The Shire of Mulgrave was a local government area surrounding the City of Cairns in the Far North region of Queensland. The shire, administered from Cairns, covered an area of 1,718.3 square kilometres (663.4 sq mi); it existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 1995, when it was dissolved and amalgamated into the City of Cairns.
History
Map of the Cairns Division and Cairns Municipality and adjacent local government areas, March 1902Chambers of the Cairns Divisional Board, circa 1890
The Cairns Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 34.[2][3]
On 3 June 1880, part of the Cairns Division was separated to create the Douglas Division.[4]
On 3 September 1881, the Tinaroo Division was created on 3 September 1881 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 out of parts of the Cairns, Hinchinbrook and Woothakata Divisions.[5]
Following a petition by local residents, on 28 May 1885, the Borough of Cairns was established under the Local Government Act 1878, being excised from the Cairns Division.[6][7][8]
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, the Cairns Division became the Shire of Cairns on 31 March 1903.[3][9] Originally based in the town of Gordonvale, which historically was called Mulgrave, its offices were located at Cairns Esplanade, Cairns.
On 20 December 1919, the Shire absorbed territory from the abolished Shire of Barron, which was divided between the Shires of Cairns and Shire of Woothakata.[10]
On 16 November 1940, the Shire of Cairns was renamed Shire of Mulgrave.[9][11]
The character of the Shire changed over time, and by the time of the 1991 census, 88% of the Shire's population resided within Cairns's metropolitan area. 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 Cairns area be rationalised, and that the Shire of Mulgrave be abolished and absorbed into the City of Cairns. The Local Government (Cairns, Douglas, Mareeba and Mulgrave) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 16 December 1994. On 22 March 1995, the Shire was abolished and became part of the new City of Cairns.[11]
Mulgrave Shire Council Chambers (also known as Cairns Shire Offices), The Esplanade, Cairns
The Mulgrave Shire Council Chambers were listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 January 1999.[12] It was used as the Cairns & Tropical North Visitor Information Centre from 2016 to 2023.[13] The building has since been renovated and incorporated into the Cairns Gallery Precinct.[14]
Towns and localities
The Shire of Mulgrave included the following settlements:
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