The Shire of Murweh 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 ...

in the Maranoa district, which is part of

South West Queensland South West Queensland is a remote region in the Australian state of Queensland which covers . The region lies to the south of Central West Queensland and west of the Darling Downs and includes the Maranoa, Queensland, Maranoa district and parts o ...

, Australia. The administrative centre and largest town in the shire is Charleville. In the , the Shire of Murweh had a population of 3,971 people.

History

Bidjara (Bidyara, Pitjara, Peechara) 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 ...

spoken by the Bidjara people. The Bidjara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Murweh Shire Council, particularly the towns of Charleville,

Augathella Augathella is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Augathella had a population of 328 people. Geography Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of Charlevil ...

and

Blackall Blackall is a rural town and locality in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is the service centre for the Blackall-Tambo Region. The dominant industry in the area is grazing with over 70 homesteads in the locality (as ...

as well as the properties of Nive Downs and

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor ( ; ; ), sometimes spelled Mount Thabor, is a large hill of biblical significance in Lower Galilee, Northern District (Israel), northern Israel, at the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley, west of the Sea of Galilee. In the Hebrew Bi ...

Murweh Division Murweh is a rural locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the , Murweh had a population of 9 people. Geography Murweh is by road south-west of Charleville. The Mitchell Highway passes through the far east of the locality, ...

was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions of Queensland under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' with a population of 1286. On 11 October 1883, there was an adjustment of boundaries between

Tambo Division #REDIRECT Shire of Tambo (Queensland) The Shire of Tambo was a local government area located in central Queensland south-east of the town of Blackall. It covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1881 until 2008, when ...

and

. On 5 February 1889, the western part of Murweh Division was separated to create the new

Adavale Division The Shire of Adavale is a former Local government in Australia, local government area in the south-east of Queensland, Australia, centred on the town of Adavale. It existed from 1879 to 1930. History On 11 November 1879, the Murweh Division was ...

. On 21 March 1894, under the "Local Government Act 1878", Subdivision 2 of the Murweh Division was separated to create a municipality called

Borough of Charleville A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Age ...

. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Murweh Division became the Shire of Murweh on 31 March 1903. On 10 September 1960, the

Town of Charleville The Town of Charleville is a former local government area in the Maranoa area of Queensland, Australia. It existed from 1894 to 1960. History Murweh Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions of Queensland under the ''Div ...

(the successor of the

) which had been separated from Murweh Division in 1894, was absorbed back into the Shire of Murweh .

Towns and localities

The Shire of Murweh includes the following towns and

localities Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

: * Charleville *

Bakers Bend Bakers Bend is a rural locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bakers Bend had a population of 7 people. Geography The Warrego River meanders from north to south through the locality. The Western railway line from C ...

* Boatman *

Caroline Crossing Caroline Crossing is a rural locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the , Caroline Crossing had a population of 44 people. Geography The Landsborough Highway forms a small part of the south-western boundary of the locality. ...

* Clara Creek *

Cooladdi Cooladdi is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. The town is south-west of Charleville. Claims have been made that Cooladdi is Australia's smallest town by population. In 2015, the population was 3 (down fr ...

(Ghost Town) * Gowrie Station * Langlo * Morven * Murweh *

Nive The Nive (; ; ) is a French river that flows through the French Basque Country. It is a left tributary of the river Adour. It is long. The river's source in the Pyrenees in Lower Navarre. The river Nive was made famous by the ''Le petit Nicol ...

* Redford * Riversleigh * Sommariva * Tyrconnel * Upper Warrego * Wallal *

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 ...

* Westgate

Amenities

Murweh Shire Council operates public libraries in

, Charleville and Morven. all three of these libraries have access to the internet through a high speed ISDN Broadband Internet Connection (provided through the

National Broadband Network The National Broadband Network (NBN) is Australia’s national wholesale open-access data network. It includes wired and radio communication components rolled out and operated by NBN Co, a government-owned corporation. Internet service provid ...

) to Brisbane. The Murweh Shire Council operates the

Charleville Airport Charleville Airport is an airport located southwest of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, a town in the state of Queensland in Australia. The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, Royal Flying Doctor Service has one of its nine Queensl ...

and the aerodromes in

, Morven and

. Murweh Shire Council also owns and operates these parks and recreational facilities throughout the shire Augathella * Brassington Park, Bendee Street, Augathella * Meat Ant Park, 73 Main Street, Augathella * Warrego Park, Corner Welch and Main Streets, Augathella Charleville * Graham Andrews Parkland, Sturt Street (Mitchell Highway), Charleville * Baker Street Reserve, Baker Street, Charleville * King Edward Park (original Charleville Showgrounds), Parry Street, Charleville * Charleville Showgrounds, Partridge Street, Charleville (near Charleville State High School) * Anzac Park, Wills Street, Charleville Morven * Memorial Park, Albert Street, Morven * Morven Recreation Grounds (encompassing Sadlier's Waterhole), Corner Nebine Road and Old Charleville Road, Morven

Demographics

Shire Chambers

The first Murweh council chambers were built in the 1880s but were destroyed by fire in the 1930s. The new Murweh Shire Council Chambers were opened in Alfred Street in February 1938 by the shire chairman William Herbert Corbett. The architects were Hall and Phillips and the contractor was T. E. Woollon of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The chambers suffered extensive damage during the 1990 flood which devastated Charleville. Repairs were carried out by Q-Build in late 1990. These repairs held fast in the 1997 flood that hit Charleville, but suffered moderate damage during the 2010 flood that hit Charleville.

Chairmen and mayors

*1911 - 1934: J.W.S Gildea Esq. *1935 - 1946: William Henry Corbett *1946 - 1955: Arthur Carruthers Little *1955 - 1958: Reginald Bowen Lynch *1958 - 1965: Mr. F.O Elliott *1965 - 1976: Clement Edmund Francis O.B.E *1976 - 1978: John Albert Aiken *1978 - 1982: Frances Muriel Hayden *1982 - 1985: Michael Phillip Gordon *1985 - 2001: Graham Andrews *2001 - 2004: Wendy Choice-Brooks *2004 - 2012: Mark Arthur O'Brien *2012 - 2016: Denis Michael Cook *2016 - 2020: Annie Liston *2020 - Present: Shaun Radnedge

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murweh Shire Local government areas of Queensland South West Queensland 1879 establishments in Australia