Shire of Livingstone

On 11 November 1879, the Gogango Division was established as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 5023.^[4][5] It covered an area of 16,239 km² (6,270 sq mi) surrounding but not including the town of Rockhampton—an area significantly greater than the modern Rockhampton Regional Council covers. Its administrative centre was in North Rockhampton.

Capital and people came to the area in greater numbers after the discovery of gold in 1882 at Mount Morgan, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Rockhampton.

A bridge was built spanning the Fitzroy River in 1882, and a year later in September 1883, the Borough of North Rockhampton was proclaimed.

On 3 March 1892, part of subdivision 2 of the Broadsound Division was transferred to subdivision 3 of the Gogango Division, while another part of subdivision 2 of the Broadsound Division was transferred to the Duaringa Division.^[6]

On 6 April 1899, the part of the Gogango Division south of the Fitzroy River split away to form the Fitzroy Division.^[7]

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Gogango Division became the Shire of Gogango on 31 March 1903, and on 8 August 1903 it was renamed Shire of Livingstone.^[8][9]

On 1 July 1984, the neighbouring City of Rockhampton grew to include some of its outer suburbs which had previously been within the Shire of Livingstone.

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Livingstone merged with the City of Rockhampton and the Shires of Mount Morgan and Fitzroy to form the Rockhampton Region.^[9][10]

In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Livingstone from the Rockhampton Region.^[11] On 9 March 2013, the citizens of the former Livingstone shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate. The Shire of Livingstone was re-established on 1 January 2014.^[12][13]

Proposed name change

Since de-amalgamation from Rockhampton Regional Council, there has been regular proposals for the shire to change its name.^{[14][15][16][17]} The name of Livingstone is believed to have been derived from Livingstone County in New South Wales which was named after Scottish explorer David Livingstone.^[18] However, because of the name's lack of geographical context, it's been argued by local government leaders and local organisations that the shire suffers from poor name recognition.^[19]

In March 2023, Livingstone mayor Andy Ireland requested a report detailing the positives and negatives associated with a name change.^[19] He expressed frustration at regularly being asked to explain where the Shire of Livingstone was, including during meetings with senior Australian Defence Force personnel and cabinet ministers from the Federal Government. Former mayor Bill Ludwig had previously expressed a similar sentiment in 2018, stating: "In Brisbane, people would be flat out knowing where Livingstone is, but as Capricorn Coast Regional Council, they would know it's a coastal destination."^[20]

Ireland also said that a change to the Capricorn Coast Region would assist with tourism marketing, with local tourism operators and organisation already having expressed a preference for such a name.^[19] However, this proposal has already received opposition from residents of rural towns situated away from the coast such as The Caves, Marlborough and Ogmore.^[21] The associated costs with changing the name of Livingstone has also prompted concern from the community.^[21]

The Shire of Livingstone includes the following settlements:

¹ - shared with Rockhampton Region
² - not to be confused with Bangalee in the Gladstone Region
³ - not to be confused with Maryvale in the Southern Downs Region

The city has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw), marking the southern boundary of this climatic zone, more precisely in the Byfield National Park.^[22]

The Livingstone Shire Council operates public libraries in Byfield, Marlborough, Emu Park, and Yeppoon. It also supports volunteer-operated libraries in Mount Chalmers and Stanage Bay.^[23]

Incorporating non-consecutive terms into the years of representation, the following were the chairmen and mayors of the Shire of Livingstone from its beginnings as the Gogango Divisional Board in 1879 to the end of its first incarnation in 2008:^[24]

• 1880 – 1898: Henry Jones
• 1882 – 1883: William Pattison
• 1883 – 1888: John Murray^[25]
• 1885 – 1886: Robert Lyons
• 1888 – 1902: James Atherton
• 1889 – 1891: John O'Shanesy
• 1891 – 1901: Henry Beak
• 1893 – 1895: Duncan McDonald
• 1900 – 1901: Jabez Wakefield
• 1902 – 1910: William Toft
• 1904 – 1909: Arthur Leslie Macdonald
• 1905 – 1908: Arthur Horatio Parnell
• 1910 – 1911: Thomas Henry John Atherton
• 1911 – 1913: Roderick Thomas Haylock
• 1913 – 1930: Thomas Smith
• 1915 – 1917: Samuel Thomasson
• 1921 – 1927: William Beak^[26]
• 1930 – 1933: William Francis Clayton
• 1933 – 1936: Owen Daniel^[27]
• 1936 – 1961: William Todd
• 1961 – 1982: Henry Robert Beak
• 1964 – 1970: John Barrett Hinz
• 1976 – 1985: Royston Warwick Wall
• 1985 – 1986: Lindsay Hartwig^[28]
• 1986 – 1991: Thomas Arthur John Bowen
• 1991 – 2000: Barbara Ann Wildin
• 2000 – 2008: Bill Ludwig

The following were the mayors of Shire of Livingstone from the beginning of its second incarnation in 2014 to the present day:

• 2014 – 2020 : Bill Ludwig^[29][30]
• 2020 – 2024: Andrew Darryl Ireland^[31]
• 2024 – present : Adam John Belot^[32]

2024

23°07′44.3″S 150°44′41.5″E / 23.128972°S 150.744861°E / -23.128972; 150.744861