The Shire of Cardwell was 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 ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. It was located on the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

coast about halfway between the cities of

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

and

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

. The shire, administered from the town of Tully, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1884 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the

Shire of Johnstone The Shire of Johnstone was a Local government in Australia, local government area of Queensland. It was located on the Coral Sea coast about south of the city of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Innisfail, Qu ...

to form the

Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Queensland, Innisfail, ...

. The shire also had responsibility for some

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

islands, including

Dunk Island Dunk Island, known as ''Coonanglebah'' in the Warrgamay and Dyirbal languages, is an island within the locality of Dunk in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies off the Australian east coast, opposite the town of Missio ...

, Goold Island and

Hinchinbrook Island Hinchinbrook Island (or Pouandai to the Biyaygiri people) is an island in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies east of Cardwell, Queensland, Cardwell and north of Lucinda, Queensland, Lucinda, separated from the north-eas ...

. The area's economy is based on agriculture, in particular sugar and bananas, and tourism. Part of the

Wet Tropics of Queensland The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...

and Great Barrier Reef

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s are located in Cardwell Shire.

History

The Hinchinbrook Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879''. On 18 January 1884, part of the Hinchinbrook Division was separated to create the new Cardwell Division. In 1892, the Cardwell Divisional Board built the Cardwell Divisional Board Hall (now heritage-listed) at 51 Victoria Street, Cardwell. At that time, Cardwell was regarded as the major town in the division (as reflected in the division's name). With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Cardwell Division became the Shire of Cardwell on 31 March 1903. The divisional board hall then became known as the Cardwell Shire Council Chambers. To commemorate those who served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, an honour board was erected in the Cardwell Shire Council Chambers in 1922. Composed of marble, it lists 26 servicemen and 2 nurses from the local community. The inclusion of nurses is such a memorial is relatively uncommon. In 1929, the decision was taken to relocate the shire council's headquarters to the newer but more populous town of Tully. The first council meeting held in Tully was on 27 June 1929. A new shire chambers was built in 1930 on the south-east corner of Bryant and Morris Streets in Tully. The former shire chambers in Cardwell was then used by the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

(QCWA) and later by the Returned Sailors' Soldiers' and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia (RSSAILA). From 1989 to 2008, the building was used as a library. Later it became the J. C. Hubinger Memorial Museum. The presence of the honour board means that the building has been the community focus for

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

ceremonies throughout the years. Given its historical and cultural significance, the building was listed on the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...

on 21 March 2013. In 1978, the shire chambers in Tully were replaced with the present council chambers. On 15 March 2008, under the ''Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007'' passed by the

Parliament of Queensland The Parliament of Queensland is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature, legislative body of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists o ...

on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Cardwell merged with the

(also formerly part of the Hinchinbrook Division) to form the

Towns and localities

The Shire of Cardwell included the following settlements: Greater Tully area: * Tully ** Birkalla **

Silky Oak ''Grevillea robusta'', commonly known as the southern silky oak, silk oak or silky oak, silver oak or Australian silver oak, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. Despite its common names, it is unrelated to true oaks, whic ...

Localities: * Cardwell * Bilyana * Bulgun * Cardstone * Carmoo * Coquette Point * Damper Creek * Djiru * Ellerbeck * Euramo * Feluga * Hull Heads * Jarra Creek * Jumbun *

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * Kennedy (surname), including any of several people with that surname ** Kennedy family, a prominent American political family that includes: *** Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969), American businessman, investor, ...

* Lower Tully * Merryburn * Midgenoo * Murray Upper * Murrigal * Rockingham *

South Mission Beach South Mission Beach is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of South Mission Beach had a population of 968 people. Geography As the name s ...

* Tully Heads * Wongaling Beach

Population

Chairmen

* 1884: James Thorn Senior * 1902: Peter Smith * 1903—1904: Johann Christian Hubinger (chairman 15 times) * 1908: Johann Christian Hubinger (again, but died September 1908) * 1909: Mr Hubinger * 1910: Mr Kennedy * 1914: Mr Stamp * 1915: Arthur Henry * 1921—1924: Brice Henry * 1924—1931: James Thorn * 1931—1933: Julius August Winter * 1933—1936: Chris Teitzel * 1936—1940: Brice Henry (died February 1940) * 1940: P. White * 1943—1954: Charles Dickinson * 1985—1991: Atte Raccanello (first and only female council leader) * 2004—2008: Giuseppe (Joe) Galeano Gladys Henry was the first female council member, serving between 1976 and 1982.

References

External links