Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council
250 KM NW of Brisbane
History – Cherbourg was established in 1904 as an aboriginal reserve. It was granted independence in 1986. Queensland's first and only emu farm was established in the town in 1989. It now has more than 400 birds from chicks to mature adults.
Indigenous Tribes – Wakka Wakka and Culidy people
160 KM North of Brisbane
(Formed after the amalgamation of the Cooloola, Kilkivan Shire Councils and part of the Tiaro Shire Council - 15 March 2008).
History – The region was originally settled for grazing purposes in the 1840s. However, that all changed following the discovery of gold at the present town of Gympie in 1867. James Nash registered his find and it led to a major gold rush which is credited for saving the newly established Queensland colony from going bankrupt after suffering from a financial crisis over the previous eight years. The Gympie gold rush ensured the future of Queensland and lasted until the early 1900s with some mining still taking place in the region today.
Indigenous Tribes – KabbiKabbi, Kaiabara and Batjala people.
Industries – gold mining, tourism, agriculture, goats, pigs, olives, dairy, aquaculture, sugarcane and timber.
- Gympie - Known as 'the town that saved Queensland', it was originall called Nashville but was later changed to Gympie - after the stinging tree GimpiGimpi.
- Blacksnake – established in 1874 as a gold mining town which lasted until 1902.
- Goomeri – location of the internationally renowned Great Australian Pumpkin Roll.
- Kilkivan – 1st town in Queensland where gold was initially discovered and is also home to the Kilkivan Great Horse Ride.
264 KM N of Brisbane
(Formed following the amalgamation of the Hervey Bay and Maryborough City Councils with the Tiaro and Woocoo Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – Captain James Cook was the first European to sail passed along the Fraser Coast in 1770. He named Fraser Island and Herveys Bay after his boss the Lord of the Admiralty. Initially, he believed Fraser Island was a part of the mainland. Matthew Flinders was the next explorer to pass through the area in 1799, returning in 1802 to explore and map Hervey Bay. However, settlement didn't occur there until 1854 when H.E Aldridge bought large tracts of land for cattle grazing. In fact, the area around Maryborough was settled first in the 1840s after Andrew Petrie had sailed up the coast from Moreton Bay in search of a harbour. It was one of his crew members Stuart Russell who noted the potential of the Mary River as a possible harbour for wool. Maryborough was the first town in the region to be established in 1847. Other towns then began to be developed around the region. However, it was after gold was discovered in Gympie in 1867 that the development of the area particularly grew.
Indigenous Tribes – KabiKabi, WakaWaka, Badjala and Butchulla people.
Industries – Tourism, sugarcane, non-orchard fruit and citrus, livestock, Light and heavy engineering, timber, fruit packaging, and fishing.
- Fraser Island – World Heritage listed, Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and is one of the very few places where rainforest grows on the sand.
- Hervey Bay - Holiday homes were first established in the town during the 1860s but it remained a small fishing village until the 1950s when it became an attractive spot for Victorian retirees looking for a warmer climate. Now it is the Whale Watching Capital of the world with thousands of people visiting the area between July and November each year.
- Maryborough - One of Queensland's oldest cities, Maryborough arguably has the state's largest number of original Queenslanders from the 19th and 20th centuries.
- Tiaro
- Woocoo
190 KM North-West of Brisbane
(Formed following the amalgamation of the Kingaroy, Murgon, Nanango and Wondai Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – Europeans began settling in the South Burnett region in the early 1840s. Initially, the area was used for grazing for sheep and cattle. The first property was established in the Nanango area in 1842 by the Scott Family who established Taromeo Station on top of the Blackbutt range near the present town of Blackbutt. Nanango was the first township to be established in 1848 when prospector Jacob Goode opened an inn next to a waterhole. Growth for the rest of the region was slow until the development of the railway line between Kilkivan and Nanango in the early 1900s.
Indigenous Tribes – WakkaWakka, Garumga, Kaiabara and Djakunda people.
Industries – beef, cattle, power generation, dairy, poultry, grain, peanuts, dairying, maize, navy beans, soybeans, pigs, sunflowers, olives, forestry, small crops, tourism and vineyards.
- Kingaroy – Peanut and Baked Bean Capital of Australia
- Taabinga – The location of Bethany (the home of Sir Joh and Lady Flo Bjelke Peterson – Queensland’s most well known former Premier).
- Murgon – home of the major fossil site discovered in the 1930s. It has the oldest known fossils of Tertiary Mammals. It also boasts the largest vineyard in the state.
- Blackbutt-Benarkin – established in 1889 when land was voluntarily ceded from the Taromeo Station, it is often referred to as the timber town due to its strong links to the timber industry.
- Nanango – Queensland’s fourth oldest town, Nanango was the name of the property owned by early settler William Oliver
- Maidenwell/Dundabah – gateway to the Bunya Mountains and is also home to Queensland’s largest privately owned public astronomical observatory.
- Wondai
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