The Shire of McKinlay is a local government area in outback north-western Queensland, Australia.
It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1891. The shire economy is based on beef production and mining. BHP operate the Cannington Mine in the shire, extracting silver, lead and zinc.
In the , the Shire of McKinlay had a population of 836 people.
History Wanamarra (also known as Maykulan and Wunumura is an Australian Aboriginal language in North West Queensland. The language region includes areas within the Shire of McKinlay, Shire of Cloncurry and Shire of Richmond, including the Flinders River area, and the towns of Kynuna and Richmond. The Mackinlay Division was created on 9 December 1891 out of parts of Boulia and Cloncurry under the Divisional Boards Act 1887.
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Mackinlay Division became the Shire of Mackinlay on 31 March 1903.
In 1932, the spelling of the shire's name was altered to be Shire of McKinlay, as the shire was named after the explorer John McKinlay.
On 24 July 1930, it was abolished and a new Shire of McKinlay was formed from parts of the Shires of Cloncurry, McKinlay, Winton and Wyangarie (Richmond).
Towns and localities The Shire of McKinlay includes the following settlements:
Julia Creek Cannington Kynuna McKinlay Nelia
Amenities The McKinlay Shire Council operates public libraries at Julia Creek and McKinlay.
Chairmen and mayors
1927: W. M. Allison 2008–2012: Paul Woodhouse 2012–2020 : Belinda Murphy 2020–present: Philip Roland Curr
Election results
2024
Demographics Year Population Notes 1933 1,899 1947 1,633 1954 1,647 1961 2,132 1966 1,701 1971 1,582 1976 1,468 1981 1,477 1986 1,446 1991 1,306 1996 1,423 1,361 898 1,050 796 836
References