Towns and Villages Australia

List of Towns, Villages and Cities in Queensland Cadastral Counties

Queensland has 322 cadastral counties, each a land-title district drawn up more than a century ago. This directory lists every one, with its gazetted coordinates and the local government area at its centre. Use the table below to find a specific county, or read on for what a county is and how it differs from the council area or suburb you might already know.

What a cadastral county is

A cadastral county is a land-title division proclaimed under the Land Act 1897. The Governor in Council named and bounded almost all of Queensland’s 322 counties on 7 or 8 March 1901, in a single sweeping proclamation. Surveyors used counties, and the parishes inside them, to describe land for title and registration purposes. No county has a council, a mayor, or any government function today. The name still appears on land titles and property descriptions, which is the only place most Queenslanders will meet it.

Counties, local government areas and localities

Readers often land here expecting a council area or a suburb, so it is worth being precise. A cadastral county is a land-title division, fixed in 1901 and never governed since. A local government area is the modern administrative layer — a regional council or shire, with elected councillors and services. A locality or suburb is the addressing layer, the name on your street sign and your postcode. These three layers do not share boundaries. A single county can span several local government areas, and a local government area can contain many counties.

The table on this page lists, for each county, the local government area that contains its single gazetted reference point — not the area the whole county covers. Treat it as a locator, not a boundary claim.

Counties and parishes

Each county subdivides into parishes, the finer-grained unit surveyors used for individual land parcels. Queensland has 5,302 gazetted parishes in total. This directory lists counties only. Queensland does not publish open data linking each parish to its parent county, so we cannot show parish membership here without guessing, and we do not guess.

One trap worth flagging: a parish and a county can share a name and sit nowhere near each other. The Parish of Abbotsford lies near Ayr, in the Burdekin district south-east of Townsville. The County of Abbotsford lies in the Shire of Bulloo, in Queensland’s far south-west corner — hundreds of kilometres away. Don’t assume a matching name means the same place.

How to look up a county

Queensland Globe, the state government’s mapping tool, plots cadastral boundaries against current aerial imagery and lets you search by county name. The Queensland Place Names Gazetteer, maintained under the Place Names Act 1994, is the authoritative register of each county’s coordinates, proclamation date and, where recorded, its name origin — it is the primary source behind this directory. For historical detail, the 40-chain parish map series, 1,342 sheets digitised from the original hand-drawn surveys, prints the county name on every map face alongside its parishes.

All 322 Queensland counties

Coordinates and local government areas come from the Queensland Place Names Gazetteer, maintained under the Place Names Act 1994. Nearly every county was proclaimed by the Governor in Council on 7 or 8 March 1901; each county page carries its own gazettal date and Queensland Government Gazette page.

