Townsville City
North Queensland's unofficial capital, the City of Townsville, encompasses Townsville and surrounding rural and urban areas, including Alligator Creek, Woodstock and Reid River to the south, the Northern Beaches and Paluma to the north and the tourist/dormitory suburb of Magnetic Island. Before 2008, the new City of Townsville comprised two distinct local government entities: the former City of Townsville and the City of Thuringowa.
The City of Townsville was initially established as the Borough of Townsville under the Municipal Institutions Act 1864 in February 1866, with the surrounding rural area given the name Thuringowa as one of seventy-four divisions under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. Thuringowa Division became the Shire of Thuringowa at the end of March 1903, with Townsville granted city status under the Local Authorities Act 1902.
AS Townsville's urban footprint grew, the municipality's boundaries were expanded in 1882, 1918, 1936, 1958 and 1964 to separate urban and rural administrations. However, over the years, Townsville had displayed a remarkable tendency to support radical figures, including the anarchist and socialist Alderman Ned Lowry, the Communist lawyer Fred Paterson, the pro-Soviet faction within the Labor Party and returned the most prolonged continuous Labor administration in the country, between 1976 and 2008.
Under those circumstances, since extending the city's borders might benefit the Australian Labor Party, the Bjelke-Petersen government froze the borders between the two local governments. By 1986, Thuringowa Shire had grown to a population of 27,000 and was declared a city. Following local government reform undertaken by the Queensland Government, the City of Townsville and Thuringowa amalgamated in 2008.] The amalgamation process was completed with the election of a new combined council on 15 March 2008.
Greater Townsville
Townsville City
Aitkenvale
Annandale
Belgian Gardens
Castle Hill
Cluden
Cosgrove
Cranbrook
Currajong
Douglas (includes James Cook University)
Garbutt
Gulliver
Heatley
Hermit Park
Hyde Park
Idalia
Mount Louisa
Mount St John
Mount Stuart
Mundingburra
Murray (includes Lavarack Barracks)
Mysterton
North Ward
Oonoonba
Pallarenda
Pimlico
Railway Estate
Rosslea
Rowes Bay
South Townsville
Stuart
Town Common
Townsville West
Vincent
West End
Wulguru
Rural Townsville
Alligator Creek
Barringha
Beach Holm (beach)
Bluehills
Brookhill
Calcium
Cape Cleveland
Clemant
Crimea
Crystal Creek
Cungulla
Granite Vale
Gumlow
Hervey Range
Hidden Valley
Julago
Lynam
Majors Creek
Mount Elliot
Nome
Oak Valley
Orpheus Island
Palm Island
Partington
Purono Park (beach)
Rangewood
Roseneath
Ross River
Rupertswood
Stuart
Toonpan
Woodstock
Islands
Magnetic Island
Arcadia
Florence Bay
Horseshoe Bay
Nelly Bay
Picnic Bay
Urban Thuringowa
Alice River
Bluewater (beach)
Bohle
Bohle Plains
Bushland Beach (beach)
Condon
Deeragun (beach)
Kelso
Kirwan
Pinnacles
Rasmussen
Thuringowa Central
Rural Thuringowa
Balgal Beach
Black River (beach)
Bluewater Park
Burdell (beach)
Jensen (beach)
Mount Low (beach)
Mutarnee
Paluma
Rollingstone
Saunders Beach (beach)
Shaw
Toolakea (beach)
Toomulla
Yabulu (beach)
