The Shire of Carpentaria is a Local Government Area located in Far North Queensland

Far North Queensland

Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 on the Gulf of Carpentaria

Gulf of Carpentaria

The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...

, for which it is named.

It covers an area of 64372.7 square kilometres (24,854.4 sq mi), and has existed as a local government entity since 1883. Its two main population centres are the towns of Karumba

Karumba, Queensland

Karumba is a town in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia, 71 km by road from Normanton and 2159 km from the state capital, Brisbane. The settlement was previously known as Norman Mouth and Kimberely. Karumba was used by the local aborigines to describe the place...

, a fishing port, and Normanton

Normanton, Queensland

-External links:****...

, the administrative centre, both of which are located on the Norman River

Norman River

The Norman River is a river in Queensland, Australia. The river originates in the Gregory Range 200 km southeast of Croydon, Queensland and flows 420 km northwest to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is joined by three major tributaries, the Carron, Clara and Yappar Rivers...

.

History

The Doonmunya Division was created on 11 November 1879 as one of 74 divisions around Queensland under the Divisional Boards Act 1879. On 13 January 1883, the Carpentaria Division was created from part of Doonmunya, the rest going on to form the Shire of Burke two years later. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Carpentaria became a shire on 31 March 1903.

Prior to 2005, two Aboriginal communities (Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw

Aboriginal Shire of Pormpuraaw

The Aboriginal Shire of Pormpuraaw is a special Local Government Area which is located on western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004....

) administered under Deed of Grant in Trust

Deed of Grant in Trust

A Deed of Grant in Trust is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former reserves and missions...

 by community councils since the mid-1980s, were part of the Shire's area, but they were formally excised and given a new status as Aboriginal Shires.

Towns and localities

• Normanton
  Normanton, Queensland
  -External links:****...
  
   (pop 1,100)
• Karumba
  Karumba, Queensland
  Karumba is a town in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia, 71 km by road from Normanton and 2159 km from the state capital, Brisbane. The settlement was previously known as Norman Mouth and Kimberely. Karumba was used by the local aborigines to describe the place...
  
  (pop 518)
• Fielding
• Howitt
• Maramie
• Savannah
• Stokes
• Yagoonya

Population

Prior to 1971, Aboriginal people who form a majority of the population were not counted in census statistics.

Until 1 July 2002, the Australian Bureau of Statistics included the Island and DOGIT councils within the Shire of Cook statistical local area. Information for the reduced Shire back to 1996 has been provided on the ABS website through the Time Series Profile.

Year	Population
1933	696
1947	610
1954	566
1961	834
1966	1,031
1971	2,558
1976	2,809
1981	3,273
1986	3,287
1991	3,807
1996	2,790	4,271
2001	3,178	4,844
2006	3,149	4,770