served as pri ...
, Deputy Leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...
and future Prime Minister of Australia, said of him: "although opposed to me politically, I learnt to respect him for his manly qualities and for his inherent sense of fair play. He did not at any time descend to personalities, nor did he take an unfair advantage of a political opponent. He gave able service in local authority affairs in Central Queensland for a number of years. His ability and enthusiasm merited further promotion in public life; and he would have been in the State Parliament as member for Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
if he had accepted the invitation of his party to run for the seat in 1930."
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Banana Shire Tourism website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shire Of Banana
Banana
1879 establishments in Australia