The Charters Towers Region is a local government area in North Queensland, Australia southwest of, and inland from the city of Townsville, based in Charters Towers. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas which dated back to the 1870s.

It has an estimated operating budget of A$27.5 m.

In the , the Charters Towers Region had a population of 11,794 people.

History Gugu Badhun (also known as Koko-Badun and Kokopatun) is an Australian Aboriginal language of North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area of Charters Towers Region, particularly the localities of Greenvale and the Valley of Lagoons, and in the Upper Burdekin River area and in Abergowrie.

Prior to 2008, the Charters Towers Region was an entire area of two previous and distinct local government areas:

the City of Charters Towers; and the Shire of Dalrymple.

The City of Charters Towers had its beginning in the Charters Towers Municipality which was proclaimed on 21 June 1877 under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864.28 Vic No. 21 (Imp) 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, it became the Town of Charters Towers on 31 March 1903 and was proclaimed the City of Charters Towers on 13 April 1909.Queensland Government Gazette, Vol. XCII, 13 April 1909, p.1019.

The Shire of Dalymple began as Dalrymple Division, one of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879. It became a Shire on 31 March 1903.

In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that the two areas amalgamate. Amongst its reasons given for this recommendation were improved service delivery and capacity through a larger asset base and increased operating revenue, and the fact that a significant (and growing) proportion of the Shire's population lived in Charters Towers's outer suburbs and bringing all of Charters Towers under one local government was viewed as desirable. It did not consider amalgamation with the neighbouring Townsville/Thuringowa region due to disparate communities of interest. Both councils opposed the amalgamation, although the City Council concluded it was inevitable due to a shared community of interest. On 15 March 2008, the City and Shire formally ceased to exist, and elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council.

Current Council The council remains undivided and its elected body consists of six councillors and a mayor. +NameNotesLiz SchmidtMayorKate HastieDeputy MayorAlan BarrKim FarmerGraham LohmannSteven PlantJulie Mathews

Mayors

2008–2012: Ben Callcott 2012–2016: Franklin Beveridge 2016–2020: Liz Schmidt 2020–2024: Franklin Charles Beveridge 2024–present: Liz Schmidt

Towns and localities

The Charters Towers Region includes the following settlements:

Charters Towers area: Alabama Hill Charters Towers City Columbia Grand Secret Millchester Mosman Park Queenton Richmond Hill Southern Cross Toll Towers Hill

Dalrymple area: Basalt Black Jack Breddan Broughton Campaspe Crimea Dotswood Greenvale Hervey Range Homestead Llanarth Macrossan Mingela Paluma Pentland Ravenswood Sellheim Seventy Mile Valley of Lagoons

Libraries Charters Towers Regional Council operate the Excelsior public library in Charters Towers.

Demographics The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008. The 2011 census was the first for the new Region.

Year Population(Region total) Population(Former City) Population(Former Shire) 1933 10,238 6,978 3,260 1947 9,872 7,561 2,311 1954 8,875 6,961 1,914 1961 9,839 7,633 2,206 1966 9,605 7,602 2,003 1971 9,796 7,518 2,278 1976 10,494 7,914 2,580 1981 10,161 6,823 3,338 1986 11,460 7,208 4,252 1991 12,500 9,016 3,484 1996 12,562 8,893 3,669 2001 12,345 8,492 3,853 2006 11,937 8,155 3,782 2011 12,169 2016 11,876 2021 11,794 In the 2021 census, the Charters Towers Region had a population of 11,794 people. 41.8% described their ancestry as Australian. This is followed by 36.9% who described their ancestry as English, then Irish (11.0%), Scottish (9.1%) and Australian Aboriginal at 8.2%. 84.4% spoke only English at home followed by the next most common languages: 0.2% Malayalam, 0.2% Vietnamese, 0.2% Tagalog, 0.2% Mandarin and 0.1% Filipino. Indigenous Australians were listed as making up 9.7% of the Charters Towers region population.

References

External links University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Charters Towers Regional Council