City of Mackay

{{About|a former local government area|the urban locality of Mackay|Mackay, Queensland|the new local government area|Mackay Regional Council}}

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2014}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}

{{Infobox Australian place | type = lga

| name = City of Mackay

| state = qld

| image = Mackay LGA Qld.png

| image_upright = 0.81

| caption = Location within Queensland

| pop = 84,890

| pop_year = 2006

| pop_footnotes ={{Census 2006 AUS | id = LGA34760 | name = Mackay (C) (Local Government Area) | accessdate=16 April 2015|quick = on}}

| area = 2897.5

| est = 1869

| seat = Mackay

| region = Central Queensland

| logo = Mackay_city_council.svg

| url = http://www.mackay.qld.gov.au/

| near-nw = Bowen

| near-n = Whitsunday

| near-ne = Pacific Ocean

| near-w = Mirani

| near-e = Pacific Ocean

| near-sw = Nebo

| near-s = Sarina

| near-se = Pacific Ocean

}}

The City of Mackay was a local government area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay and the surrounding region. The City was created as a municipal borough in 1869, and prior to amalgamation with the Shire of Pioneer in 1994, the City was limited to the central suburbs on the south shore of the Pioneer River. From 1994 until 2008, the City covered an area of {{convert|2897.5|km2|sqmi|1}}. In 2008, it amalgamated with the Shires of Mirani and Sarina to become the Mackay Regional Council.

History

The Borough of Mackay was proclaimed on 22 September 1869 under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864.{{cite QSA Agency|10385|Mackay Municipal Council|22 January 2014}} The Pioneer Division was established on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 founding divisions under the Divisional Boards Act 1879.

Initially the council meetings were held in the Court House in River Street, the Post and Telegraph office in Wood Street, and in a building on Sydney Street owned by Mr R. Fleming. The first town hall was a timber structure constructed in 1872 on land that the council purchased at 63 Sydney Street.

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Pioneer Division became the Shire of Pioneer and Mackay became Town of Mackay on 31 March 1903. Mackay received City status on 17 August 1918.

File:Mackay QLD, Town Hall 1912.jpg

During the boom in sugar prices, the borough council decided in 1884 that a larger town hall was needed. However, it was not until 1909 that they decided to proceed with a brick building on the site of the existing town hall in Sydney Street. The council held a design competition, which was won by a local architect and engineer Arthur Rigby. The first town hall was moved to the rear of the block to be behind the new building. The first official Council meeting was held in the (now heritage-listed) second town hall on 19 October 1912 with the official opening the next day.{{cite QHR|15880|Mackay Town Hall (former)|601107|access-date=22 January 2014}}

File:Mackay council.jpg

After the council moved into their new Civic Administration Centre in 1974, they proposed to demolish the town hall and sell off the land to defray the costs of the new civic centre. However, following public protest, they renovated the building to make it available for community purposes.

On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Mackay area be rationalised. The Local Government (Mackay and Pioneer) Regulation 1993 was gazetted on 17 December 1993, and on 30 March 1994, the two amalgamated into a larger City of Mackay, which first met on 8 April 1994.

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the City of Mackay merged with the Shires of Mirani and Sarina to form the Mackay Regional Council.

