Shire of Douglas
Queensland
Location within Queensland
Population12,257 (2018)[1]
 • Density5.0482/km2 (13.075/sq mi)
Established1880 until 2008, 2014
Area2,428 km2 (937.5 sq mi)[1]
MayorMichael Kerr
Council seatMossman
RegionFar North Queensland
WebsiteShire of Douglas
LGAs around Shire of Douglas:
Cook Cook & Wujal Wujal Coral Sea
Mareeba Shire of Douglas Coral Sea
Mareeba Cairns Cairns

The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of 2,428 square kilometres (937.5 sq mi),[1] and existed as a local government entity from 1880 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Cairns to become the Cairns Region. Following a poll in 2013, the Shire of Douglas was re-established on 1 January 2014.

The major industries are tourism and sugar production. Minor industries include tropical fruit and beef.

History

Kuku Yalanji (also known as Gugu Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, and Kuku Yelandji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Mossman and Daintree areas of North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area of Shire of Douglas and Shire of Cook, particularly the localities of Mossman, Daintree, Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, Palmer, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal.[2]

Yalanji (also known as Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, Kuku Yelandji, and Gugu Yalanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Far North Queensland. The traditional language region is Mossman River in the south to the Annan River in the north, bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east and extending inland to west of Mount Mulgrave. This includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Douglas, the Shire of Cook and the Aboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal and the towns and localities of Cooktown, Mossman, Daintree, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal. It includes the head of the Palmer River, the Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, and Palmerville.[3]

Map of Douglas Division and adjacent local government areas, March 1902

On 11 November 1879, the Cairns Division was one of the initial 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879.[4] On 3 June 1880, the northern part of Cairns Division was excised to create Douglas Division.[5]

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Douglas Division became the Shire of Douglas on 31 March 1903.

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 Douglas merged with the City of Cairns to form the Cairns Region.

In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Douglas from the Cairns Region.[6] On 6 December 2012, the Queensland Minister for Local Government, the Hon. David Crisafulli, granted the people of the former Douglas Shire a vote on possible de-amalgamation from the Cairns Regional Council, even though the Queensland Treasury Corporation had calculated the costs to be too high a burden on the few ratepayers of this small Shire, and the Shire to be unviable in the long term. Despite strong opposition from many parties, on 9 March 2013 the citizens of the former Douglas shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate.[7] The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.[8][9]

Towns and localities

The Douglas Shire Council's administrative centre is in Mossman.[10]

The Shire of Douglas includes the following settlements:

1 – shared with the Shire of Cook
2 – until 1995, it was part of the Shire, now it's part of the Cairns Region

Libraries

The Douglas Shire Council operates public libraries at Mossman and Port Douglas.[11]

Population

Year Population
19332,901
19472,493
19543,100
19613,354
19663,919
19714,072
19764,746
19815,957
19867,750
199112,440
199612,980
200113,966
200614,024

Council

Douglas Shire Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor
Michael Kerr, LNP
Deputy Mayor
Lisa Scomazzon, Independent
Structure
Seats5 elected representatives, including a Mayor and 4 councillors
Political groups
  • Majority:
  •   Independents (4)
  • Minority:
  •   LNP (1)
Elections
Last election
28 March 2020
Next election
16 March 2024

Below is the current council, elected in 2020:[12]

Name Party Notes
Peter McKeown Independent
Michael Kerr Liberal National Mayor
Abigail Noli Independent
Lisa Scomazzon Independent Deputy Mayor
Roy Zammataro Independent

Election results

2020 Queensland mayoral elections: Douglas Shire[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent LNP Michael Kerr 3,386 54.95 +54.95
Independent Julia Leu 2,776 45.05 −20.07
Total formal votes 6,162 98.12 +0.50
Informal votes 118 1.88 −0.50
Turnout 6,280
Independent LNP gain from Independent Swing+54.95
2020 Queensland local elections: Douglas Shire
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Lisa Scomazzon (elected 1) 3,951 16.40
Independent Peter McKeown (elected 2) 3,527 14.64
Independent Roy Zammataro (elected 3) 3,179 13.20
Independent Noli Abigail (elected 4) 2,959 12.28
Independent Natalie Johnson 2,888 11.99
Independent Kym Rowley 2,338 9.71
Independent Bruce Clarke 2,021 8.39
Independent Terry Melchert 1,967 8.17
Independent Steve Cruickshank 1,258 5.22
Total formal votes 6,022 96.03
Informal votes 249 3.97

Chairmen and mayors

The following were the chairmen and mayors of the Shire of Douglas in its first incarnation:[14]

Term Incumbent
1900 Andrew Jack
1901–1903 James Reynolds
1904–1905 Richard Augustine "Dick" Donnelly
1906 William Mackay
1907 Daniel Joseph Kirwan
1908 Robert David Low
1909 Richard James Walsh
1910 Robert Punton Tunnie (first term)
1911–1912 Frederick "Fred" Thompson
1913 James Patrick Reynolds (first term)
1914 Robert Punton Tunnie (second term)
1915–1921 James Patrick Reynolds (second term)
1921–1927 John Quill
1927–1933 Severin Berner "Barney" Andreassen
1933–1955 Raymond David Rex
1955–1964 Ernest William Berzinski
1964–1967 George Quaid Jr
1967–1970 J.S. Allen
1970–1981 Onslow Rutherford Andrews
1981–1991 Anthony Mijo
1991–2008 Mike Berwick

The following were the mayors of Shire of Douglas in its second incarnation:

Term Incumbent
2014–2020 Julia Leu[15][16]
2020–current Michael John Kerr[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  2. ↑ This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Kuku Yalanji". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  3. ↑ This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Yalanji". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "Proclamation [Cairns Division]". Queensland Government Gazette. 11 November 1879. p. 25:1008.
  5. ↑ "Proclamation [Cairns & Douglas Divisions]". Queensland Government Gazette. 5 June 1880. p. 26:1317–1318.
  6. ↑ "A Proposal to the Minister for Local Government Hourable David Crisafulli M.P. in support of de-amalgamation of the former Douglas Shire from Cairns Regional Council" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "Douglas Area De-amalgamation Poll – Douglas – Poll Area Summary". Electoral Commission Queensland. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "De-amalgamation". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Local Government (De-amalgamation Implementation) Regulation 2013" (PDF). Local Government Act 2009. Queensland Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Contact the Douglas Shire Council". Douglas Shire Council. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Douglas Shire". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  12. ↑ https://douglas.qld.gov.au/council-information/mayors-and-councillors
  13. ↑ https://results1.elections.qld.gov.au/lga2020/024/primary
  14. ↑ "Mayors of the Douglas Divisional Board" (PDF). Cairns Heritage Page. Cairns Regional Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "2013 Douglas Shire Council – Mayoral Election". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Archived from the original on 25 February 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "2016 Douglas Shire Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  17. ↑ "2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.

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