The Shire of Burdekin is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia in the Dry Tropics region. The district is located between Townsville and Bowen in the delta of the Burdekin River. The shire covers an area of 5,044 square kilometres (1,947 sq mi).
It has existed as a local government entity since 1888. In the 2021 census, the Shire of Burdekin had a population of 16,692 people.
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History
Yuru (also known as Juru, Euronbba, Juru, Mal Mal, Malmal) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuru country. The Yuru language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Shire of Burdekin, including the town of Home Hill.
On 16 January 1888, the Ayr Division was created out of Subdivision 3 of the Thuringowa Division in 1888 under the Divisional Boards Act 1887.
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Ayr Division became the Shire of Ayr on 31 March 1903.
On 12 June 1982, the Shire of Ayr was renamed the Shire of Burdekin, a change long desired by the residents of Home Hill.
Council members were elected to represent different divisions within the shire until the election of March 1994 at which all council members are elected by all shire residents. The title of Mayor replaced the former title of Shire Chairman and the title of Shire Clerk was replaced by Chief Executive Officer from that same election.
New shire chambers were opened on 9 October 1999. The cost was $2.8 million.
From 2000, council elections were held every four years to elect a mayor and ten councillors. From 2008, this was reduced to a mayor and six councillors.
Facilities
The public library headquarters of the Burdekin Shire Council Library Services is located at 108 Graham Street, Ayr. The Burdekin Shire also operate a public library in Home Hill at 77–79 Ninth Avenue. Both libraries opened in 1984.
Towns and localities
The Shire of Burdekin includes the following settlements:
Demographics
In the 2021 census, the Burdekin Shire had a population of 16,692 people. 37.0% described their ancestry as Australian. This is followed by 34.5% who described their ancestry as English, then Italian (17.2%), Scottish (10.6%) and Irish at 10.2%. 84.7% spoke only English at home followed by the next most common languages: 2.0% Italian, 0.3% Afrikaans, 0.3% Greek, 0.3% Vietnamese and 0.3% Pidgin. Indigenous Australians were listed as making up 6.6% of the Burdekin population.
Council
Below is the current council, elected in 2024: