# Shire of Douglas

The Shire of Douglas is a local government area in Far North Queensland. It is located on the coast north of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mossman, covers an area of 2,428 square kilometres (937.5 sq mi), and existed as a local government entity from 1880 until 2008, when it was amalgamated with the City of Cairns to become the Cairns Region. Following a poll in 2013, the Shire of Douglas was re-established on 1 January 2014.
The major industries are tourism and sugar production. Minor industries include tropical fruit and beef.
In the 2021 census, the Shire of Douglas had a population of 12,337 people.

## History

Kuku Yalanji (also known as Gugu Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, and Kuku Yelandji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Mossman and Daintree areas of North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area of Shire of Douglas and Shire of Cook, particularly the localities of Mossman, Daintree, Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, Palmer, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal.
Yalanji (also known as Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, Kuku Yelandji, and Gugu Yalanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Far North Queensland. The traditional language region is Mossman River in the south to the Annan River in the north, bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east and extending inland to west of Mount Mulgrave. This includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Douglas, the Shire of Cook and the Aboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal and the towns and localities of Cooktown, Mossman, Daintree, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal. It includes the head of the Palmer River, the Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, and Palmerville.
On 11 November 1879, the Cairns Division was one of the initial 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 3 June 1880, the northern part of Cairns Division was excised to create Douglas Division.
With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Douglas Division became the Shire of Douglas on 31 March 1903.
On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government (Reform Implementation) Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the Shire of Douglas merged with the City of Cairns to form the Cairns Region.
In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Douglas from the Cairns Region. On 6 December 2012, the Queensland Minister for Local Government, the Hon. David Crisafulli, granted the people of the former Douglas Shire a vote on possible de-amalgamation from the Cairns Regional Council, even though the Queensland Treasury Corporation had calculated the costs to be too high a burden on the few ratepayers of this small Shire, and the Shire to be unviable in the long term. Despite strong opposition from many parties, on 9 March 2013 the citizens of the former Douglas shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate. The shire was re-established on 1 January 2014.

## Towns and localities

The Douglas Shire Council's administrative centre is in Mossman.
The Shire of Douglas includes the following settlements:
$^1$ – shared with the Shire of Cook $^2$ – until 1995, it was part of the Shire, now it's part of the Cairns Region

## Libraries

The Douglas Shire Council operates public libraries at Mossman and Port Douglas.

## Demographics

| Year | Population | Notes |
| 1933 | 2,901 | |
| 1947 | 2,493 | |
| 1954 | 3,100 | |
| 1961 | 3,354 | |
| 1966 | 3,919 | |
| 1971 | 4,072 | |
| 1976 | 4,746 | |
| 1981 | 5,957 | |
| 1986 | 7,750 | |
| 1991 | 12,440 | |
| 1996 | 12,980 | |
| 2001 census | 13,966 | |
| 2006 census | 10,193 | |
| 2011 | 11,380 | Shire of Douglas did not exist at this time but was part of the Cairns Region. |
| 2016 census | 11,714 | |
| 2021 census | 12,337 | |

## Council

Below is the current council, elected in 2024:
| Name | Party | Notes |
| Michael Rees | Independent | |
| Lisa Scomazzon | Independent | Mayor |
| Abigail Noli | Independent | |
| Damian Meadows | Independent | Deputy Mayor |
| Roy Zammataro | Independent | |

### Election results

2020 Queensland mayoral elections: Douglas Shire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent | Michael Kerr | 3,386 | 54.95 | +54.95 |
| | Independent | Julia Leu | 2,776 | 45.05 | −20.07 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 6,162 | 98.12 | +0.50 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 118 | 1.88 | −0.50 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,280 | | |
| | Independent gain from Independent | Independent gain from Independent | Swing | +54.95 | |
2020 Queensland local elections: Douglas Shire :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Lisa Scomazzon (elected 1) | 3,951 | 16.40 |
| | Independent | Peter McKeown (elected 2) | 3,527 | 14.64 |
| | Independent | Roy Zammataro (elected 3) | 3,179 | 13.20 |
| | Independent | Noli Abigail (elected 4) | 2,959 | 12.28 |
| | Independent | Natalie Johnson | 2,888 | 11.99 |
| | Independent | Kym Rowley | 2,338 | 9.71 |
| | Independent | Bruce Clarke | 2,021 | 8.39 |
| | Independent | Terry Melchert | 1,967 | 8.17 |
| | Independent | Steve Cruickshank | 1,258 | 5.22 |
| Total formal votes | Total formal votes | Total formal votes | 6,022 | 96.03 |
| Informal votes | Informal votes | Informal votes | 249 | 3.97 |

## Chairmen and mayors

The following were the chairmen and mayors of the Shire of Douglas in its first incarnation:
| Term | Incumbent |
| 1900 | Andrew Jack |
| 1901–1903 | James Reynolds |
| 1904–1905 | Richard Augustine "Dick" Donnelly |
| 1906 | William Mackay |
| 1907 | Daniel Joseph Kirwan |
| 1908 | Robert David Low |
| 1909 | Richard James Walsh |
| 1910 | Robert Punton Tunnie (first term) |
| 1911–1912 | Frederick "Fred" Thompson |
| 1913 | James Patrick Reynolds (first term) |
| 1914 | Robert Punton Tunnie (second term) |
| 1915–1921 | James Patrick Reynolds (second term) |
| 1921–1927 | John Quill |
| 1927–1933 | Severin Berner "Barney" Andreassen |
| 1933–1955 | Raymond David Rex |
| 1955–1964 | Ernest William Berzinski |
| 1964–1967 | George Quaid Jr |
| 1967–1970 | J.S. Allen |
| 1970–1981 | Onslow Rutherford Andrews |
| 1981–1991 | Anthony Mijo |
| 1991–2008 | Mike Berwick |
The following were the mayors of Shire of Douglas in its second incarnation:
| Term | Incumbent |
| 2014–2020 | Julia Leu |
| 2020–2024 | Michael John Kerr |
| 2024–current | Lisa Jayne Scomazzon |