Southern Downs Region
lga
Stateqld
MayorMelissa Jane Hamilton
Pop36290
Area7088
Est2008
SeatWarwick
RegionDarling Downs
StategovSouthern Downs
FedgovMaranoa
Near-nwToowoomba
Near-nToowoomba
Near-neLockyer Valley
Near-wGoondiwindi
Near-eScenic Rim
Near-swGoondiwindi
Near-sTenterfield (NSW)
Near-seTenterfield (NSW)

The Southern Downs Region is a local government area (LGA) in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The region runs along the state's southern boundary with New South Wales and was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Warwick and the Shire of Stanthorpe. As at 2024, it has an area of 7,088 square kilometres (2,737 sq mi).[1]

In the , the Southern Downs Region had a population of 36,290 people.[2]

History

The majority of the former Warwick Shire is home to the Githabul people who have lived around this area for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans in the early 1840s.[3]

The current area of the Southern Downs Region existed as two distinct local government areas:

The City of Warwick came into being as the Warwick Municipality on 25 May 1861 under the Municipalities Act 1858, a piece of New South Wales legislation inherited by Queensland at its separation two years earlier. On 21 July 1869, the Municipality of Allora was established under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864.

On 11 November 1879, the Clifton, Glengallan and Stanthorpe Divisions were created as three of 74 divisions within Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. In 1886, Rosenthal was created out of parts of Glengallan.

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Warwick and Allora became Towns and the four Divisions became Shires. On 23 January 1915 the Town of Allora was abolished and a new Shire of Allora was created from the southern part of the Shire of Clifton.

On 4 April 1936, Warwick was proclaimed a city.

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 Warwick area be rationalised. The Local Government (Allora, Glengallan, Rosenthal and Warwick) Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 20 May 1994. On 25 June, an election was held for the new Shire of Warwick, and on 1 July 1994, the original entities passed out of existence. Stanthorpe was unaffected by these changes.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that Warwick and Stanthorpe amalgamate. It noted that Warwick was the regional centre for the region, with the maximum travelling time between Warwick and any other town being one hour. Both councils opposed the amalgamation citing cultural differences and different river catchment areas and economic drivers.[4] On 15 March 2008, the two Shires formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect eight councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Wards

The Southern Downs Region is not divided into wards/divisions for elections. All voters elect eight councillors and a mayor to serve a four-year term.[5][6]

Current council

The current council, elected in 2024, is:

PositionCouncillorParty
Mayor Melissa HamiltonIndependent
rowspan="8"; align="center" | Councillor Sheryl WindleIndependent
 Ross BartleyIndependent
 Sarah DeaneIndependent
 Morwenna HarslettIndependent
 Cynthia McDonaldIndependent
 Carla PidgeonIndependent
 Joel RichtersIndependent Labor
 Russell WantlingIndependent

Mayors

  • 2008–2012 : Ron Bellingham[7]
  • 2012–2016: Peter Blundell[8]
  • 2016–2020: Tracy Dobie[9]
  • 2020–2024: Victor Frank Pennisi[10]
  • 2024–Present: Melissa Jane Hamilton[11]

Towns and localities

The Southern Downs Region includes the following settlements:

Warwick region

Warwick area:

Allora area:

Glengallan area:

Rosenthal area:

* - not to be confused with Willow Vale, Queensland

Stanthorpe region

  1. ^ Named after Private E. Cotton, a local man who enlisted in the Australian Air Force.

Libraries

The Southern Downs Regional Council operates public libraries at Allora, Stanthorpe, and Warwick.[12] It also operates a mobile library servicing Dalveen, Karara, Killarney, Leyburn, Maryvale, Pratten, Wheatvale and Yangan.[12]

Demographics

The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The was the first for the Southern Downs Region.

YearPopulation
(Region total)		Population
(Stanthorpe)		Population
(Warwick)		Population
(Allora)		Population
(Glengallan)		Population
(Rosenthal)		Notes
193325,0166,9346,6642,6246,3342,460[citation needed]
194724,0097,4197,1292,2175,2691,975[citation needed]
195425,8628,3359,1512,1064,6391,631[citation needed]
196126,2888,5149,8431,9614,3881,582[citation needed]
196625,9178,50310,0651,8903,9061,553[citation needed]
197124,1158,1899,3031,7193,4101,494[citation needed]
197624,5838,7099,1691,6663,4911,548[citation needed]
198124,3008,5768,8531,6793,6111,581[citation needed]
198626,2709,1439,4352,0413,6881,963[citation needed]
199128,2889,55610,3932,1323,9662,241[citation needed]
199629,5639,59610,8962,2343,9902,742[citation needed]
200130,5549,86010,9562,4394,0883,129[citation needed]
200631,3859,96811,1432,4374,1693,558[citation needed]
33,883[13]
35,110[14]
36,290[2]

References

  1. ^ "Local government area boundaries - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  2. ^
  3. ^ "Githabul people show their pride". Warwick Daily News. 13 August 2012. Archived 15 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  4. ^ Queensland Local Government Reform Commission (July 2007). Report of the Local Government Reform Commission. Vol. 2. pp. 297–301. ISBN 978-1-921057-11-3. Archived 17 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  5. ^ "2024 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 16 March 2024". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  6. ^ "Local government area divisional boundaries - Queensland - 2024". Queensland Open Data. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  7. ^ "2008 Southern Downs Regional Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Archived 7 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  8. ^ "2012 Southern Downs Regional Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Archived 5 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  9. ^ "2016 Southern Downs Regional Council - Mayoral Election - Election Summary". results.ecq.qld.gov.au. Archived 31 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
  10. ^ "2020 Local Government Elections: Saturday, 28 March 2020". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. ^ Queensland, Electoral Commission of (2019-07-01). "Electoral Commission of Queensland". results.elections.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  12. ^ "Library details". Southern Downs Regional Council. Archived 31 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  13. ^
  14. ^