78-716: The Shire of Burke is a local government area in North West Queensland , Australia. The shire lies on the south coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria and abuts the border with the Northern Territory . It covers an area of 39,864 square kilometres (15,391.6 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1885. The major town and administrative centre of the shire is Burketown . The shire and town are named in honour of ill-fated explorer Robert O'Hara Burke . The Gangalidda name for Burketown
156-588: A unitary authority , but the Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to the whole of the ACT as an unincorporated area. The ACT Government directorate Transport Canberra & City Services handles responsibilities that are under the purview of local government in other parts of Australia, such as local road maintenance, libraries and waste collection. Many Canberra districts have community organisations called "community councils", but these are not part of
234-425: A "mecca" for soaring pilots who surf the giant atmospheric wave in their gliders. Gliding flights of over 500 kilometres (310 mi) have become common. Burketown State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 51 Beames Street ( 17°44′20″S 139°32′52″E / 17.7389°S 139.5478°E / -17.7389; 139.5478 ( Burketown State School ) ). In 2017,
312-591: A geographic or historical interpretation. The council board members are generally known as councillors , and the head councillor is called the mayor . As of August 2016, there were 547 local councils in Australia. Despite the single tier of local governance in Australia, there are a number of extensive regions with relatively low populations that are not a part of any established LGA. Powers of local governments in these unincorporated areas may be exercised by special-purpose governing bodies established outside of
390-545: A larger workload. The growth of the Regional Organisations of Councils has also been a factor in local government reform in Australia. In 1995, there were 50 such agreements across the country. A 2002 study identified 55 ROCs with the largest involving 18 councils. Local government powers are determined by state governments, and states have primary responsibility for funding and exclusive responsibility for supervision of local councils. Local government
468-557: A population of 204 people. It is located 898 kilometres or 558 miles west of Cairns and 227 kilometres or 141 miles west of Normanton on the Albert River and Savannah Way in the area known as the Gulf Savannah . Burketown is located on the Albert River 2,115 kilometres (1,314 mi) to the north west of the state capital, Brisbane , with the nearest larger town being Normanton , 227 kilometres (141 mi) to
546-399: A population of 238 people. In the 2021 census , the locality of Burketown had a population of 204 people. Burketown has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Burketown has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSh ), though closely bordering on a tropical savanna climate ( Aw ), characterised by hot, humid summers with erratic rainfall and warm, extremely dry winters. December is
624-599: A port and supply centre for his extensive properties in the Gulf country. Towns chartered a small vessel the Jacmel Packet and on 12 June 1865 it arrived off the mouth of the Albert River. The goods were eventually landed on the present site of Burketown. Towns, a prominent Sydney pastoralist and financier, also established Townsville in the same year. By September 1865 the population was about 40 and by October
702-403: A shift from 'services to property' towards 'services to people'. Community expectations of local government in Australia have risen in the 21st century partly as a result of wider participation in decision-making and transparent management practices. Recent years have seen some State governments devolving additional powers onto LGAs. In Queensland and Western Australia LGAs have been granted
780-416: A store and a hotel were under construction, the balance of buildings were humpies . Rations and grog were plentiful but already one evil was noted: prices for goods were so high that some intended settlers could not stay. The town grew; however currency, both notes and coins, were so short in early Burketown that the business people issued their own currency, dubbed "shinplaster" or "calabashers". These were in
858-413: Is Mungibi meaning ‘little Island’ for the fact that flooding in the wet season often isolates the town. From the months of August to November, a rare meteorological phenomenon known as " Morning Glory " – long, tubular clouds, some up to 1000 km in length – are often observed in the skies above Burke Shire. The shire contains Boodjamulla National Park (formerly called Lawn Hill National Park) and
