In 1879, the Divisional Boards Act was passed, allowing boards to be created to provide amenities and charge rates, but with limited independence. In a proclamation on 11 November 1879, a number of Divisions were proclaimed in the Ipswich area—
Brassall,
Bundanba,
Mutdapilly,
Purga and
Walloon. On 25 October 1890,
Normanby Division and
Rosewood Division followed. The Local Authorities Act 1902 abolished the divisional boards, replacing them with shire or town councils with the same powers plus the jurisdiction to create
by-laws. On 31 March 1903, its provisions took effect, replacing the above divisions with the Shires of
Brassall,
Bundanba,
Mutdapilly,
Normanby,
Purga,
Rosewood and
Walloon. On 4 July 1905, Shire of Mutdapilly merged into the Shire of Rosewood.
The Greater Ipswich Scheme of 1916 On 13 October 1916, a rationalisation of the local government areas in and around
Ipswich was implemented. It involved the abolition of five shires: •
Brassall •
Bundanba •
Lowood •
Purga •
Walloon resulting in: • a new
Shire of Ipswich by amalgamating part of the Shire of Brassall, part of the Shire of Bundanba , part of the Shire of Walloon and all of the Shire of Purga • an enlarged
Shire of Rosewood by including part of the
Shire of Walloon • an enlarged
City of Ipswich by including part of the Shire of Brassall and part of the Shire of Bundanba • an enlarged
Shire of Esk by including all of the Shire of Lowood
Establishment of the Shire of Moreton The Shire of Ipswich was renamed Shire of Moreton on 28 July 1917. In 1926, the Shire of Moreton was enlarged to include parts of the City of Ipswich and the
Shire of Waterford.
Greater Ipswich Scheme of 1949 On 29 January 1949, a new Local Government Act was enacted to further amalgamate local government in the Ipswich area, abolishing the Shires of Normanby and Rosewood. The
City of Ipswich was enlarged to include the more urban parts of the Shire of Moreton. The Shire of Moreton was then enlarged by the inclusion of the northern part of the Shire of Normanby and all the Shire of Rosewood. The southern part of the Shire of Normanby was transferred to an enlarged
Shire of Boonah.
Period of stability Council meetings were held in
Ipswich until 4 March 1961, when they moved to
Churchill. In 1988, the shire had a population of about 38,000 people and covered an area of 1813 square kilometres.
Abolition On 22 March 1995, the Shire merged into the City of Ipswich, as part of an effort to reform local government and create "super-cities". This occurred at the same time as the
Shire of Albert merging into the
City of Gold Coast, and the
Shire of Mulgrave merging into the
City of Cairns. The Shire or Moreton's final chairman, John Nugent, won the mayorship of the combined City of Ipswich and continued to lead for another nine years. ==Wards==