Cassowary Coast Region


The Cassowary Coast Region is a local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Cardwell and Tully. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Cardwell and the Shire of Johnstone.
The Regional Council, which administers the Region, has an estimated operating budget of A$64 million.

History

Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Cassowary Coast Region consisted of the entire area of two previous local government areas:
The Hinchinbrook Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 28 October 1881, the Johnstone Division split away from it. On 18 January 1884, the Cardwell Division also split away. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, both Cardwell and Johnstone became shires on 31 March 1903.
In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Cardwell and Johnstone merge. Cardwell was in particular opposed because Johnstone was rated as "financially distressed" and its council had just been sacked by the state government. On 15 March 2008, the two shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect six councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Mayors

Although the commission recommended the council be undivided with six councillors and a mayor, the gazetted form was that of six divisions each electing a single councillor, plus a mayor.
Those elected on April 2016 were:
The Cassowary Coast Region includes the following settlements:
Greater Innisfail area:
Greater Tully area:
Cardwell area:
Johnstone area:
1 - shared with Cairns Region
2 - shared with Tablelands Region
3 - shared with Cairns Region and Tablelands Region

Libraries

The Cassowary Coast Regional Council operate public libraries in Cardwell, Tully, Innisfail and Wongaling Beach.

Population

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The next census, due in 2011, will be the first for the new Region.
YearPopulation
Population
Population
193317,19312,7774,416
194716,61112,2654,346
195420,02514,9805,045
196120,96715,7845,183
196622,16916,5295,640
197121,61415,8785,736
197623,25416,7766,478
198125,29117,4387,853
198626,12317,4578,666
199129,06619,1849,882
199630,60420,47410,130
200130,14519,51110,634
200629,50118,91710,584
201629,585n/an/a

Heritage places

As part of preparing the Cassowary Coast Planning Scheme 2014, the council consulted with the region's heritage groups to compile a list of local heritage places.