The Shire of Jondaryan was a local government area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately west of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Oakey, covered an area of 1,910.0 square kilometres (737.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1890 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils in the Toowoomba area to form the Toowoomba Region. Its growth in later years has been fuelled by the expansion of Toowoomba and suburbs such as Glenvale and Westbrook.
History
Map of Jondaryan Division and adjacent local government areas, March 1902
Jondaryan Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 1738.[2] The divisional offices were located in Toowoomba, Queensland, outside of the division.
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Jondaryan Division became Shire of Jondaryan on 31 March 1903. Until 1960, the Shire's offices were located at Snell and Russell Streets, Toowoomba. Many of the council's original staff and councillors were associated with the Jondaryan Estates pastoral empire.
Peter Taylor was Jondaryan's final mayor, serving from 1985 until 2008. At the time of his first election he was the youngest Shire Chairman in Queensland. On 15 March 2008 he became the first mayor of the new Toowoomba Regional Council with 71.19% of the vote.[10] Taylor was an executive member (Director) of the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) representing the Darling Downs, and was also director of the Board of LG Super, a statewide superannuation fund for all local government employees.