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#1732798783126936-615: Is an airstrip. It no longer functions as tourist accommodation. The Burke Shire Council operate public library in Burketown . The populations below exclude the Aboriginal community of Doomadgee , which hovered between 800-1000 residents for most of the period under consideration. 17°44′10″S 139°32′56″E / 17.73611°S 139.54889°E / -17.73611; 139.54889 Local government in Australia [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Local government
1014-458: Is at the health centre ( 17°43′57″S 139°32′56″E / 17.7325°S 139.5488°E / -17.7325; 139.5488 ( Burketown Ambulance Station ) ). Burketown Cemetery is on an unnamed road immediately north of the hospital on Truganini Road ( 17°43′14″S 139°32′36″E / 17.7206°S 139.5433°E / -17.7206; 139.5433 ( Burketown Cemetery ) ). The sewage treatment plant
1092-524: Is estimated that Chinese people outnumbered those of European ancestry north of the tropic of Capricorn. Chinese migration into Queensland’s Gulf Country probably peaked in the early 1890s, just before the institution of the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act 1891 (Qld). This law aimed to prevent the arrival of Chinese through the introduction of a £10 poll tax—an amount equivalent to six months’ wages for an average worker at
1170-473: Is known as the Barramundi capital of Australia and holds an annual Barramundi Fishing Competition during Easter. Escott Station , which includes a tourist lodge, is about 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Burketown. Burketown is believed to be the basis of “Willstown” (named after Burke's fellow explorer Wills) in the novel A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute . In the novel, the town has little in
1248-531: Is mentioned in the annotated Australian constitution, as a department of the State Governments, and they are mentioned in the constitutions of each of the six states. Under the Constitution, the federal government cannot provide funding directly to local governments; a 1974 referendum sought to amend the Constitution to authorise the federal government to directly fund local governments, but it
1326-537: Is off to the north of the Wills Developmental Road ( 17°44′24″S 139°32′04″E / 17.7399°S 139.5344°E / -17.7399; 139.5344 ( sewage treatment plant ) ). The water treatment plant is to the north-west of the sewage treatment plant ( 17°44′21″S 139°32′14″E / 17.7391°S 139.5371°E / -17.7391; 139.5371 ( water treatment plant ) ). These are operated by
1404-479: Is on the south-east corner of Musgrave Street and Beames Street ( 17°44′28″S 139°32′54″E / 17.7410°S 139.5482°E / -17.7410; 139.5482 ( Burketown SES Facility ) ). Burketown Primary Health Care Clinic is a small public hospital on Truganini Road ( 17°43′57″S 139°32′56″E / 17.7324°S 139.5490°E / -17.7324; 139.5490 ( health centre ) ). Burketown Ambulance Station
1482-447: Is part of a local government area. Unincorporated areas are often in remote locations, cover vast areas, or have very small populations. Queensland and Tasmania are entirely partitioned into LGAs and have no unincorporated areas. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has no municipalities. The ACT government is responsible for both state-level and local-level matters. In some countries, such an arrangement would be referred to as
1560-504: Is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state/territory it belongs to. The functions and practices of local councils are mostly centered around managing public services and land uses at the community level, and are similar throughout Australia, but can vary to some degree between jurisdictions. State departments oversee the activities of local councils and may intervene in their affairs when needed, subject to relevant legislation. For more details in each state and territory, see
1638-640: Is the City of Brisbane , the most populous LGA in the country, which administers a significant part of the Brisbane metropolitan area . In most cases, when a city's population statistics are used, it is the statistical division population rather than the local government area. The following table provides a summary of local government areas by states and territories by local government area types as of December 2023: The Australian Classification of Local Governments (ACLG) categorises local governing authorities using
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#17327987831261716-583: Is the third level of government in Australia , administered with limited autonomy under the states and territories , and in turn beneath the federal government . Local government is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia , and two referendums in 1974 and 1988 to alter the Constitution relating to local government were unsuccessful. Every state/territory government recognises local government in its own respective constitution . Unlike
