The Shire of Johnstone was a Local Government Area of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. It was located on the Coral Sea

Coral Sea

The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands...

 coast about 90 kilometres (55.9 mi) south of the city of Cairns

Cairns, Queensland

Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...

. The shire, administered from the town of Innisfail

Innisfail, Queensland

Innisfail is a town located in the far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the major township of the Cassowary Coast and is well renowned for its sugar and banana industries, as well as for being one of Australia's wettest towns...

, covered an area of 1639.1 square kilometres (632.9 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1881 until 2008, when it amalgamated with the Shire of Cardwell

Shire of Cardwell

The Shire of Cardwell was a Local Government Area of Queensland. It was located on the Coral Sea coast about halfway between the cities of Cairns and Townsville...

 to form the Cassowary Coast Region.

The Mamu

Mamu

The Mamu are an Indigenous Australian people from the coastal and rainforest region of Far North Queensland. They inhabited the region of the Johnstone River at Innisfail, from Murdering Point in the south to Tolga in the north.-Survival:...

 tribal group are the traditional owners of much of the land in the shire. 47% of the shire is in the Wet Tropics

Wet Tropics of Queensland

The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km² of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range, stretching from Townsville to Cooktown, running in close parallel to the Great Barrier Reef...

 World Heritage Area

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

.

History

The Hinchinbrook Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 28 October 1881, the Johnstone Division split away from it. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Johnstone became a shire on 31 March 1903.

In February 2007, the Johnstone Shire Council was sacked by the Queensland Local Government Minister, Andrew Fraser

Andrew Fraser (Queensland politician)

Andrew Peter Fraser is an Australian politician in the Queensland State Parliament. He was first elected into the Queensland Legislative Assembly on the 7 February 2004...

On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland

Parliament of Queensland

The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. According to the state's constitution, the Parliament consists of the Queen and the Legislative Assembly. It is the only unicameral state parliament in the country, the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, having been...

 on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Johnstone merged with the Shire of Cardwell

Shire of Cardwell

The Shire of Cardwell was a Local Government Area of Queensland. It was located on the Coral Sea coast about halfway between the cities of Cairns and Townsville...

 to form the Cassowary Coast Region.

Towns and localities

• Innisfail
  Innisfail, Queensland
  Innisfail is a town located in the far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the major township of the Cassowary Coast and is well renowned for its sugar and banana industries, as well as for being one of Australia's wettest towns...
  
  
  • Belvedere
  • Eaton
  • East Innisfail
  • Goondi
  • Goondi Bend
  • Goondi Hill
  • Hudson
  • Innisfail Estate
  • Jubilee Heights
  • Mighell
  • South Innisfail
  • Webb

• Bingil Bay
• Comoon Loop
• Cowley
• Daradgee
• East Palmerston
• El Arish
  El Arish, Queensland
  El Arish is a small town in Queensland, Australia named after a city in Egypt. At the 2006 census, El Arish had a population of 232.The town was founded in 1921 as a Soldier settlement area. The area was later settled by Italian Australians who worked in the sugar cane fields...
  
  
• Etty Bay
• Flying Fish Point
• Garradunga
• Germantown
• Japoonvale
• Kurrimine Beach
• Mena Creek
• Mission Beach
  Mission Beach, Queensland
  Mission Beach is a small village along the Coral Sea in Queensland, Australia. The popular tourist destination of Dunk Island lies 4 km offshore.-History:...
  
  
• Moresby
• Mourilyan
  Mourilyan, Queensland
  Mourilyan is a town in Queensland, Australia. The town is located south of Innisfail on the Bruce Highway. It was established around the Mourilyan sugar mill which provided much of the employment in the area until its destruction during Cyclone Larry on 20 March 2006...
  
  
• Mourilyan Harbour
• Mundoo
  Mundoo, Queensland
  Mundoo is a locality in the far north of the state of Queensland, Australia. The locality is immediately to the south of the regional centre of Innisfail. At the 2006 census, Mundoo and the surrounding area had a population of 121....
  
  
• Silkwood
• South Johnstone
• Wangan

Population

Year	Population
1933	12,777
1947	12,265
1954	14,980
1961	15,784
1966	16,529
1971	15,878
1976	16,776
1981	17,438
1986	17,457
1991	19,184
1996	20,474
2001	19,511
2006	18,917

External links

• University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Johnstone Shire