Shire of Albert

Shire of Albert Queensland
Population	143,697 (1991 census)
• Density	117.419/km2 (304.113/sq mi)
Established	1948
Area	1,223.8 km2 (472.5 sq mi)
Council seat	Nerang
Region	South East Queensland
LGAs around Shire of Albert: Logan Redlands Redlands Beaudesert Shire of Albert Gold Coast Tweed (New South Wales) Tweed (New South Wales) Gold Coast

The Shire of Albert was a local government area in Queensland, located south of the capital, Brisbane, and taking in areas to the north and west of the Gold Coast. It was named after the Prince Consort of the United Kingdom, and husband of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert. When created in 1948, it was primarily a rural area, but its growth started in earnest in the late 1960s with the development of Logan on Brisbane's southern frontier. After the separate creation of Logan as a shire (later City) in 1978, Albert lost most of its population and became more centred upon the Gold Coast, which experienced a massive period of growth from then until the Shire's amalgamation with the City of Gold Coast in 1995.

By the late 1870s, the Government of Queensland had become preoccupied with the idea of getting local residents to pay through rates for local services, which had become a massive cost to the colony and were undermaintained in many areas. The McIlwraith government initiated the Divisional Boards Act 1879 which created a system of elected divisional boards covering most of Queensland. It was assented by the Governor on 2 October 1879, and on 11 November 1879, the Governor gazetted a list of 74 divisions which would come into existence. Four of these—Nerang, Coomera, Beenleigh and Waterford—were in the Gold Coast region. Town dwellers had different needs to the rural landholders so Southport ratepayers lobbied the Queensland Government to create a separate Divisional Board so that rates monies raised by Southport landholders could be spent on town improvements. This resulted in the Southport Divisional Board on 14 July 1883.

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