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
Parkhurst (which had previously been within the Shire of Livingstone) to encompass the area where Rochampton's new water treatment facility was being constructed..
2008 amalgamation 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.
2019 proposal to transfer three localities In 2019, a proposal was put forward that the localities of
Glenlee,
Rockyview and
Glendale (all within the Shire of Livingstone) should become part of the Rockhampton Region. The main rationales for the change were that these localities lay in the path of suburban growth to the north of Rockhampton and that the residents of these localities used the services and facilities within the Rockhampton Region rather than those of the Shire of Livingstone. The proposal highlighted the different planning priorities between the two local governments with Rockhampton Region wishing to develop more suburban housing and associated amenities with smaller land parcels, while the Shire of Livingstone preferred to have larger land parcels to retain its rural and rural residential character. Given the unpopularity of the forced 2008 amalgamation, there was suspicion among shire residents that the proposal was another attempt to achieve amalgamation through progressive loss of localities to the Rockhampton Region. Following a number of investigations and public consultations, it was decided in October 2022 not to change the local government boundaries.
Proposed name change Since de-amalgamation from Rockhampton Regional Council, there has been regular 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. 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. The associated costs with changing the name of Livingstone has also prompted concern from the community. == Towns and localities ==