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City of Townsville Queensland
Townsville Skyline
Location within Queensland
Population	192,768 (2021 census) (28th)
• Density	51.667/km (133.816/sq mi)
Established	1865
Area	3,731 km (1,440.5 sq mi)
Mayor	Troy Thompson
Council seat	Townsville City
Region	North Queensland
State electorate(s)	Townsville Thuringowa Mundingburra Burdekin Hinchinbrook
Federal division(s)	Herbert Dawson Kennedy
Website	City of Townsville
LGAs around City of Townsville: Hinchinbrook Coral Sea Coral Sea Charters Towers City of Townsville Burdekin Charters Towers Charters Towers Burdekin

The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas. To the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock and Reid River, and to the north are Northern Beaches and Paluma. Also included is Magnetic Island. In June 2018 the area had a population of 194,072, and is the 28th-largest LGA in Australia. Townsville is considered to be the unofficial capital of North Queensland.

In the 2021 census, the City of Townsville had a population of 192,768 people.

History

Prior to 2008, the new City of Townsville was an entire area of two previous and distinct local government areas:

• the former City of Townsville;
• and the City of Thuringowa.

The City of Townsville was first established as the Borough of Townsville under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864 on 15 February 1866. The surrounding rural area, which was given the name Thuringowa Division, was established on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 31 March 1903, Thuringowa Division became the Shire of Thuringowa and Townsville was granted city status under the Local Authorities Act 1902, the ancestor of the current Local Government Act 1993.

The borders of the Townsville municipality were expanded to keep pace with urban growth in 1882, 1918, 1936, 1958 and 1964 – the purpose of expanding the borders was to keep urban and rural administrations separate. This state government convention changed under the Bjelke-Petersen government and the borders between the two local governments became static. By 1986 the Shire of Thuringowa had grown to a population of 27,000 and was declared a city.

The City of Townsville was notable in Australia in the 1890s and early 1900s for its support for municipal socialism. The anarchist and socialist Alderman Ned Lowry advocated for the City of Townsville to control various industries.

In 1939, Fred Paterson stood successfully as an alderman for the Townsville City Council, becoming the first member of the Communist Party to win such an office in Australia. He was then re-elected in 1943. The same year, he stood for the federal seat of Herbert, but was narrowly defeated. He then contested and won the Bowen seat in the Queensland Parliament, holding it from 1944 until 1950.

From 1942 to 1949, the council was held by a majority of members of the pro-soviet Labor party split, the North Queensland Labor Party.

A succession of endorsed Labor Party mayors and majority councillors held a continuous civic government from 1976–2008. This was the longest continuous Labor administration in the country until Tony Mooney was defeated in 2008.

Following local government reform undertaken by the State Government of Queensland, the City of Townsville and the City of Thuringowa were amalgamated in 2008. The process of amalgamation was completed on the election of a new combined council on 15 March 2008.

Mayors

Other notable aldermen include:

• 1936–1949 (deputy mayor 1939–1944) Tom Aikens, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Mundingburra and Townsville South

Council

Townsville City Council
Leadership
Mayor	Troy Thompson, Independent
Structure
Seats	11 elected representatives, including a Mayor and 10 councillors
Political groups	Independents (4)   Team Jenny Hill (4)   TownsvilleCHANGE (2)   Independent LNP (1)
Elections
Last election	16 March 2024

Townsville City Council services the LGA. The council is represented by 10 councillors and the mayor, who have been elected by the whole city. The current mayor is Jenny Hill, who was formerly the deputy mayor of the pre-amalgamation City of Townsville in 2007 and early 2008.

The council consists of one mayor, elected at large, and 10 councillors, elected from 10 individual divisions.

Recent history (2008−present)

In 2008, the Australian Labor Party, which had controlled the council for 32 years − the longest-serving Labor administration in Australia − was defeated in a landslide by the conservative Team Tyrell, which won all but one of the councillor positions. Incumbent mayor Tony Mooney was among the ALP members defeated.

After one term, mayor Les Tyrell chose to retire from politics and did not recontest his position. At the 2012 election, councillor Dale Last ran for mayor and formed the Townsville First group, which ran candidates − including six Team Tyrell councillors − in all wards. Jenny Hill, the only sitting Labor member on council, formed Team Jenny Hill and successfully ran for mayor.

