The Shire of Bauhinia was a local government area in Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia. The Shire, administered from the town of Springsure, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the Shires of Duaringa, Emerald and Peak Downs to form the Central Highlands Region.
The area is a staging point for expeditions to Carnarvon National Park.
History
On 11 November 1879, the Bauhinia Division was established as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 1426.
On 4 January 1884, there was an adjustment of boundaries between Bauhinia Division's subdivisions Nos. 2 and 3 and the Duaringa Division. Soon after, on 20 March 1884, there was a further adjustment of boundaries between Bauhinia Division's subdivisions Nos. 1 and 3 and Duaringa Division.
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Bauhinia Division became Shire of Bauhinia 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, Bauhinia merged with the Shires of Duaringa, Peak Downs and Emerald (formerly part of Peak Downs) to form the Central Highlands Region.
This was despite Bauhinia Shire residents being strongly opposed to being incorporated into the new Emerald-based council area. From a total of 1,000 people, 966 voted no to the proposal in a poll conducted by Bauhinia Shire Council in August 2007.
Towns and localities The Shire of Bauhinia included the following settlements:
Arcadia Valley Arcturus Buckland Cairdbeign Cona Creek Consuelo Coorumbene Humboldt Lowesby Minerva Nandowrie Orion Rewan Rolleston Springsure Togara Wealwandangie
National parks Carnarvon National Park Nuga Nuga National Park
Chairmen/mayors
1903–1904: Alexander John Bean 1904–1905: Adam Colquohn Gillespie 1905–1906: Thomas Slatyer 1906–1907: Alexander McLaughlin 1907–1908: Frederick William Donkin 1908–1909: Alexander McLaughlin 1909–1911: John Cunningham Wells 1911–1913: James Alexander Milliken 1913–1915 : Adam James Nutter Gillespie 1917–1920: Michael Martin Kavanagh 1920–1921: John Francis Le Feuvre 1921–1924: John Cunningham Wells 1924–1939: Michael Martin Kavanagh 1939: Marcus Lindsay McLaughlin 1939–1949: Horatio Spencer Howe Wills 1949–1952: William Henry Hoch 1952–?: Marcus Lindsay McLaughlin c1978: Albert Clive Rolfe 1985–1997: Gail Elizabeth Nixon 2004–2008: Tim Stevenson
Population Year Population 1933 1,706 1947 1,456 1954 1,633 1961 1,827 1966 2,094 1971 2,319 1976 2,372 1981 3,086 1986 2,654 1991 2,565 1996 2,543 2001 2,575 2006 2,179
References
Further reading
External links Queensland Places: Bauhinia Shire