Shire of Cloncurry


The Shire of Cloncurry is a local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of, and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the shire is Cloncurry.
Prior to European settlement the area was home to the Mitakoodi, Kalkadoon and Pitta Pitta Aboriginal people.
The ghost town of Mary Kathleen, a town servicing a uranium mine since closed, is in the shire.

History

Wanamarra is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country. The Yulluna language region includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Cloncurry.
The first Europeans to visit the area were Wills and Burke in 1861, and the latter named the river Cloncurry after his cousin. In 1867, Ernest Henry wandered to this site in search of a grazing land and found copper. He is considered the founder of the town as well as its vast mineral deposits. In 1876, the town was named Cloncurry after the river. It is regarded as the place of innovations as Qantas began its operations here and the Royal Flying Doctor Service was established in Cloncurry in 1928.
The Doonmunya Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 396. However, the divisional board appeared to be completely inactive, perhaps because the division was so large and was very sparsely settled. Nonetheless some of the citizens were unhappy about this. Consequently, on 11 January 1883, the Doonmunya Division was abolished and a new Carpentaria Division was created to replace it.
Given the size of the Carpentaria Division, the distance to its headquarters in Normanton was an issue for residents in the Cloncurry area, leading to a desire to create their own local division. On 7 February 1884, part of Carpentaria Division was separated to create the new Cloncurry Division.
On 30 January 1885, adjustments were made to boundaries of the Cloncurry Division when the Burke Division was also split off from the Carpentaria Division.
On 31 March 1903, Cloncurry Division became the Shire of Cloncurry.

Libraries

The Cloncurry Shire Council operates a public library in Cloncurry.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Cloncurry includes the following settlements:
YearPopulation
19336,184
19476,267
19543,052
19614,869
19663,348
19713,623
19764,036
19813,651
19863,194
19913,382
19963,878
20014,795
20063,970
20113,229
20163,032

Chairmen and mayors

Other notable members of the council included: