Somerset Region
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Somerset Region Queensland |
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Location within Queensland
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| Population | 24,007 (2015 Est.) | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 4.46102/km2 (11.5540/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Established | 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Area | 5,381.5 km2 (2,077.8 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Mayor | Graeme Lehmann | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Esk | ||||||||||||
| Region | West Moreton | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | |||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Blair | ||||||||||||
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| Website | Somerset Region | ||||||||||||
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The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Brisbane and centred on the town of Esk. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Esk and the Shire of Kilcoy. It is commonly known as the Brisbane Valley, due to the Brisbane River which courses through the region, although significant parts of the region lie outside the hydrological Brisbane Valley itself.
The Esk and Kilcoy Shires were amalgamated to consolidate the water catchments for the Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams. The Local Government Reform Commission identified that the long-term future of Somerset would be as a major water catchment for the SEQ region with farming being the main economic activity within a water catchment management regime. The "planning strategy and land use policies" implemented by the Somerset Regional Council are therefore "directed this end".
The Somerset Regional Council, which administers the region, has an estimated operating budget of A$50 million. (Council’s 2011/2012 budget adopted in June 2012 showed total operating revenue of A$50,049,250). The Somerset region comprises the primary water catchment for the Somerset and Wivenhoe Dams that form an essential part of the water supply grid for South East Queensland.
Prior to 2008, the new Somerset Region was an entire area of two previous and distinct local government areas:
The traditional owners of the Brisbane Valley district include the Jagera, Yuppera, Ugarapul and Dungibara people who occupied the region for thousands of years prior to European settlement.
The country of the Dungibara people started just south of Esk and ran north along the river where their boundary ended near the source of the Brisbane River. The name Dungibara is made up of two words; Dungi meaning wet, tear etc. and bara stipulating people of a place. During the drought seasons the Brisbane River became very dry and left mostly stagnant water pools, their main source of water was from the tributaries that ran into the river.
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