City of Thuringowa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Former City of Thuringowa Queensland
Location within Queensland
Population	59,164 (2006 census)
• Density	31.6910/km2 (82.079/sq mi)
Established	1846 1st Settlement, 1879–1903 Division, 1903–1986 Shire, 1986–2008 City.
Area	1,866.9 km2 (720.8 sq mi)
Region	W/SW from Townsville
Website	Former City of Thuringowa

The City of Thuringowa (19°18′26″S 146°43′54″E / 19.30722°S 146.73167°E / -19.30722; 146.73167) was a city and local government area in North Queensland, Australia covering the northern and western parts of what is now Townsville. The suburb of Thuringowa Central is the main business centre in this area.

Thuringowa was named after the German state of Thuringia where the shire's first chairman, John von Stieglitz, originated. Prior to its proclamation as a city on 1 January 1986, Thuringowa was a large rural shire, almost surrounding the City of Townsville.

In 2007 the Queensland Government recommended that the Thuringowa City Council and the Townsville City Council be merged as part of the review of councils and boundaries, with the merged entity to be referred to as the Townsville City Council and the city being called the New Townsville City. The transition was completed with the election of a new combined Council on 15 March 2008.

History

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

Early history

Prior to European settlement, the Nyawaygi Aboriginal people lived in the area around Thuringowa, Townsville and the Burdekin. The earliest European on record to live in Thuringowa was James Morrill whose boat washed ashore in 1846.

In 1860, the newly formed Queensland Government passed an act opening up the area to pastoral leases, and by 1861 there were many runs in Thuringowa. By 1865, Robert Towns and John Melton Black had purchased a number of properties throughout Thuringowa. In 1865 Robert Towns built a boiling down works – at the time, there was no facilities for shipping cattle or sheep, so in 1865 Andrew Ball and Mark Reid left Woodstock Station to find a harbour around the Cleveland Bay shores and the Town and port of Townsville was established at the mouth of Ross Creek.

Demographics

Thuringowa grew in population rapidly from the 1980s becoming one of the fastest-growing cities in Australia. The population had increased from 26,000 in 1986 to over 65,000 in 2007.

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Suburbs

The City of Thuringowa included the following settlements:

Municipal leaders

The following is a list of chairmen and mayors of the Thuringowa Division, Shire of Thuringowa and City of Thuringowa from 1880 until 2008:

See also

In Spanish: Thuringowa para niños