QLDPlanned settlement
Thuringowa
The shire that ringed Townsville, then built its own centre.
1879Thuringowa Division proclaimed
WHAT STARTED IT
Thuringowa was proclaimed in November 1879 as the divisional board for the country around the small municipality of Townsville, stretching along the coast from the Burdekin River to Crystal Creek. Its suburbs and farms grew because Townsville’s port and the railway to Charters Towers made the district a market and supply hinterland.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
In 1918 the state moved most of Thuringowa’s urban area, and even its shire office at the Causeway, into Townsville, leaving a poor rural shire. Housing spread west from the 1960s, the council moved to a new building on Thuringowa Drive about 1980, and Thuringowa became a city in 1986 before rejoining Townsville in 2008.
TURNING POINTS
1879The Thuringowa Division is gazetted under the Divisional Boards Act.
1880A public meeting on 10 January elects the first nine-member board, with William Aplin as chairman.
1918Most of Thuringowa’s urban area, including its shire office, is transferred to Townsville.
1980Council administration moves from the Causeway offices to a new building on Thuringowa Drive.
2008The City of Thuringowa, proclaimed in 1986, is amalgamated with Townsville.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
Thuringowa Central, built around the former council offices on Thuringowa Drive and the Sunland Plaza shopping centre (1985), is a hub for Townsville’s western suburbs. About 1,950 people live in the locality itself.