Population 33,799 (2015) Website Western Downs Region Area 38,039 km² Mayor Paul McVeigh | Established 2008 Founded 2008 | |
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Points of interest Miles Historical Village a, Pioneer Park Museum, Chinchilla Historical Museum, Lake Broadwater Conserva, Myall Park Botanic Garden Destinations | ||
Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of 38,039 square kilometres (14,687 sq mi), which is approximately the same size as the country of Switzerland, although with a population at the last census of close to 33,000, it is over 235 times less densely populated.
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Map of Western Downs, QLD, Australia
The area is home to prime farming land and thus agriculture is a major industry in the area. Dalby, the biggest town in the region is home to the second largest cattle saleyards in Australia. The Dalby Saleyards process over 200 000 cattle annually in its state of the art facility which is comparable to Rockhampton and Casino.
The Western Downs Regional Council's Corporate Office is situated at 30 Marble Street, Dalby QLD 4405.
History
Western Downs Region was created in March 2008 as a result of the report of the Local Government Reform Commission released in July 2007.
Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the new Region, located in the Darling Downs region, consisted the entire area of five previous local government areas:
The report recommended that the new local government area should not be divided into wards and elect ten councillors and a mayor. The report estimated that the resident population in 2006 was 30,018 and the operating budget was A$74 million.
Originally called Dalby Region, a name change to Western Downs was approved in August 2009. The name change was greeted positively by residents as they felt the name was more inclusive and a better representation of the area. The name "Western Downs" stems from the phrase Darling Downs, and as the name suggests; the area to the west of the downs.
Towns and localities
The Western Downs Region includes the following settlements:
1 - shared with the Shire of Banana
Population
Mayors
Councillors
The councillors electored in 2016 were:
*was representative of a region pre-amalgamation