Shire of Cooloola
The Shire of Cooloola was a local government area located about north of Brisbane – the state capital of Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and was the product of a merger in 1993 between the City of Gympie and the Shire of Widgee, which had both existed since 1879–1880. It merged with several other LGAs to form the Gympie Region on 15 March 2008. History The Cooloola area was originally settled for grazing purposes. The discovery of gold in 1867 lead to a gold rush and the development of the Mary River valley for closer agricultural pursuits. The Widgee Division was incorporated on 11 November 1879 under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 3 July 1886, its western part separately incorporated as the Kilkivan Division. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Widgee Division became the Shire of Widgee on 31 March 1903, and on 21 November 1940 moved into new premises, the former Bank of New South Wales building at 242 Mary Street, Gympie. The Municipal Borough of Gympie was incorporated on 25 June 1880, having previously been the Gympie Division. It held, its first elections on 25 August 1880. A town hall