1794-540: The Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee and Shire of Mornington . Yulluna (also known as Yalarnga, Yalarrnga, Jalanga, Jalannga, Wonganja, Gunggalida, Jokula) is an Australian Aboriginal language . The Yulluna language region includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Cloncurry and other areas near the Gulf of Carpentaria . Garrwa (also known as Garawa) is a language of the Gulf region, taking in
1872-698: The Burketown Airport which has a regular passenger service from Regional Express Airlines and is also the primary base of Savannah Aviation, which provides aircraft charter services throughout the Gulf, far north/western Queensland and the Northern Territory. Burketown Police Station is in Gregory Street ( 17°44′36″S 139°32′50″E / 17.7432°S 139.5473°E / -17.7432; 139.5473 ( Burketown Police Station ) ). Burketown SES Facility
1950-664: The Local Government Act does not mandate adopting a designation, some local government areas are legally known simply as "council", such as Port Macquarie-Hastings Council , Inner West Council and Federation Council . Some rural areas in South Australia are known as "district council", and all the LGAs in Tasmania that were previously municipalities have been renamed "council". Almost all local councils have
2028-438: The Northern Territory coastline. At first, hopes the town would develop into a major settlement in north-western Queensland were high. However, from 1866 tropical diseases ravaged the population. The vessel "Margaret and Mary" from Sydney came into port rife with "Gulf Fever" (never properly identified, but thought to be either malaria or typhoid ). Estimates of the numbers who died vary from 25 to 100 people. The majority of
2106-485: The Outback Communities Authority . Victoria has a number of unincorporated areas which are not part of any LGA: Western Australia has two unincorporated areas: Burketown, Queensland Download coordinates as: Burketown is an isolated outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Burke , Queensland , Australia. In the 2021 census , the locality of Burketown had
2184-667: The Pastoral Unincorporated Area in South Australia . Local governments are subdivisions of the six federated states as well as the Northern Territory . The Australian Capital Territory has no separate local government, and municipal functions in Canberra and the surrounding regions (normally performed by local governments in other states) are performed by the ACT territorial government. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), however, considers
2262-805: The Top End region, the Northern Territory Rates Act Area and Darwin Waterfront Precinct within Darwin , Nhulunbuy on the Gove Peninsula , Alyangula on Groote Eylandt , and Yulara in Central Australia . In South Australia , 63% of the state's area is unincorporated. Residents in this area – less than 0.2% of the state's population – receive municipal services provided by a state agency,
2340-618: The World Heritage Site Riversleigh fossil fields. The Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee lies inside Burke Shire to the west of Burketown. It also includes Gregory Downs . In the 2021 census , the Shire of Burke had a population of 419 people. Yukulta (also known as Ganggalida) is an Australian Aboriginal language . The Yukulta language region is the Gulf Country including the local government areas of
2418-589: The 1840s. This route, some 1780 kilometres from Darwin to Burketown, is estimated to have taken about three months to traverse. Many of those who attempted it were arrested as soon as they arrived in Queensland, near Burketown and kept in the Burketown Gaol for a time. However, others managed to evade arrest and remain in the Gulf Country at this time, and for a long time thereafter, coming to live on
Shire of Burke - Misplaced Pages Continue
2496-576: The Burke Shire Council. The Burke Shire Council operates a public library at Lot 65, Musgrave Street. There is a barge/boat ramp with jetty and pontoon on Truganina Road on the north bank of the Albert River ( 17°44′00″S 139°35′33″E / 17.7333°S 139.5925°E / -17.7333; 139.5925 ( Truganini Road barge/boat ramp ) ). It is managed by the Burke Shire Council . Burketown
2574-829: The Burketown area became concerned that their rates were likely to be spent on the Normanton area rather than their own and began to agitate for their own division west of the Leichhardt River . On 30 January 1885, the Burke Division was created from lands formerly within the Carpentaria Division with some adjustments to the Cloncurry Division . On 31 March 1903, Burke Division became the Shire of Burke. The Shire of Burke includes
2652-467: The Chinese skills in vegetable production were well employed. This source of fresh food was very important in countering scurvy, the scourge of remote places as well as ships at sea. The garden supplied Burketown and exported some produce to Thursday Island. No details are known of the names of the producers or of the volume of their export trade, but it seems likely that they could have been associated with
