Cairns City Council

Cairns City Council was a municipality in Far North Queensland. It was established in 1885 and merged with the Mulgrave Shire Council in 1995.

History of Cairns City Council

The Council was actually founded as the Cairns Divisional Board. As a result of the passage of the Local Authorities Act of 1902, Cairns Municipal Council became Cairns Town Council on 31 March 1903. Cairns grew strongly. As a result the name was changed to City Council on 12 October 1923.

Cairns City Council Merger

In 1995 as a result of a forced merger process, Cairns was amalgamated with the larger Mulgrave Shire Council.

Subsequently, Mulgrave Shire Councillors won the majority of positions on the new council and the former Mulgrave Shire Mayor Tom Pyne was successful at the amalgamation election, becoming the first Mayor of the newly merged Council. However the merged entity remained known as a City Council (to the annoyance of some former Mulgrave Shire residents).

Cairns City Council and the 2008 Amalgamation

Another round of forced amalgamations came in 2008. Consequently the Council formed on the 1995 boundaries was amalgamated with the neighbouring Douglas Shire (to the north) in 2008.

Consequently, at this amalgamation election, the city’s first female Mayor Val Schier was elected, along with 10 Councillors. The merger offered Douglas Shire the ‘economy of scale‘ it had previously lacked.

Cairns Regional Council Area

Unfortunately, the merger did not last the test of time, with the state government offering a de-amalgamation option to Douglas Shire residents in 2013. Consequently, Douglas voted to leave Cairns Regional Council and remains independent to this day.

While reverting back to the boundaries it had prior to 2008, the new body did not revert to using City Council. It retained “Cairns Regional Council”. This is believed to more appropriately reflect the Cairns Regional Council area, which is comprised of city residents, as well as residents living in rural and semi-rural parts of the region.

Cairns City Council phone number

The phone number for CCC was 4044 3044. This number is used by Cairns Regional Council today.

Cairns Regional Council Address

When the CCC administration staff moved into a new building at the corner of Spence and Draper Street, the old building in Abbott Street was refurbished and has since been used as the city’s main library.

Cairns City Council jobs

Council was a significant employer in the regional town.

Relevant Content

• Cairns History
• Cairns Politics
• Cairns Councillors
• Cairns Flooding
• Cairns Regional Council
• Honesty in Politics
• Old Pictures of Cairns

Other Areas

• Central Cairns
• Cairns West
• Mount Whitfield
• North Cairns
• South Cairns

Cairns