The Shire of Hinchinbrook is a local government area in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Ingham, covers an area of 2807 km2, and has existed since its creation on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. The council consists of a mayor plus six councillors, each of whom represents the entire Shire. Prior to 2008, the council consisted of a mayor plus eight councillors. In the, the Shire of Hinchinbrook had a population of 10,920 people.

History

The Hinchinbrook Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 326. It originally covered a much larger area, extending well into the Tablelands Region. On 3 September 1881, the Tinaroo Division was created on 3 September 1881 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 out of parts of the Cairns, Hinchinbrook and Woothakata Divisions. On 28 October 1881, part of Hinchinbrook Division was separated to create the Johnstone Division. On 18 January 1884 part of Hinchinbrook Division was separated to create the Cardwell Division. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Hinchinbrook Division became Shire of Hinchinbrook on 31 March 1903. Hinchinbrook was one of the few shires outside of remote areas in Queensland not to be affected by amalgamations in 2007–2008. It was considered for amalgamation into the Cassowary Coast Region with Cardwell and Johnstone, but the Local Government Commissioners accepted arguments by the council that there was no significant community of interest between the three, that amalgamation would not improve financial sustainability and that the resulting council would have a large north-south distance which would impact upon economies of scale.

Shire hall

The first shire hall was constructed in 1883, but was destroyed by fire in May 1916. A new double-storey building was built at a different site in 1919. The present shire hall opened in 1963.

Libraries

Hinchinbrook Shire Council operates public libraries at Ingham and Halifax.

Towns and localities

The Shire of Hinchinbrook includes the following settlements:

Demographics

Chairmen and mayors

Council

Below is the current council, elected in 2020: