The Isaac Region 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 ...

located in

Central Queensland Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...

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 ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

created in March 2008 as a result of the report of the Local Government Reform Commission released in July 2007. In the , the Isaac Region had a population of 22,046 people.

History

Yagalingu The Yagalingu are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Their language may have been a dialect of Bidjara. Country According to Norman Tindale, the Yagalingu had a territorial range of some , south from the headwaters of th ...

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 ...

. Its traditional language region was within the local government area of Isaac Region, from the headwaters of the

Belyando River The Belyando River, including the Belyando River (Western Branch), is a river system in Central Queensland, Australia. At in length and with a catchment area of , the Belyando River system is one of the longest rivers in Queensland. It is pro ...

south to Avoca, north to Laglan, west to the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

, and east and south to

Drummond Range Drummond may refer to: Places Antarctica * Drummond Peak, King Edward VII Land * Drummond Glacier, Graham Land Canada * Drummond (federal electoral district), a Quebec federal riding * Drummond (provincial electoral district), Quebec * D ...

. Prior to 2008, the Isaac Region was an entire area of three previous and distinct local government areas: * the

Shire of Belyando The Shire of Belyando was a local government area in Central Queensland, Australia. The Shire, administered from the town of Clermont, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it was amalgamated w ...

; * the

Shire of Broadsound Shire of Broadsound was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Capricornia, Queensland, Capricornia region of Queensland, Australia. The Shire, administered from the town of St Lawrence, Queensland, St Lawrence, covered an ...

(taking its name from Broad Sound); * and the

Shire of Nebo The Shire of Nebo was a local government area in Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, about south-west of the regional city of Mackay. The Shire, administered from the town of Nebo, covered an area of , and existed as a local government ...

. The report recommended that the new local government area should not be divided into

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s and should elect eight councillors and a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. The Isaac Regional Council covers an area of , had a population in 2018 of 20,934 and an operating budget of A$46.0m. The region takes its name from the

Isaac River The Isaac River is a river and anabranch in Central Queensland, Australia. Course The headwaters of the river rise south east of Glenden, Queensland and flow in a generally southern direction, crossing the Peak Downs Highway near Moranbah. I ...

, which in turn takes its name from Queensland pioneer Frederick Isaac who accompanied the explorer

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (; 23 October 1813 – ), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's disappearanc ...

on his first expedition.

Towns and localities

The Isaac Region includes the following settlements: Belyando area: * Belyando * Blair Athol^* * Clermont *

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

* Frankfield *

Kilcummin Kilcummin (from the Irish 'Cill Chuimín', meaning 'church of St. Cummin') may refer to: * Kilcummin, County Kerry, Ireland, a village near Killarney * Kilcummin, County Mayo, Ireland, a beachhead and civil parish * Kilcummin, Queensland, Aust ...

* Laglan * Mistake Creek *

Moranbah Moranbah is a coal mining town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Moranbah had a population of 9,425. In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

Broadsound area: * Carmila *

Clairview Clairview is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Clairview had a population of 167 people. Geography The coastal strip along the east of the loc ...

* Clarke Creek * Dysart * Flaggy Rock * Greenhill * Ilbilbie *

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

Middlemount Middlemount is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Middlemount had a population of 1,899 people. It is nicknamed the "Giant Peanut" by some locals du ...

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

* The Percy Group *

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

Nebo area: * Coppabella * Elphinstone * Glenden * Nebo * Suttor ^* - The former town of Blair Athol, obliterated by the Blair Athol coal mine was within the region.

Islands

Isaac also includes several uninhabited islands, including the

Flat Isles The Northumberland Islands are a scattered island chain off the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. Geography and history The Northumberland Islands are to the south-east of the city of Mackay, Queensland, Mackay roughly between the lat ...

, with Avoid Island, which is an important habitat for the

flatback sea turtle The Australian flatback sea turtle (''Natator depressus'') is a species of sea turtle in the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The species is Endemism, endemic to the sandy beaches and shallow coastal waters of the Australian continental sh ...

Libraries

Isaac Regional Council operates public libraries in Carmila, Clermont, Dysart, Glenden,

, Nebo, and

Mayors

* 2008–2012: Cedric Marshall * 2012–2024 : Anne Michelle Baker * 2024–present : Kelly Maree Vea Vea

Demographics

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008.

References

External links

Isaac Regional Council - Local Transition Committee Isaac Regional Council
{{coord, 22, 49, 00, S, 148, 41, 56, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-QLD, display=title Local government areas of Queensland Central Queensland 2008 establishments in Australia