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The Mackay Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869.

Mackay Region Queensland
Location within Queensland
Population	114,969 (2016 census)[1]
• Density	15.0838/km2 (39.0670/sq mi)
Established	1869
Area	7,622 km2 (2,942.9 sq mi)
Mayor	Greg Williamson[2]
Council seat	Mackay
Region	North Queensland
State electorate(s)	Mackay Mirani Whitsunday
Federal division(s)	Dawson Capricornia
Website	Mackay Region
LGAs around Mackay Region: Whitsunday Whitsunday Coral Sea Whitsunday Mackay Region Coral Sea Isaac Isaac Isaac

It has an estimated operating budget of A$118 million.

History

Yuwibara (also known as Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuwibara country. It is closely related to the Biri languages/dialects. The Yuwibara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mackay Region.[3]

Prior to 2008, the Mackay Region was an entire area of three previous and distinct local government areas:

• the City of Mackay;
• the Shire of Mirani;
• and the Shire of Sarina.

The city had its beginning in the Mackay Municipality which was proclaimed on 22 September 1869 under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864.[4] Its first mayor was David Dalrymple, and the council first met on 1 December 1869. It achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the Local Government Act. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Mackay became a Town on 31 March 1903, and was ultimately proclaimed a City on 17 August 1918.

On 11 December 1879, the Pioneer Division came into being as one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879, chaired by John Ewen Davidson. On 31 March 1903, Pioneer became a Shire. Two areas split away from it over the next decade; the Shire of Sarina on 1 January 1912, and the Shire of Mirani on 4 September 1913.[5]

On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, and recommended that local government boundaries in the Mackay area be rationalised. The Local Government (Mackay and Pioneer) Regulation 1993 was gazetted on 17 December 1993, and on 30 March 1994, the two amalgamated into a larger City of Mackay, which first met on 8 April 1994.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released a report making recommendations for statewide reform of local government boundaries, and recommended that the three areas of Mackay, Mirani and Sarina amalgamate, due mainly to Mackay's role as a regional centre and all three shires' involvement in sugar production. The City of Mackay endorsed the suggestion, but the two shires proposed alternative options. In the end, the commission's proposal was unchanged.[6] On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Mayors

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (June 2020)

• 2000–present: Gregory Roy Williamson[7]

Wards

The Mackay Regional Council does not contain divisions or wards and remains undivided and has an elected body consisting of 10 councillors and a mayor. Current councillors and there relevant political affiliations are as follows:[8]

Councillor	Declared political membership	Term	Position
Cr. Greg Williamson	Independent	2016–present	Mayor
Cr. Karen May	Independent	2008–present	Deputy Mayor
Cr. Martin Bella	LNP[9]	2016–present
Cr. Laurence Bonaventura	Independent	2012–present
Cr. Justin Englert	Independent	2016–present
Cr. Michelle Green	Independent	2020–present
Cr. Belinda Hassan	ALP[10]	2020-present
Cr. Allison Jones	Independent	2020-present
Cr. Fran Mann	ALP[11]	2016–present
Cr. Russel Seymour	Independent	2020–present
Cr. Pauline Townsend	Independent	2020–present

Towns and localities

The Mackay Region includes the following settlements:

Population

The population figures for each of the predecessor local government areas prior to the 2008 amalgamation:

Year	Total Region	Mackay	Pioneer	Mirani	Sarina
1933	28,124	10,665	9,926	4,412	3,121
1947	32,947	13,486	11,606	4,587	3,268
1954	37,924	14,762	14,316	5,056	3,790
1961	41,196	16,809	15,741	4,760	3,886
1966	48,580	18,640	19,900	5,379	4,611
1971	51,903	19,148	22,561	4,772	5,422
1976	57,903	20,224	26,938	4,889	5,852
1981	66,057	20,664	33,732	4,739	6,922
1986	70,674	22,199	36,084	4,854	7,537
1991	76,372	23,052	40,614	4,625	8,081
1996	86,376	71,894		5,088	9,394
2001	89,877	75,020		5,220	9,637
2006	101,525	85,450		5,406	10,720

The estimated population figures (official census population figures are in bold) for the amalgamated Mackay Region from 2008[12][13][14][15]

Year	Total Region Population	Change Since Previous Year	% Change Since Previous Year
2008	108,644	+2,618	+2.47%
2009	111,455	+2,811	+2.59%
2010	113,699	+2,244	+2.01%
2011	112,798	-901	-0.79%
2012	117,603	+4,805	+4.26%
2013	119,076	+1,473	+1.25%
2014	119,272	+196	+0.16%
2015	118,771	-501	-0.42%
2016	114,969	-3,802	-3.20%
2017	116,601	+1,632	+1.42%
2018	116,514	-87	-0.07%
2019	116,761	+247	+0.21%
2020	117,902	+1,141	+0.98%

Services

The Mackay Regional Council operates libraries in Mackay, Mount Pleasant, Walkerston, Sarina and Mirani.[16] A mobile library service visits the following districts on a fortnightly schedule: Yalboroo, Bloomsbury, Midge Point, Ball Bay, Seaforth, Koumala, Swayneville, Hay Point, St Helens Beach, Calen, Shoal Point, Oakenden, Habana, Blacks Beach, Slade Point, Hampden, Marian, Gargett, Finch Hatton, Homebush, Chelona, McEwens Beach and Bucasia.[17]

References

External links

Media related to Mackay Region at Wikimedia Commons

• "Looking back and moving forward: A brief history of Mackay Regional Council" (PDF). Mackay Regional Council. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 January 2022.

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