Shire of Maroochy

{{Infobox Australian place | type = lga

| name = Shire of Maroochy

| state = qld

| image = Maroochy LGA Qld.png

| image_upright = 0.81

| caption = Location within Queensland

| pop = 151,599

| pop_year = {{CensusAU|2006}}

| pop_footnotes ={{Census 2006 AUS | id = LGA34900 | name = Maroochy (S) (Local Government Area) | accessdate=2008-03-18|quick = on}}

| area = 1162.7

| est = 1890

| seat = Nambour

| region = Sunshine Coast

| logo = Maroochy Shire Council (old) logo.png

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

| near-nw = Cooloola

| near-n = Noosa

| near-ne = Pacific Ocean

| near-w = Cooloola

| near-e = Pacific Ocean

| near-sw = Kilcoy

| near-s = Caloundra

| near-se = Pacific Ocean

}}

The Shire of Maroochy was a local government area about {{convert|100|km|mi|0}} north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of {{convert|1162.7|km2|sqmi|1}}, and existed as a local government entity from 1890 until 2008, when it amalgamated with its neighbours to the north and south to form the Sunshine Coast Region.

History

File:Maroochy Division, March 1902.jpg

In 1842, Andrew Petrie explored the coast north of Brisbane and discovered the Mary River with a small party including two Aboriginal men from the Brisbane River region who spoke the Yuggera language. Their name for the local black swan was "Muru-kutchi" or "red-bill". Petrie hence named the area Maroochy.{{cite web|url=http://www.maroochy.qld.gov.au/sitePage.cfm?code=Fact_File|title=Place Name Origins|author=Sunshine Coast Regional Council|date=19 February 2008|access-date=2008-03-19 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080307084211/http://www.maroochy.qld.gov.au/sitePage.cfm?code=Fact_File |archive-date = 2008-03-07}}

The area was originally incorporated as part of the Caboolture Divisional Board on 11 November 1879 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 5 July 1890, Maroochy split away and was proclaimed as a Maroochy Division in its own right, with an area of {{convert|1265|km2|sqmi|0}} and headquarters at Nambour.Queensland Government Gazette, 5 July 1890, p. 658.{{cite QSA Agency|1377|Maroochy Divisional Board|20 September 2013}} It did not initially contain Buderim or Kenilworth. The first elections were held on 13 September for three councillors, each of whom represented one subdivision. By 1895, council chambers had been erected firstly on Blackall Terrace and then at Station Square adjacent to the Nambour railway station, where they were to continue meeting until 1978.

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Maroochy became a shire council on 31 March 1903. The first land sale in Maroochydore in 1908 allowed {{convert|8.1|km2|acre|0}} along the coast to be opened up, allowing for the development of the towns of Alexandra Headland and Mooloolaba. The council commenced supplying electricity in 1927, and a hospital was opened in 1930. With the start of major development in South East Queensland in the late 1950s, Maroochy Airport (now Sunshine Coast Airport, the major regional facility) was opened in 1961. The Shire grew rapidly from this point onwards.

Fires were a persistent problem in the hinterland region, and on Anzac Day in 1948, a fire significantly damaged the Shire Chambers. In 1978, the Shire moved its offices to a new location in Bury Street, Nambour, with the old facility in Civic Square remaining as a civic hall. On 15 August 1986 a fire damaged this beyond repair—it was bulldozed three years later to make way for the new Centenary Square development.

In 2000, Queensland police arrested a man for using a computer and a radio transmitter to take control of the Maroochy Shire wastewater system and release sewage into parks, rivers and property.

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Maroochy merged with the Shire of Noosa and the City of Caloundra to form the Sunshine Coast Region.

Structure

The Shire was subdivided into 12 numbered divisions, each of which returned one councillor, and an elected mayor.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Maroochy included the following settlements:

¹ - split with the Shire of Noosa

² - split with the City of Caloundra

Population

Year ! Population
class="wikitable"
1933	12,918
1947	15,014
1954	17,869
1961	19,071
1966	21,455
1971	25,522
1976	35,266
1981	53,428
1986	61,629
1991	84,442
1996	111,798
2001	129,429
2006	151,599

Chairmen and mayors

1927: J. T. Lowe{{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}}
1952–1967: David Low
1967–1982: Eddie De Vere
1982–1985: Don Culley
1985–1994: Fred Murray
1994–1997: Bob King
1997–2000: Don Culley
2000–2004: Alison Grosse
2004–2008: Joe Natoli

Sister cities

{{flagicon|Japan}} Tatebayashi, Japan
{{flagicon|China}} Xiamen, China

References

External links

[http://queenslandplaces.com.au/maroochy-and-maroochy-shire University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Maroochy and Maroochy Shire]
[https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/dls06p/alma996923884702061 Annual reports Maroochy Hospitals Board], State Library of Queensland

{{coord|26|37|50|S|152|57|32.9|E|type:adm2nd_region:AU-QLD|display=title}}

Category:Sunshine Coast, Queensland

Category:Former local government areas of Queensland

Category:2008 disestablishments in Australia

Category:Populated places disestablished in 2008