2730-419: The Gulf region were removed to Mornington Island Mission and other missions and Aboriginal reserves further south. Queensland Government records indicate that over 160 people were removed from Burketown between 1900 and 1974. On 2 August 1841, Captain J. Lort Stokes was the first European to discover the mouth of a river, which he named the "Albert" after Albert, Prince Consort . Stokes' party ascended
2808-537: The crew and passengers of ship including the captain's wife died. Many of the dead were buried in a mass grave in Burketown Cemetery. Landsborough evacuated the survivors to Sweers Island for a period of 18 months, where a further two died and were buried on the island. At the first land sales in the town on 14 August 1867, 75 allotments were sold. The town was devastated by a tropical cyclone on 5 March 1887 which flooded almost all of Burketown. Only
2886-400: The district is delighted with the wholesale slaughter dealt out by the native police". The newspaper paid "thanks" to those involved in "ridding the district of fifty-nine (59) myalls" or local Aboriginal people. Burketown was used by explorer Francis Cadell as a staging point for refitting and refuelling the steamer Eagle and collecting mail and fresh supplies during his 1867–68 survey of
2964-559: The division was so large (being the area surrounding the southern part of the Gulf of Carpentaria ) and was very sparsely settled. Nonetheless some of the citizens were unhappy about this. Consequently, on 11 January 1883, the Doonmunya Division was abolished and a new Carpentaria Division was created to replace it. However, once the Carpentaria Divisional Board became operational, the residents of
3042-495: The east, and the nearest city being Mount Isa , 425 kilometres (264 mi) to the south. The town is roughly 30 kilometres (19 mi) inland from the Gulf of Carpentaria . It is located 898 kilometres (558 mi) west of Cairns via the Savannah Way passing through the area known as the Gulf Savannah . The town is the administrative centre of the Burke Shire Council . Aboriginal Australian peoples had inhabited
3120-453: The entire ACT as an " unincorporated " local government area, even though it is technically a state-level administrative region . Although all essentially identical in functions and jurisdictions, Australian local governments have a variety of different titles. The term "local government area" (LGA) is used by the ABS to collectively refer to all local government administrative zones regardless of
3198-504: The first half of the 20th century was the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sewerage. From the 1970s the emphasis changed to community facilities such as libraries and parks, maintenance of local roads, town planning and development approvals, and local services such as waste disposal. Child care, tourism and urban renewal were also beginning to be part of local governments' role. These are financed by collection of local land taxes known as "rates", and grants from
Shire of Burke - Misplaced Pages Continue
3276-464: The first official race meeting was held 25 July 1866 with prize money at $ 200 (sic). In October 1868 Towns and Co traded wool, tallow, hides and skins between Sweers Island and Batavia . Burketown Post Office opened on 1 July 1866, closed in 1871 and reopened in 1883. In the same year, settlement of the region heavily impacted upon the sovereign Indigenous peoples . With their lands stolen and hunting grounds denied, local Aboriginal peoples hunted
3354-446: The first recorded successful south-north crossing of the continent in 1860-1. The first European settlers arrived in the local region not long after Burke and partner William John Wills ' expedition . By the mid-1860s, several cattle stations - including Gregory Downs, Floraville, and Donors Hill - had been founded inland from the present site of Burketown. Burketown was formally established in 1865 by Robert Towns , chiefly to serve as
3432-448: The first time. Significant reforms took place in the 1980s and 1990s in which state governments used metrics and efficiency analysis developed within the private sector in the local government arena. Each state conducted an inquiry into the benefits of council amalgamations during the 1990s. In the early 1990s, Victoria saw the number of local councils reduced from 210 to 78. South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland saw some reductions in
3510-572: The following settlements: Escott Station derives its name from its 1869 ownership by the English, Scottish, Australian Pastoral Co. In 1942, an American Liberator bomber crashed at Moonlight Creek, which was then a part of Escott. As the cattle station became less viable in the 1970s, it was opened up to tourists, and the Escott Barramundi Lodge was established in 1979. The homestead is located at 17°43'59"S, 139°25'0"E, and there
