Weipa Town 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 ...

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...

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 ...

. It covers the town of

Weipa Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is one of the largest towns on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is main ...

on the western coast of the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

, including the localities of Rocky Point, Trunding, Nanum, Evans Landing, and

Weipa Airport Weipa Airport is an airport in Weipa, Queensland, Australia. The airport is southeast of the town. Airlines and destinations Statistics Weipa Airport was ranked 55th in Australia for the number of revenue passengers served in financia ...

. It is an unusual local government area as it is not governed and managed by a council elected by residents but rather by the company Rio Tinto Aluminium (which operates a

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

mine in the area) through a governing body called the Weipa Town Authority. In the , the Weipa Town had a population of 4,100 people.

History

In 1955, New Zealand geologist Harry Evans discovered bauxite (the raw material used to make

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

) on the western coast of Cape York Peninsula while he was exploring for oil. Further surveys established it was the largest bauxite deposit in the world. In November 1957, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

approved a £50 million project of the British Australian Consolidated Zinc group to develop a bauxite mine on the Cape York Peninsula to be operated by its newly created subsidiary, Commonwealth Aluminium Corporation Pty. Limited (from 1960 known as

Comalco Rio Tinto Aluminium (previously known as Comalco) is now known as Rio Tinto Alcan after Rio's takeover of Alcan. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium company. It mines and manufactures bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium. Rio Tinto A ...

). As part of the agreement, the government passed legislation to enable a town, harbour and treatment works to be established at the company's expense at Kumrunja (Rocky Point) on the south side of the

Mission River The Mission River is a river located in Texas, in the United States of America. It is formed by the confluence of Blanco and Medio creeks in central Refugio County (at 28°19' N, 97°19' W) and runs southeast, past Refugio, for to its mout ...

. Under the ''Commonwealth Aluminium Corporation Pty. Limited Agreement Act (1957)'' the area for the town was excised from

Shire of Cook The Shire of Cook (The Shire) is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland. It covers an area ...

and Comalco became the manager of the new town. In 1964, the first housing was constructed in the new township of Weipa at Rocky Point. In 1967 the Township of Weipa was officially opened by the

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

Frank Nicklin Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin, (6 August 1895 – 29 January 1978) was an Australian politician. He was the Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1968, the first non- Labor Party premier since 1932. Early life and career Nicklin was born in M ...

. In 1993, Comalco held elections to form a Citizens Advisory Committee to assist in the administration of the town. In 1997 the committee evolved into the present Weipa Town Authority.

Demographics

Weipa Town was included in the

for census purposes until its first census reporting in 2006. In the , the Weipa Town had a population of 2,830 people. In the , the Weipa Town had a population of 3,334 people. In the , the Weipa Town had a population of 3,905 people. In the , the Weipa Town had a population of 4,100 people.

Towns and localities

Unlike most local government areas in Queensland, Weipa Town consists of two disconnected areas. The first covers the town of Weipa () with a narrow connecting road to the harbour area (). The second area () covers the

. Having been excised from Shire of Cook, Weipa Town is still surrounded by the Shire. However, the Napranum Aboriginal Shire (formerly known as the town of Weipa South) and

Shire of Aurukun The Shire of Aurukun is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The shire covers part of western Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland. It covers an area of ...

(also excised from Shire of Cook) are very close by and, although also split in a number of disconnected areas are effectively neighbouring local government areas. Weipa is the only town in this local government area. The residential area of Weipa comprises three localities; from north to south, they are Rocky Point, Trunding, and Nanum. The harbour area is within the locality of Evans Landing. The airport area is the locality of

Weipa Town Authority

While Rio Tinto (formerly Comalco) remains responsible for the administration of the town, it discharges this obligation through the Weipa Town Authority. The Authority has seven members: four elected by the residents, two appointed by Rio Tinto, and one appointed by the Alngith indigenous people. Weipa Town is a gazetted local government area and the Weipa Town Authority undertakes the duties of a typical local government, such as: * town planning and community development * providing infrastructure and services * making and enforcing local laws * levying local government rates and charges Services provided by the authority include road maintenance, water supply, garbage collection, parks, sports ovals, and public swimming pools. The authority provides the Hibberd Library in Hibberd Drive, Rocky Point. However, the Weipa Town Authority is not a true local government authority as defined in the Local Government Act (2009) because it is part of a corporation. This has implications in relation to loan and budget requirements, Goods and Services Tax on rates, the development of land, and changes to the town boundaries. Unlike other local governments in Queensland, the Weipa Town Authority has a chairman rather than a mayor. In 2017, the chairman is Michael Rowland. In 2016, discussions took place in regard to "normalising" Weipa Town into a true local government authority . The three options under discussion were to make Weipa Town a normal local government authority with its present boundaries, to absorb Weipa Town back into the Shire of Cook, or to create a new Western Cape Region centred on Weipa.

References

External links

Local Government Act (2009)
{{Authority control Local government areas of Queensland Cape York Peninsula