Banana Shire
Banana Shire
Spanning 28,577 square kilometres the Banana Shire Region is located in Central Queensland 560 km northwest of Brisbane. Banana is just over four times the size of its municipal neighbour Rockhampton and twice the size of Gladstone.
While traditionally anchored in agriculture, energy generation, mining and construction, the region’s manufacturing, food production and packaging, tourism, education, and health sectors play a significant role in the region.
Opportunities are strongly emerging in renewable energy and resource recovery. Council is taking a proactive role in carefully planning for this growth through providing greater land use compatibility.
The strategic location of the Banana Shire’s owned and operated local passenger airport in Thangool provides competitive advantage, offering one-hour flights to Brisbane and its respective international gateways. For freight transport, the Banana Shire is located on the Brisbane & Melbourne freight route via the Burnett and Leichhardt Highways and has the ability to export via the Port City of Gladstone, along with opportunities associated with the proposed Inland Rail – which will be a game changer for agriculture exports.
Increasing connectivity has enabled the region to meet growing demand for exports of agriculture, resources, and tourism. In addition, new technologies in health, agriculture and online education, and improvements in telecommunications, have benefited the region’s agribusiness, education, and health sectors. These shifts are a result of Banana Shire Council’s coordinated, long-term planning and investment to maximise the region’s potential.
banana shire council priority projects
Climate
Banana Shire has a warm subtropical climate, with hot to warm temperatures all year round. Winter nights can occasionally drop below freezing; however winters are usually warm and dry, with pleasant sunny days. It has an average daily temperature range of 13.6 °C to 27.9 °C and on average it receives 655 mm of rainfall each year.
Population
In the 2016 Census it was recorded that there was 14,319 people residing in Banana Shire. 51.6% Male 48.4% Female Aboriginal and/or Torres Straight Islander people made up 4.9% of the population Median age: 37 Families: 3,645 The town of Biloela (pop. 5371) is the main population and administration centre in the Shire. Moura (pop. 1774) and Taroom (pop. 629) are two of the larger urban centres in the Dawson Valley.
Lifestyle
Banana Shire provides a variety of recreation, employment, education and lifestyle options. Sport and recreation play a major role in the lifestyle of Banana Shire residents with over 390 community and sporting groups to choose from. Numerous natural and man-made attractions make Banana Shire region an ideal lifestyle choice.
At the heart of the Banana Shire lies the Dawson River. The Dawson gives life to the community with farming opportunities and recreational hotspots. Freshwater fishing is a popular past time for locals and visitors to the region with an array of fishing hot spots including Callide Dam and the Dawson River.
Kroombit Tops, Expedition National Park and Isla Gorge National Parks and established recreational waterways and lakes provide for those seeking an active lifestyle or wanting to get close to nature with camping and 4wd driving popular pursuits.
Education
Banana Shire supports nine public primary schools, three P10-schools, two state high schools, one private primary school and one private P-12 school.
Employment
Some 7,731 persons were recorded as being in the labour force. Of these 67.9% were employed full time, 22.6% were employed part-time and 2.6% were unemployed.
Agriculture (17.2%), Coal Mining (15.1%), Education (5.7%), Food Product Manufacturing (4.8%) and Public Administration (3.9%) are the five top industries of employment in the Banana Shire.
Major employers include the Biloela Teys Brothers Meat Processing Facility, Callide Power Station (Biloela), Queensland Nitrate Plant (Moura), Education Queensland and the Banana Shire Council.
Strong agricultural and mining sectors combine to provide specialisations in manufacturing, technician and trades workers and machinery operator occupations.
Local retail and professional services prosper with sustained employment supporting respective towns and rural areas and dominant agriculture and mining industries.
The median total family income for the Shire is approximately $85,592 with the total personal income estimated at $33,000 per year.
