More than rates, roads and rubbish: a history of local government in action in Thuringowa Shire 1879-1985

This thesis is a case study of a rural-urban local authority to 1985. Thuringowa Shire, with no reason for existence in its own right, was a political and administrative creation that tied disparate areas and groups together for the purpose of local government. Hence, the thesis is a history of local government in action; not a history of a local authority area. To this purpose, it is located within a selective socio-economic history of the Shire to provide the necessary background to the study of local government. People struggled to establish the Shire's two staples, beef cattle and sugar cane, and clung tenaciously to the false dream of agrarianism until the 1970s. Two recurring themes are the effects of class on decision-making and the symbiotic relationship between Thuringowa and Townsville. This analysis of local government in action is situated within a theoretical framework. The tripartite Thuringowa model of local government has been formulated and features the areal division of government powers; the especial values that justify the existence of local government, and an examination of the agents who affect the local authority's philosophies, policies and their implementation. The study of one local authority over time offers much to the debate on local government. Constituents continually demonstrated the need to balance the current emphasis on economic rationalism with liberty and participatory democracy. As the case study demonstrates, local government in action affects more than rates, roads and rubbish