Shire of Croydon

The Shire of Croydon is a local government area in western Queensland, Australia. The shire, administered from the town of Croydon, covers an area of 29577.8km2. The council consists of a mayor plus four councillors, each of whom represents the entire Shire.HistoryThe area was originally settled as part of a gold rush in the 1880s, and at one time had a population of 7,000. The Croydon Division was created on 31 December 1887 under the Divisional Boards Act 1887.With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, the Croydon Division became the Shire of Croydon 31 March 1903.At one stage the Town of Croydon was responsible for the town itself; however, this was dissolved into the Shire on 1 January 1909.AmalgamationCroydon, like many western local government areas, was not affected by amalgamations in 2007–2008, mainly because of the large geographical size and remoteness of the shire. Despite being rated as "weak" by the Financial Sustainability Review, analysis by the Local Government Commissioners revealed this to be due to factors upon which amalgamation would have no effect.Towns and localitiesThe Shire of Croydon includes the following settlements: Croydon BlackbullChairmen and mayors Chairmen 1892: E.S. Ross 1927: William M. O'Flaherty Mayors 2008: Cornelia Bernardina (Corrie) Pickering 2014: Trevor Pickering