Source: ABS, Census of Population and Housing, 2011, Basic Community Profile – B44
Industry | Jobs |
Coal Mining | 969 |
Beef Cattle Farming | 965 |
Meat Processing | 284 |
Local Government Administration | 237 |
Fossil Fuel Electricity Generation | 235 |
Managers | 1455 |
Technicians and Trade Workers | 1150 |
Labourers | 1107 |
Machinery Operators and Drivers | 1016 |
Professionals | 711 |
Clerical and Administrative Workers | 688 |
Community and Personal Service Workers | 485 |
Sales Workers | 472 |
Total | 9,774 |
Economy
The town of Biloela (pop. 5371) is the main population and administration centre in the Shire and the dormitory town for 3 Callide power stations, Callide Coal Mine and Teys Meatworks and is the service centre for the Callide Valley.
Moura has the second largest wheat dump in Queensland and is the location for the Queensland Cotton Gin, Queensland Ammonium Nitrate Plant and Dawson Coal Mine.
Taroom is richly endowed with natural attractions, a thriving rural sector and a wide range of quality community and business facilities.
Theodore supports a diverse rural sector with its main industry being cotton. Almost 80 percent of the Shire’s cotton is grown in the Dawson Valley Area.
Transport
Banana Shire is strategically located on the Brisbane & Melbourne freight route via the Burnett and Leichhardt Highways and is connected to the port city of Gladstone via the Dawson Highway and to Brisbane via the Burnett Highway and through regular commercial air services at Thangool Aeorodrome.
The Moura Rail System connects the Moura, Callide and Boundary Hill coal mines to Central Queensland Port Authority in Gladstone and to domestic coal users.
Housing
The Banana Shire offers a diverse range of appealing urban, rural residential and small scale village living options.
Biloela, Moura and Taroom accommodate the majority of the Shires traditional residential and new housing. Opportunities for retirement living and higher density housing are available within each town.
The townships of Baralaba, Cracow, Dululu, Goovigen, Jambin, Thangool, Theodore and Wowan exhibit unique housing in small scale village settings.
A variety of serviced and partially serviced rural residential land is also available in each town.
Median rents range from $280 per week for a 2 bedroom unit and $330 per week for a 3 bedroom house. Median house prices in Biloela were $258,000 in 2021 with the balance of the Shire recording a median house price of 265,000.
Non-resident workforce accommodation has generally been confined to mine / construction sites outside urban areas or in discrete locations near towns and villages. This has kept housing and rental prices stable.
Health Services and Aged Care
Banana Shire is serviced by six hospitals including Biloela Hospital, Moura Multipurpose Health Service, Theodore Multipurpose Health Service, Taroom Hospital. Baralaba Multipurpose Health Service and Wowan/Dululu Multi-Purpose Centre. Private practices exist throughout the district along with Medical Centres.
There are six aged care facilities in the Banana Shire including Wahroonga Retirement Village – Biloela, Dawson View Hostel – Theodore, Theodore Retirement Village, Baralaba Community Aged Care, Moura Retirement Village, Southern Cross – Leichhardt Villa Retirement Village Taroom. Banana Shire also runs Blue Care and Anglicare services to its residents.
Emergency Services
Banana Shire is serviced by Queensland Police Service facilities, Queensland Ambulance Services, State Emergency Services, Queensland Fire and Rescue Services and rural fire brigade services.
Events
In addition to an abundance of attractions, the Banana Shire hosts a range of events held throughout the year. Events such as country horse racing, freshwater fishing classics, markets and festivals celebrating individual community histories and cultures make the destination come alive with activity.
Biloela is host to the Annual Old Wheels in Motion Rally and Swap Meet on the third weekend in July each year at the QLD Heritage Park complex.
Moura’s annual Coal and Country Festival is held on the fourth Saturday in August, with a Street Procession, Coal Shoveling and Roof Bolting Championships, Rodeo and numerous other events, highlighting the town and district’s diverse attractions.
Dawson River Festival Dawson River Towns (Baralaba, Moura, Theodore and Taroom) combine to present the Dawson River Festival. Each town hosts an event on the Dawson River on one weekend of the year.
Baralaba, Moura and Theodore each host annual fishing classics with significant patronage and plentiful catches.
The Thangool Cup held annually at ‘Forde Park’ in September draws a huge crowd for a day of country horse.
