I have noticed in the archives that some time ago there was some discussion about whether certain shire or town councils had existed in the Toowoomba area. This week I have been amusing myself by looking at the National Library's Australian Newspapers web site (too cold and wet to go outside). I came across a number of articles relating to the proposed dismemberment of the Jondaryan Shire in 1912. It was apparently one of the original 79 Divisional Boards created by a 1879 Act of the Qld Parliament. Divisional Boards were made Shire Councils by the Local Government Act of 1902. The proposal in October 1912 by the Home Secretary was to "alter the boundaries of the Shires of Jondaryan, Gowrie, Inglewood, Rosalie, Rosenthal, and Waggamba and by including in the Shires of Rosalie and Wambo parts of the Shire of Jondaryan." The urban part of the Shire of Gowrie became the Town of Newtown. It was proposed to abolish the Shires of Drayton and Middle Ridge and incorporate their areas into the Shire of Jondaryan. The Shire of Jondaryan would then be subdivided into four new Shires - Millmerran, Pittsworth, Oakey and Westbrook. The proposals in relation to the Jondaryan Shire met considerable resistance and resulted in a poll of ratepayers in April 1913. The result of the poll was that two new Shires - Pittsworth and Millmerran were created. Jondaryan continued with the inclusion of the rural part of Gowrie and a small part of Rosalie ( I think that it had been agreed that the Western Railway line was the logical boundary between Jondaryan and Rosalie and thus the small part of Rosalie that was south of the line was incorporated into Jondaryan). Drayton remained a separate Shire as did Middle Ridge. The "Greater Toowoomba" scheme put in place in 1917 saw the incorporation of the whole of Newtown and parts of Middle Ridge, Highfields and Drayton Shires into the Toowoomba Council. The remainder of Middle Ridge was incorporated into the Drayton Shire. Later boundary changes resulted in Highfields being incorporated within the Crows Nest Shire. John Heinemann