The Shire of Livingstone is a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate north and east of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the coastal town of Yeppoon, covers an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other councils to become the Rockhampton Region. The Shire was re-established on 1 January 2014 following a successful de-amalgamation referendum in 2013.

Industry within the shire is diverse. Timber is harvested from extensive pine plantations near Byfield in the north. Significant pineapple production takes place within the shire, as well as other agricultural crops. Tourism is increasingly becoming a mainstay of the area, with Keppel Bay and the nearby islands a major drawcard, and more than half of the Shire's population lives in the coastal area centred on Yeppoon and Emu Park. The coastal strip within the shire is known as the Capricorn Coast. The Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area is also located within the shire.

History

On 11 November 1879, the Gogango Division was established as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 with a population of 5023. It covered an area of  surrounding but not including the town of Rockhampton—an area significantly greater than the modern Rockhampton Regional Council covers. Its administrative centre was in North Rockhampton.

Capital and people came to the area in greater numbers after the discovery of gold in 1882 at Mount Morgan, about  south of Rockhampton.

A bridge was built spanning the Fitzroy River in 1882, and a year later in September 1883, the Borough of North Rockhampton was proclaimed.

On 3 March 1892, part of subdivision 2 of the Broadsound Division was transferred to subdivision 3 of the Gogango Division, while another part of subdivision 2 of the Broadsound Division was transferred to the Duaringa Division.

On 6 April 1899, the part of the Gogango Division south of the Fitzroy River split away to form the Fitzroy Division.

With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Gogango Division became the Shire of Gogango on 31 March 1903, and on 8 August 1903 it was renamed Shire of Livingstone.

On 1 July 1984, the neighbouring City of Rockhampton grew to include some of its outer suburbs which had previously been within the Shire of Livingstone.

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 Livingstone merged with the City of Rockhampton and the Shires of Mount Morgan and Fitzroy to form the Rockhampton Region.

In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Livingstone from the Rockhampton Region. On 9 March 2013, the citizens of the former Livingstone shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate. The Shire of Livingstone was re-established on 1 January 2014.

Proposed name change
Since de-amalgamation from Rockhampton Regional Council, there has been regularl proposals for the shire to change its name. The name of Livingstone is believed to have been derived from Livingstone County in New South Wales which was named after Scottish explorer David Livingstone. However, because of the name's lack of geographical context, it's been argued by local government leaders and local organisations that the shire suffers from poor name recognition.

In March 2023, Livingstone mayor Andy Ireland requested a report detailing the positives and negatives associated with a name change. He expressed frustration at regularly being asked to explain where the Shire of Livingstone was, including during meetings with senior Australian Defence Force personnel and cabinet ministers from the Federal Government. Former mayor Bill Ludwig had previously expressed a similar sentiment in 2018, stating: "In Brisbane, people would be flat out knowing where Livingstone is, but as Capricorn Coast Regional Council, they would know it's a coastal destination."

Ireland also said that a change to the Capricorn Coast Region would assist with tourism marketing, with local tourism operators and organisation already having expressed a preference for such a name. However, this proposal has already received opposition from residents of rural towns situated away from the coast such as The Caves, Marlborough and Ogmore. The associated costs with changing the name of Livingstone has also prompted concern from the community.

Towns and localities
The Shire of Livingstone includes the following settlements:

Rockhampton area:
 Glendale
 Glenlee
 Ironpot
 Lakes Creek1
 Mount Chalmers
 Nankin
 Nerimbera
 Rockyview

Yeppoon-Keppel area:
 Adelaide Park
 Bangalee2
 Barlows Hill
 Barmaryee
 Causeway Lake
 Cooee Bay
 Coral Sea
 Emu Park
 Farnborough
 Hidden Valley
 Inverness
 Joskeleigh
 Keppel Sands
 Kinka Beach
 Lammermoor
 Meikleville Hill
 Mulambin
 Pacific Heights
 Rosslyn
 Taranganba
 Taroomball
 Yeppoon
 Zilzie

Other areas:
 Barmoya
 Bondoola
 Bungundarra
 Byfield
 Byfield NP
 Canal Creek
 Canoona
 Cawarral
 Cobraball
 Coorooman
 Coowonga
 Etna Creek
 Great Keppel Island
 Greenlake
 Jardine
 Kunwarara
 Lake Mary
 Marlborough
 Maryvale3
 Milman

 Mount Gardiner
 Mulara
 Ogmore
 Princhester
 Rossmoya
 Sandringham
 Shoalwater
 Shoalwater Bay
 Stanage
 Stockyard
 Tanby
 The Caves
 The Keppels
 Thompson Point
 Tungamull
 Wattlebank
 Weerriba
 Woodbury
 Yaamba

1 - shared with Rockhampton Region2 - not to be confused with Bangalee in the Gladstone Region3 - not to be confused with Maryvale in the Southern Downs Region

Climate 
The city has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw), marking the southern boundary of this climatic zone, more precisely in the Byfield National Park.

Libraries 
The Livingstone Shire Council operates public libraries in Byfield, Marlborough, Emu Park, and Yeppoon. It also supports volunteer-operated libraries in Mount Chalmers and Stanage Bay.

Population

Chairmen and mayors
Incorporating non-consecutive terms into the years of representation, the following were the chairmen and mayors of the Shire of Livingstone from its beginnings as the Gogango Divisional Board in 1879 to the end of its first incarnation in 2008:

1880 – 1898: Henry Jones
1882 – 1883: William Pattison
1883 – 1888: John Murray
1885 – 1886: Robert Lyons
1888 – 1902: James Atherton
1889 – 1891: John O'Shanesy
1891 – 1901: Henry Beak
1893 – 1895: Duncan McDonald
1900 – 1901: Jabez Wakefield
1902 – 1910: William Toft
1904 – 1909: Arthur Leslie Macdonald
1905 – 1908: Arthur Horatio Parnell
1910 – 1911: Thomas Henry John Atherton
1911 – 1913: Roderick Thomas Haylock
1913 – 1930: Thomas Smith
1915 – 1917: Samuel Thomasson
1921 – 1927: William Beak
1930 – 1933: William Francis Clayton
1933 – 1936: Owen Daniel
1936 – 1961: William Todd
1961 – 1982: Henry Robert Beak
1964 – 1970: John Barrett Hinz
1976 – 1985: Royston Warwick Wall
1985 – 1986: Lindsay Hartwig
1986 – 1991: Thomas Arthur John Bowen
1991 – 2000: Barbara Ann Wildin
2000 – 2008: Bill Ludwig

The following were the mayors of Shire of Livingstone from the beginning of its second incarnation in 2014 to the present day:
 2014 – 2020 : Bill Ludwig
2020–present: Andrew Darryl Ireland

References

 
1879 establishments in Australia
Local government areas of Queensland
2008 disestablishments in Australia
Populated places disestablished in 2008
2014 establishments in Australia
Former local government areas of Queensland