The Shire of Kingaroy was a local government area in the South Burnett area of Queensland, Australia, about northwest of the capital, Brisbane. The shire covered an area of , and existed as a local government area from 1912 until 2008, when it amalgamated with a number of other local government areas in the South Burnett area to become the South Burnett Region.
The seat of the shire was the town of Kingaroy, which continues as the set of the South Burnett Region.
The shire's name derives from the Wakka Wakka Aboriginal words "king dhu'roi", meaning "ant hungry". While land use was dominantly pastoral in the area's early European history, dairying, beef, small crops and in particular peanut farming became mainstays of Kingaroy's economy.
History
Kingaroy was originally part of the Barambah (later Nanango) Divisional Board, which was created on 11 November 1879 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Nanango became a shire council on 31 March 1903.
The town of Kingaroy started to grow after the arrival of the railway in 1904, and on 12 January 1912, the Shire of Kingaroy was proclaimed.
In 1923, Dr Ellen Kent Hughes was elected to the Kingaroy Shire Council, the first woman council member elected to a local government council in Queensland.
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 Kingaroy merged with the Shires of Murgon, Nanango and Wondai to form the South Burnett Regional Council.
Towns and localities The Shire of Kingaroy included the following settlements:
Kingaroy Coolabunia Goodger Inverlaw Kumbia Memerambi Taabinga Wooroolin
Chairmen 1927: R. S. Brown
Other notable members of the Kingaroy Council include: 1923–1924: Ellen Kent Hughes 1946–1949: Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland 1976–1990: Warren Truss, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
Population Year Population 1933 6,844 1947 8,063 1954 8,059 1961 8,548 1966 8,339 1971 7,868 1976 7,801 1981 7,939 1986 9,902 1991 10,395 1996 11,141 2001 11,415 2006 12,285
References