The Shire of Tara 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 ...

in the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

region of

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 ...

. The shire, administered from the town of Tara, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1912 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the

Town of Dalby The Town of Dalby was a local government area of Queensland, Australia which managed the affairs of Dalby. It was located north-west of Toowoomba. It was amalgamated into the Western Downs Region in 2008. History Following a petition of resid ...

and the Shires of

Chinchilla Chinchilla refers to either of two species ('' Chinchilla chinchilla'' and '' Chinchilla lanigera'') of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America. They live in colonies called "her ...

, Murilla and Wambo and the southern part of

Taroom Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. In the , Taroom had a population of 885 people. Geography The t ...

to form the

Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a Local government in Australia, 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 ...

. Important industries in the area include wheat, beef and wool. In recent years there have been large scale rural subdivisions developed in the area. Prickly pear infestation in the early 1900s had a devastating effect on the area that was only alleviated by the introduction of the cactoblastis moth. Attractions in Tara include Southwood National Park, a remnant area of the southern

brigalow ''Acacia harpophylla'', commonly known as brigalow, brigalow spearwood or orkor, is an endemic tree of Australia. The Aboriginal Australian group the Gamilaraay peoples know the tree as Barranbaa or Burrii. It is found in central and coasta ...

belt.

History

The Shire of Tara was established on 12 January 1912 by severance from the

Shire of Wambo The Shire of Wambo was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The shire surrounded but did not include the town of Dalby, Queensland, Dalby – which had its own Town of Dalby ...

. 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 Tara merged with the

and the Shires of

, Murilla and Wambo and the southern part of

to form the

Towns and localities

The Shire of Tara included the following settlements: Towns: * Tara * Glenmorgan * Moonie * The Gums Localities: * Flinton * Goranba *

Meandarra Meandarra is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Meandarra had a population of 244 people. Geography The town is located on Brigalow Creek ...

* Weranga * Westmar

Chairmen

* 1927: Andrew Watt Adams

Population

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tara Shire Former local government areas of Queensland Darling Downs 2008 disestablishments in Australia Populated places disestablished in 2008