At the 2016 election, Team Jenny Hill defeated defeated Jayne Arlett's Team in a landslide victory, picking up every single ward, along with retaining the mayoralty.

Current composition

The current council, elected in 2024, is:

Past councillors

2008−2012 (unsubdivided)

2012−present (10 wards)

Towns and localities

Demographics

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

Amenities

The Townsville City Council operates libraries at Aitkenvale, Townsville City and Thuringowa Central. It also operates a mobile library service, serving the following suburbs on a regular schedule:

• Monday: Deeragun & Bluewater
• Tuesday: Nelly Bay (Magnetic Island), opening hours may be affected by tide times
• Wednesday: Rollingstone & Saunders Beach, fortnightly alternating with Alligator Creek and Oakvale

Sister cities

• Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea since 1983
• Shunan, Japan since 1990
• Iwaki City, Japan since August 1991
• Changshu, People's Republic of China since 1995
• Suwon, South Korea since 1996
• Foshan, People's Republic of China since 2006

See also

• List of tautological place names

References

1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "City of Townsville (LGA)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
2. ^ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017-18: Population Estimates by Local Government Area (ASGS 2018), 2017 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
3. ^ Townsville City Council Submission to the Local Government Reform Commission (PDF). Townsville: Townsville City Council. May 2007. p. 2. Archived from the original (Submission) on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
4. Burgmann, Verity (1985). In our time : socialism and the rise of labor, 1885-1905. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0868615374.
5. Fitzgerald, Ross (1997). The people's champion, Fred Paterson : Australia's only Communist Party member of parliament. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0702229598.
6. A Message from the Chairman, Cr Tony Mooney Archived 31 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Aikens, Mr Thomas (Tom)". Re-Member Database. Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
8. "How it happened: a defining moment in politics". Townsville Bulletin. 15 March 2018.
9. "Uphill battle for King Les's man". The Courier Mail.
10. "2016 Townsville City Council - Councillor Election - Election Summary". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 20 April 2016. Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
11. "BRADY JOHN ELLIS". Electoral Commission of Queensland. 16 March 2024.
12. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "City of Townsville (LGA)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
13. "Using your libraries: locations and opening hours". Townsville City Council. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
14. "Mobile Library Service" (PDF). Townsville City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
15. "Townsville City Council – Townsville's Sister Cities". Archived from the original on 3 January 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2007.

External links

• Official website
• Townsville community profile (2020)
• Population stats of LGA
• Townsville Region Social Atlas (2001 Census)

v t e Towns, suburbs and localities of the City of Townsville
Urban	Aitkenvale Annandale Belgian Gardens Bohle Bohle Plains Castle Hill Cluden Condon Cosgrove Cranbrook Currajong Douglas Garbutt Gulliver Heatley Hermit Park Hyde Park Idalia Kelso Kirwan Mount Louisa Mount St John Mount Stuart Mundingburra Murray Mysterton North Ward Oonoonba Pallarenda Partington Pimlico Railway Estate Rasmussen Rosslea Rowes Bay Shaw Shelly Beach South Townsville Stuart Thuringowa Central Town Common Townsville Townsville City Vincent West End Wulguru
Rural	Alice River Alligator Creek Barringha Blue Hills Brookhill Calcium Cape Cleveland Clemant Crystal Creek Cungulla Granite Vale Gumlow Hervey Range Julago Lynam Majors Creek Mount Elliot Mutarnee Nome Oak Valley Paluma Pinnacles Rangewood Reid River Rollingstone Roseneath Ross River Rupertswood Toomulla Toonpan Woodstock
Northern Beaches	Balgal Balgal Beach Beach Holm Black River Bluewater Bluewater Beach Bluewater Park Burdell Bushland Beach Deeragun Jensen Mount Low Saunders Beach Toolakea Yabulu
Magnetic Island	Alma Bay Arcadia Cockle Bay Florence Bay Horseshoe Bay Magnetic Island Nelly Bay Picnic Bay West Point

19°15′27.50″S 146°49′04.45″E / 19.2576389°S 146.8179028°E / -19.2576389; 146.8179028

• Populated places established in 1865
• 1865 establishments in Australia
• City of Townsville
• Townsville
• Local government areas of Queensland