History

A little bit about the Shire History

1842 - In 1842 Edward Hawkins took up 50 000acres of farmland extending from the coast to the Logan River. The town started to develop around the homestead with the establishment of a butchers shop by Jeremiah Dunn in the mid 1860's. The town of Beaudesert was formed by the freehold subdivision of part of the original land by Ernest White.

1859 - In 1859, a man by the name of William Norris leased almost 16 000 acres in the Moreton Bay District at Logan River, Teviot Brook and Oxley Creek. He named the 980 acres freehold property "Mun Rubens" which is reported to have been a local Aboriginal word for a lagoon. The name of Norris is acknowledged by "Norris Creek" which runs from Greenbank into the Logan River.

1879 - The "Shire of Beaudesert" began in 1879 with the passing of "The Divisional Boards Act of 1879." This act gave provision for the development of the Divisional Boards of Tabragalba and Waterford and was constituted and proclaimed on the 11 November, 1879.

Further in 1879, Villiers Brown selected land on the southern end of the Mountain which he then sold to Robert Muir in 1880. Mr Muir hoped to extend his operations in sugar-growing but his death and that of his son in the tremendous flood of 1888 held back any development of the southern end of the Mountain for quite a period of time. It was Mr Muir who built the first St Bernards and also the well-known Cedar Cottage.

1880 - By 1880, Beaudesert had a store, hotel, blacksmith s shop, saddlers shop, post office and the office of the Tabragalba Divisional Board. A school was operating by March 1882 and a courthouse, police station, post and telegraph office followed by 1889.

1886/1888 - The telegraph had reached  the Town by 1886 and in 1888 the railway to South Brisbane was ready for use. Also in 1888, the Lahey Brothers built a sawmill in Town.

1888 also saw the first bank established in Beaudesert. The Queensland National Bank commenced operation from the Logan & Albert Hotel. However, a separate building was built at a later stage. 

1890 - The 1890's saw publications started by two newspapers, the Beaudesert Dispatch and the Beaudesert Herald which later merged together to become the Beaudesert Times.

1902 - 1902 saw a tramway opened linking Beaudesert to Tabooba Junction which then ran to Innisplain and Christmas Creek. The tramway was operated by the Beaudesert Shire Council and initiated by the Tabragalba Divisional Board in 1899. It was only one of three in the State, the other two being operated until 1944 but were disregarded due to improved road conditions which made it obsolete. What used to be the Tramway Station is now the pavillion in Selwyn Park.

1908 - On the 28 March, 1908 Queenslands first National Park, Witches Falls, was gazetted. Witches Falls, originally 154ha, was the beginning on the National Park movement in Queensland which has grown over the last 90 years.

1912 - In 1912, the area became divided into two, the Beaudesert Town and Beaudesert Shire and operated as separate local government entities. The Town council consisted of a Mayor and twleve Alderman and remained this way for 17 years until 1929 when they re-amalgamated to become Beaudesert Shire Council.

1915 - on the recommendation of R.M Collins, R.W Lahey, Tamborine Shire Council and 521 particpants of then Albert Electorate, Lamington National Park (45 000 acres) was set aside for the people and gazetted on 31 July 1933.

1933 - Binna Burra was founded by Arthur Groom, Romeo Lahey and a group of members of the National Parks Association in 1933.

1978 - In 1978 there wan an adjustment of boundaries which formed the creation of Logan Shire, such areas being mainly taken from the Beaudesert Shire with a small amount from the Albert Shire.

1995 - In 1995, boundary alterations again occured. However, Beaudesert Shire remained almost unchanged but is surrounded  by the large cities of the Gold Coast, Logan, Ipswich and Brisbane.