Towns and localities

Mayors

  • 1869-1871: David Hay Dalrymple{{Cite book|title=Mackay City Council representatives : '1869-2008'|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36393773|publication-date=2009|author1=Wright, Berenice D|author2=Mackay. Libraries. Local History Section|publisher=Mackay City Council|access-date=13 November 2017|archive-date=23 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223040552/https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/36393773|url-status=live}}
  • 1872: Alexander Shiels
  • 1873: George Smith
  • 1873-1874: David Hay Dalrymple (second term)
  • 1875-1876: George Smith
  • 1876-1877: Korah H. Wills
  • 1878: William Marsh
  • 1879:Charles R. Dutallis
  • 1880: William Paxton
  • 1881: George Smith (second term)
  • 1882: Edmund S. Rawson
  • 1883: Thomas Pearce
  • 1884: Michael J. Fay
  • 1885: John Harney
  • 1886: George Dimmock
  • 1887: Archibald McIntyre
  • 1888: Henry Lindesay Black
  • 1889: W. Robertson
  • 1890: W.G. Hodges
  • 1891: W.J. Byrne
  • 1891: Henry B. Black
  • 1892: Alexander Pine
  • 1893:N.C. Morthensen
  • 1894: G. Dimmock
  • 1895: Henry B. Black
  • 1895/6?: P.M. Hynes
  • 1896: W.G. Hodges
  • 1897: Henry B. Black
  • 1898: J.H. Thornber
  • 1899: Samuel Lambert
  • 1900: C. Morley
  • 1901: W.G. Hodges
  • 1902: Cecil Garcia Smith
  • 1903: C.P. Ready
  • 1904-1906: T.D. Chataway
  • 1907: Alexander J. McLean
  • 1908: C.R. Klugh
  • 1909: E.J. Marryatt
  • 1910-1911: James Christie
  • 1912: Hans Ditley Petersen
  • 1913: C.P. Ready
  • 1914-1915: George B. Fay
  • 1916: V. Macrossan
  • 1917-1918: James Prout Moule (died 1 June 1918)
  • 1918: William Crawford Weir (resigned to become Town Clerk in November 1918){{Citation|title=Queensland and Queenslanders : incorporating 'Prominent Queenslanders'|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/19162207|publication-date=1936|author1=Australian History Publishing Co|page=299|publisher=Australian History Publishing Co|access-date=1 October 2015|archive-date=2 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002055740/http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/19162207|url-status=live}} — available [http://ncb.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/Queensland%20and%20Queenslanders.pdf online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216155301/http://ncb.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/documents/Queensland%20and%20Queenslanders.pdf |date=16 February 2017 }}
  • 1918: Robert Hague
  • 1919: Arthur Hucker
  • 1920: George M. Cameron
  • 1921-1924: A.F. Williams
  • 1924-1927?: George A. Milton
  • 1924–1927?: Lewis Windermere Nott{{cite book|last1=Pugh|first1=Theophilus Parsons|title=Pugh's Almanac for 1927|date=1927|url=http://www.textqueensland.com.au/pughs-almanac|access-date=13 June 2014|archive-date=4 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304095034/http://www.textqueensland.com.au/pughs-almanac|url-status=live}}
  • 1927-1930: George A. Milton
  • 1930-1933: Ian A.C. Wood
  • 1933-1934: J.M. Mulherin
  • 1934-1939: George Moody
  • 1939-1952: Ian A.C. Wood
  • 1952-1967: John (Jack) Binnington
  • 1967-1970: Ian A.C. Wood
  • 1970-1988: Albert F. Abbott
  • 1988-1991: Peter J. Jardine
  • 1991-1994: Gregory R. Williamson

Amalgamation of Mackay City and Pioneer Shire Councils

  • 1994–1997: Gordon White, prior to the amalgamation with Pioneer Shire, White had been chairman of the Pioneer Shire Council (1983–1994){{cite QHR|351|Pioneer Shire Council Building (former)|602603|access-date = 1 August 2014}}
  • 1997-2008: Julie Boyd

Amalgamation of Mackay City Sarina Shire and Mirani Shire Councils

Town Clerks

The town clerks of the City of Mackay were:

  • 1869-1871: Thomas Purves
  • 1871-1872: M.J. Fay
  • 1872: R.W. Smith
  • 1872: A.M. Rheuben
  • 1872: J. Rutherford
  • 1872-1873: A.M Rheuben
  • 1873-1875: H.F. Morgan
  • 1876-1881: J.C. Binney
  • 1881-1883 : F.N. Beddek
  • 1883-1886: W.G. Hodges
  • 1886-1890: C. Davie
  • 1891: G. Dimmock
  • 1892-1895: C. Davie
  • 1895-1901: G. Dimmock
  • 1902: James H. Tornber (died 29 December 1902)
  • 1903-1915: Fred Morley
  • 1916-1918: Arthur Fadden
  • 1918-1943: William Crawford Weir
  • 1944-1957: S. Murray
  • 1957-1980: L.A. Payne
  • 1980-1994: S.B. Fursman
  • 1994-1997: T.P. Crompton
  • 1997-before 2000: R.C. Bain
  • before 2000-before 2004: J. Harris
  • before 2004-2008: K. Gouldthorp

Transport

Sister cities

Population

class="wikitable"
Year

! Population
(Mackay)

! Population
(Pioneer)

! Population
(Total)

193310,6659,92620591
194713,48611,60625092
195414,76214,31629,078
196116,80915,74132,550
196618,64019,90038,540
197119,14822,56141,709
197620,22426,93847,162
198120,66433,73254,396
198622,19936,08458,283
199123,05240,61463,666
199671,894
200175,020
200620,80385,399
2015120,000

References

{{reflist}}