3588-415: The following: The Australian Capital Territory is not divided into local government areas, so it is regarded as a single "unincorporated" local government area during censusing . Unlike many other countries, Australia has only one level of local government immediately beneath state and territorial governments. Aside from very sparsely populated areas and a few other special cases, almost all of Australia
3666-409: The form of IOU's hand printed on tissue paper so that they had as short a life as possible. In February 1866 Lieutenant Wentworth D'Arcy UHR with 8 troopers and accompanied by William Landsborough , the first Police Magistrate, rode into Burketown where everyone carried a pistol and where a successful shop keeper could ride well, shoot well and be an able pugilist. The pioneer spirit was indomitable and
3744-419: The fringes of Burketown at Woods Lake and Hookeys Lagoon, as well as on stations and around mines. While living separately from other Australians, many of these men became close to Aboriginal people, conceiving children with Aboriginal wives and many people in the area today have Chinese heritage. Records show that Woods Lake with its excellent water supply was then the site of a flourishing market garden, where
3822-501: The government (though they generally receive government funding). They do not have the power to change laws or policies, and their role is limited to advising government. They are effectively residents' associations . New South Wales has three unincorporated areas: In the Northern Territory , 1.47% of the total area and 3.0% of the population are in unincorporated areas. These include the Cox-Daly and Marrakai-Douglas Daly areas in
3900-675: The highest part of town, near where the Council Office is currently located, escaped the waters from the Gulf of Carpentaria. A copy of a 1918 report to the Queensland Parliament from the Department of Harbours and Rivers Engineers refers to the sea rising to 5.5 metres above the highest spring tide level at the Albert River Heads. This level is about 8 metres above Australian Height Datum. Seven people of
3978-572: The horses of the settlers. Retribution by the settlers was enacted under Sub Inspector Uhr and was assisted by the arrival of the Queensland Native Police . A massacre of 30 Aboriginal people took place after 12 horses were killed. A further 29 Aboriginal people were murdered shortly afterwards by shooting and bludgeoning. As the Burketown correspondent of the Port Dennison Times reported on 4 June 1868, "everybody in
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#17327987831264056-408: The hottest month, with average maximum temperatures rising to 35.4 °C (95.7 °F). Rainfall is minimal from April to November, but from December to March monthly rainfalls of over 500 millimetres (20 in) and daily falls over 250 millimetres (10 in) are not rare. Flooding, often associated with the passage of a tropical cyclone, often isolates the community for months, whilst failure of
4134-577: The local legislation, as with Victoria 's alpine resorts ; or directly administered by state/territory governments, such as the entirety of the Australian Capital Territory . The administrative area covered by local government councils in Australia ranges from as small as 1.5 km (0.58 sq mi) for the Shire of Peppermint Grove in the Perth metropolitan region , to as big as 624,339 km (241,059 sq mi) for
4212-641: The localities of Borroloola and Westmoreland. The Garrwa language region takes in the landscape of the Roper Gulf Regional Council and the Doomadgee Shire Council . The Doonmunya Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 396. However, the divisional board appeared to be completely inactive, perhaps because
4290-494: The mayor is elected by the board of fellow councillors . The powers of mayors vary as well; for example, mayors in Queensland have broad executive functions, whereas mayors in New South Wales are essentially ceremonial figureheads who can only exercise power at the discretion of the council. Most of the capital city LGAs administer only the central business districts and nearby central suburbs . A notable exception
4368-631: The names of LGAs, and today the stylised titles of " town ", " borough ", " municipality ", " district ", " region ", "community government", " Aboriginal council/shire" and "island" are used in addition. The word "municipality" occurs in some states with differing meanings: in New South Wales it is typically used for older urban areas, and the word is used for some rural towns in South Australia . Larger towns and small metropolitan exurban centres in Queensland and Western Australia simply use
4446-649: The number of local governments while Western Australia and New South Wales rejected compulsory mergers. New South Wales eventually forced the merging of some councils. The main purpose of amalgamating councils was for greater efficiency and to improve operations, but forced amalgamation of councils is sometimes seen as a dilution of representative democracy . An increase in the range of services offered by councils, but only minor cost savings of less than 10% have been noted by academics as outcomes after mergers. The council mergers have resulted in widespread job losses and lingering resentment from some whose roles have experienced
