The Shire of Atherton 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

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau, which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It has very deep, rich basaltic soils and the main industry is agriculture. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the B ...

, a plateau forming part of 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 ...

west of the city 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 ...

. The shire, administered from the town of Atherton, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1881 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the Tableland area to become the

Tablelands Region The Tablelands Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. Established in 2008, it was preceded by four previous local government areas ...

History

The Tinaroo Division was created on 3 September 1881 under the ''Divisional Boards Act 1879'' out of parts of the

, Hinchinbrook and

Woothakata The Shire of Mareeba is a local government area at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, inland from Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mareeba, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from ...

Divisions, and was responsible for a large area which took in

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 895 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situate ...

and Lake Eacham. On 20 December 1890, part of the Tinaroo Division was excised to create the new Barron Division. In 1894, Tinaroo Division's headquarters transferred from Tinaroo to Atherton. On 11 May 1895 it decreased somewhat in size as it lost some areas in the south and southwest which incorporated separately as the Herberton Division. With the passage of the ''Local Authorities Act 1902'', Tinaroo Division became

Shire of Tinaroo The Shire of Atherton was a local government area of Queensland. It was located on the Atherton Tableland, a plateau forming part of the Great Dividing Range west of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Atherton, covered ...

on 31 March 1903. On 18 November 1910 it lost the area around Lake Eacham to the new

Shire of Eacham The Shire of Eacham was a local government area of Queensland. It was located on the Atherton Tableland, a plateau forming part of the Great Dividing Range west of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Malanda, covered an ...

, and in 1935, the Shire of Tinaroo was renamed Shire of Atherton. 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 Atherton merged with the Shires of Eacham,

and

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the water ...

to form the

Towns and localities

The Shire of Atherton included the following settlements: * Atherton *

Barrine Barrine is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Barrine had a population of 303 people. History Boar Pocket State School opened in 1909. In 1912, it was renamed Barrine State School. It closed in 1958 wi ...

* Carrington * Kairi *

Lake Tinaroo Lake Tinaroo is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region of Queensland, Australia. In the , Lake Tinaroo had "no people or a very low population". Geography The locality includes the lake itself (also called Lake Tinaroo) created by the Ti ...

* Tinaroo * Tolga *

Upper Barron Upper Barron is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Upper Barron had a population of 503 people. Geography The western part of the locality is higher and mountainous while the central and eastern parts a ...

¹ * Walkamin *

Wongabel Wongabel is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wongabel had a population of 251 people. Geography The Atherton–Herberton Road runs through from north to south-west. History The locality takes its ...

¹ - split with the former

Population

Chairmen and mayors

* 1884: Mr Selig * 1906: T. Swan * 1908: Thomas Rose * 1927: Fred Gran * 1988-2008: Jim Chapman Other notable council members include: * 1916—1917: Harold Henry Collins,

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former Electoral dis ...

for the electorates of

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

and Tablelands

References

External links