Cassowary Coast Region
The Cassowary Coast Region is a local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns, centred on the towns of Innisfail, Cardwell, and Tully. It was created in 2008 from a merger of Cardwell and Johnstone Shires.
Both former shires were originally part of the Hinchinbrook Division, one of the seventy-four Divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. The Johnstone Division split away from Hinchinbrook in October 1881; Cardwell followed in January 1884. Both became shires at the end of March 1903.
Although the 2007 Local Government Reform Commission report recommended that Cardwell and Johnstone merge, Cardwell was particularly opposed because Johnstone was rated as "financially distressed", and the Queensland government had recently sacked its council. Still, the amalgamation proceeded, coming into effect on 15 March 2008.
The Cassowary Coast Region includes the following localities:
Greater Innisfail area
Greater Tully area
Johnstone area