4524-619: The part of local governments. There is no mention of local government in the Constitution of Australia , though it is mentioned several times in the Annotated Constitution of Australia. "Municipal institutions and local government" appears in Annotation 447, and "Power of the Parliament of a Colony" appears under "Residuary Legislative Powers" on pages 935 and 936. The first official local government in Australia
4602-487: The population of 138 died in the cyclone. Burketown State School opened on 26 April 1888. Large numbers of Chinese men and others from a wide variety of backgrounds also came to the Gulf Country after colonisation. The came to northern Australia following the discovery of gold around the Palmer River in northeast Queensland and at Pine Creek in the Northern Territory in the 1870s. By the late nineteenth century, it
4680-818: The population, the population density and the proportion of the population that is classified as being urban for the council. The classification, at the two-digit level, is: All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers, although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and the Gold Coast command more resources due to their larger population base. Unlike local governments in many other countries, services such as police, fire protection and schools are provided by respective state or territory governments rather than by local councils. However, local governments still maintain some responsibility for fire service functions within Queensland and Western Australia. The councils' chief responsibility in
4758-414: The power to independently enact their own local subsidiary legislation , in contrast to the previous system of by-laws . Councils also have organised their own representative structures such as Local Government Associations and Regional Organisations of Councils . Doctrines of New Public Management have shaped state government legislation towards increased freedoms aiming to allow greater flexibility on
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#17327987831264836-538: The purpose of raising money to build roads in rural and outer-urban regions. Council representatives attended conventions before Federation , however local government was unquestionably regarded as outside the Constitutional realm. In the 1970s, the Whitlam government expanded the level of funding to local governments in Australia beyond grants for road construction. General purpose grants become available for
4914-405: The region for millennia before European explorers travelled the area. Archeologists and linguists pinpoint the area surrounding Burketown as the urheimat of Pama–Nyungan languages spoken across almost all of the continent. The Yukulta / Gangalidda and Garawa peoples are recognised as the traditional owners of the Burketown area. Native title was recognised on 1 April 2015. A mission
4992-534: The river for a distance of 50 river miles in a long boat in a search of fresh water. Having followed a bumper wet season Stokes was greeted by endless grassy plains, which he named "The Plains of Promise" after a day of exploration. The area was originally named for the 'Plains of Promise' or 'Province of Albert' after Prince Albert, the Queen's Consort in 1841. Burketown, or "Burke Town", was named in honour of explorer Robert O'Hara Burke , who died shortly after making
5070-408: The same administrative functions and similar political structures, regardless of their naming, and retain a particular designation ("shire", "borough", "town", "city") for historical reasons only. They will typically have an elected council and usually a mayor or shire president responsible for chairing meetings of the council. In some councils, the mayor is a directly elected figure, but in most cases
5148-407: The school had an enrolment of 23 students with 3 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 27 students with 3 teachers and 7 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Burketown. The closest secondary schools are in Normanton , 227 kilometres (141 mi) to the east and Mount Isa , 425 kilometres (264 mi) to
5226-574: The south. There are also opportunities for students to complete their education by way of boarding school or via the Mt Isa School of Distance Education . Burketown has a post office, council office, service station, small general stores/ take-away shops, bakery and butcher caravan park, outpost hospital and a hotel. It is serviced by the Royal Flying Doctor Service from Mount Isa Base. The Burke Shire Council operate
