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.
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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.
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 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 Nick Dametto.
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 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
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: Burdell, Bluewater, Deeragun, Elliot Springs (Julago), Nelly Bay (Magnetic Island), Rollingstone, Saunders Beach, and Woodstock.
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