5304-493: The state and Commonwealth governments. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the "three Rs": Rates, Roads and Rubbish. However, the roles of local government areas in Australia have recently expanded as higher levels of government have devolved activities to the third tier. Examples include the provision of community health services, regional airports and pollution control as well as community safety and accessible transport. The changes in services has been described as
5382-455: The summer rains can be extreme — for instance in the 1901/1902 wet season no more than 172 millimetres (6.77 in) fell and the drought caused the death of millions of cattle. From the months of August to November, a rare meteorological phenomenon known as " Morning Glory " - long, tubular clouds, some up to 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) in length - is often observed in the skies above Burketown. The Morning Glory has become something of
5460-621: The term "town", while in Victoria they are designated as "rural city". Historically, the word "borough" was common for small towns and suburban centers in Victoria, but nowadays only the Borough of Queenscliffe remains as the one and only borough in the entire country. New South Wales and Queensland have also introduced a new term "region" for outback LGAs formed by the amalgamation of smaller shires and rural cities. In New South Wales, where
5538-420: The time. For a Chinese person to legally emigrate from the Northern Territory to Queensland in this period, it would have cost this tax in addition to the cost of a steamer from Darwin to Townsville, which was £5 in 1898—a prohibitive expense. To avoid this cost, many Chinese attempted to walk overland to Queensland, mostly following the coastal track through the southern Gulf Country that Leichhardt pioneered in
5616-468: The two Chinese, Lee Gee and Jimmy Ah Fin who were the local bakers in Burketown at the time. The Burketown Hotel, established in 1920 in a building originally used as the customs bond store, was destroyed by fire in 2012. The Albert Hotel building, originally the Burketown customs house is believed to date from the 1860s. Another famous Burketown Hotel, the Commonwealth, was built in around 1926, but
5694-756: The two-tier local government system in Canada or the United States , there is only one tier of local government in each Australian state/territory, with no distinction between counties and cities . The Australian local government is generally run by a council , and its territory of public administration is referred to generically by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the local government area or LGA , each of which encompasses multiple suburbs or localities (roughly equivalent to neighborhoods) often of different postcodes ; however, stylised terms such as "city", " borough ", " region " and " shire " also have
5772-501: The varying designations, whilst the local governing legislature itself is generally known as a council . In general, an urban / suburban LGA is called a " city ", as in the City of Melbourne , City of Canada Bay and City of Bunbury ; while an exurban / rural LGA covering a larger agricultural / natural area is usually called a " shire ", as in Shire of Mornington Peninsula , Shire of Banana and Lachlan Shire . Sometimes designations other than "city" or "shire" are used in
5850-417: Was also destroyed by fire in 1954. Burketown's population peaked at 265 in 1911. On 22 March 2012, the 92-year-old pub was destroyed in an early morning fire. The pub was subsequently rebuilt. In the 2006 census , the town of Burketown had a population of 173 people. In the 2011 census , the locality of Burketown had a population of 201 people. In the 2016 census , the locality of Burketown had
5928-539: Was defeated. A 1988 referendum sought to explicitly insert mention of local government in the federal constitution but this was comprehensively defeated. A further referendum was proposed in 2013 , but was cancelled due to the change in the election date . Federal government interaction with local councils happens regularly through the provision of federal grants to help fund local government managed projects. Local government in Australia has very limited legislative powers and no judicial powers , and executive -wise
6006-599: Was established in 1930 at Burketown by Len and Dorothy Akehurst, who were members of the Christian Brethren . In 1932–33 the Akehursts moved the mission to Bayley Point , near Doomadgee , about 100 kilometres (62 mi) away, at the request of the Aboriginal people, creating Dumaji, or the Old Doomadgee Mission. Prior to the establishment of Doomadgee Mission , many Aboriginal children in
6084-621: Was the Perth Town Trust , established in 1838, only three years after British settlement. The Adelaide Corporation followed, created by the province of South Australia in October 1840. The City of Melbourne and the Sydney Corporation followed, both in 1842. All of these early forms failed; it was not until the 1860s and 1870s that the various colonies established widespread stable forms of local government, mainly for
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