CountyLocal government areaCoordinates
AbbotsfordBulloo Shire26°40′S 141°24′E
AberdeenWestern Downs Regional25°57′S 149°19′E
AlbanyIsaac Regional21°44′S 146°16′E
AlbionRichmond Shire21°24′S 142°46′E
AllisonMckinlay Shire21°31′S 141°04′E
AmarooBoulia Shire23°05′S 139°09′E
ArcherCook Shire13°25′S 142°31′E
ArgyllaCloncurry Shire20°41′S 139°54′E
AubignyToowoomba Regional27°23′S 151°35′E
AuburnWestern Downs Regional26°44′S 150°37′E
AyrshireWinton Shire22°23′S 143°02′E
BalurgaCook Shire15°10′S 142°42′E
BandoParoo Shire27°39′S 145°54′E
BanksCook Shire15°23′S 144°52′E
BarcooLongreach Regional24°27′S 144°14′E
BauhiniaCentral Highlands Regional24°43′S 149°28′E
BeaconsfieldCloncurry Shire20°42′S 140°30′E
BeaufortBarcaldine Regional23°18′S 146°30′E
BellIsaac Regional21°58′S 146°56′E
BelmoreBalonne Shire28°02′S 148°35′E
BelyandoBarcaldine Regional23°39′S 146°39′E
BentinckGoondiwindi Regional28°35′S 151°25′E
BinburieWinton Shire23°22′S 141°34′E
BolwarraMareeba Shire17°32′S 144°04′E
BoondoomaSouth Burnett Regional26°28′S 151°36′E
BowenNorth Burnett Regional25°11′S 151°39′E
BraheMount Isa City20°12′S 139°07′E
BrightonWinton Shire22°31′S 141°36′E
BuckinghamBoulia Shire22°09′S 139°29′E
BucklandCentral Highlands Regional24°33′S 147°34′E
BulgrooQuilpie Shire25°47′S 143°42′E
BullerBurke Shire18°17′S 138°49′E
BullooQuilpie Shire27°02′S 144°09′E
BulwerWestern Downs Regional26°40′S 150°11′E
BundaraMaranoa Regional25°45′S 147°49′E
BurarieBulloo Shire27°49′S 142°35′E
BurdekinCharters Towers Regional19°51′S 146°22′E
BurendaMurweh Shire25°31′S 146°33′E
BurkeBurke Shire18°25′S 139°30′E
BurrandillaMurweh Shire26°09′S 145°49′E
ByerleyMareeba Shire17°27′S 143°29′E
CairnsIsaac Regional22°37′S 148°15′E
CameronBulloo Shire28°35′S 141°54′E
CanningMoreton Bay City26°56′S 152°46′E
CanobieCloncurry Shire19°31′S 140°46′E
CardwellCassowary Coast Regional18°16′S 146°02′E
CarlisleMackay Regional21°10′S 148°52′E
CarnarvonGoondiwindi Regional28°18′S 149°53′E
CarpentariaCarpentaria Shire18°07′S 140°17′E
CarrandottaBoulia Shire22°00′S 138°30′E
Carruthers—29°00′S 141°23′E
CassillisParoo Shire27°57′S 146°42′E
CavendishToowoomba Regional27°25′S 152°10′E
ChatawayCharters Towers Regional20°56′S 146°15′E
ChatsworthCloncurry Shire21°23′S 139°43′E
ChelmsfordCook Shire16°03′S 144°17′E
ChestertonMurweh Shire25°13′S 147°28′E
CheviotBarcoo Shire25°03′S 143°40′E
ChudleighFlinders Shire19°55′S 143°55′E
ChurchillLockyer Valley Regional27°49′S 152°20′E
ClarkeCharters Towers Regional18°58′S 145°03′E
ClaudeCentral Highlands Regional24°32′S 147°05′E
ClermontIsaac Regional22°49′S 147°38′E
ClintonGladstone Regional23°50′S 151°15′E
CliveGoondiwindi Regional28°51′S 151°13′E
CoenCook Shire14°07′S 142°39′E
CogoonMaranoa Regional27°21′S 148°27′E
ConbarQuilpie Shire27°08′S 143°25′E
ConsueloCentral Highlands Regional24°50′S 148°32′E
CookBundaberg Regional24°52′S 152°21′E
CooperBulloo Shire27°36′S 141°15′E
CoorajahQuilpie Shire25°13′S 144°15′E
CootahCarpentaria Shire15°57′S 142°38′E
CopperfieldEtheridge Shire18°43′S 144°19′E
CoreenaBarcaldine Regional23°26′S 145°37′E
CumberlandLongreach Regional22°35′S 143°59′E
CurralleQuilpie Shire26°31′S 142°16′E
CurrawillaBarcoo Shire25°08′S 141°20′E
DagmarMareeba Shire16°57′S 145°00′E
DalrympleCharters Towers Regional19°49′S 145°44′E
DarooDiamantina Shire25°42′S 140°45′E
DavenportCharters Towers Regional20°04′S 146°15′E
DawsonBanana Shire24°56′S 150°16′E
Deas ThompsonGladstone Regional23°43′S 150°55′E
DenisonCentral Highlands Regional24°07′S 148°05′E
DerbyWestern Downs Regional27°19′S 150°52′E
DiamantinaDiamantina Shire24°08′S 141°07′E
DicksonIsaac Regional22°04′S 147°41′E
DouglasFlinders Shire20°51′S 144°12′E
DrakeWhitsunday Regional20°52′S 147°46′E
DrummondBarcaldine Regional24°09′S 146°37′E
DruryIsaac Regional22°06′S 146°20′E
DublinMaranoa Regional26°27′S 147°32′E
DulhuntyCook Shire12°27′S 142°38′E
DunbarKowanyama Aboriginal Shire15°29′S 141°44′E
DurhamBulloo Shire27°05′S 141°55′E
DurrieDiamantina Shire25°39′S 140°02′E
DuttonFlinders Shire20°34′S 143°51′E
EddingtonMckinlay Shire20°39′S 141°33′E
EinasleighEtheridge Shire17°57′S 143°35′E
ElderslieWinton Shire22°38′S 142°23′E
ElginMaranoa Regional27°09′S 149°04′E
ElphinstoneTownsville City19°36′S 146°50′E
EsmeraldaCroydon Shire18°40′S 142°16′E
EtheridgeEtheridge Shire18°09′S 142°52′E
EurinyeDiamantina Shire24°08′S 139°47′E
EvoraBarcaldine Regional23°26′S 145°37′E
EyreDiamantina Shire24°34′S 138°27′E
FarrarBarcoo Shire24°13′S 142°17′E
FergusonBanana Shire24°28′S 150°08′E
FermoyWinton Shire23°04′S 142°54′E
FieldingCarpentaria Shire19°05′S 141°56′E
FitzroySouth Burnett Regional26°40′S 152°00′E
FlindersGladstone Regional24°20′S 151°34′E
FortescueBanana Shire25°39′S 149°48′E
FoxtonCharters Towers Regional21°06′S 145°41′E
FranklinCarpentaria Shire16°58′S 141°56′E
FraserFraser Coast Regional25°16′S 153°05′E
GayundahBarcaldine Regional22°32′S 145°41′E
GeorginaBoulia Shire22°39′S 139°09′E
GilbertEtheridge Shire18°18′S 143°33′E
GladstoneBurdekin Shire19°48′S 147°08′E
GlanworthBlackall Tambo Regional25°14′S 145°45′E
GlengyleDiamantina Shire24°55′S 139°08′E
GlenoraCroydon Shire19°02′S 142°51′E
GordonQuilpie Shire26°40′S 143°16′E
GouldMareeba Shire16°34′S 143°13′E
GowanQuilpie Shire25°20′S 145°03′E
GranadaCloncurry Shire19°51′S 140°22′E
GregoryMount Isa City18°55′S 138°57′E
GreyBarcoo Shire25°22′S 142°17′E
GriffithCharters Towers Regional20°32′S 145°24′E
GrosvenorIsaac Regional22°03′S 148°08′E
GunnawarraTablelands Regional18°21′S 145°03′E
HaddonBarcoo Shire25°48′S 141°27′E
HamiltonBoulia Shire22°46′S 140°36′E
HannCook Shire14°47′S 143°30′E
HerbertWhitsunday Regional20°01′S 148°15′E
HillalongMackay Regional21°07′S 148°20′E
HodgkinsonMareeba Shire16°57′S 145°00′E
HowittCarpentaria Shire17°02′S 141°15′E
HumboldtCentral Highlands Regional23°35′S 148°53′E
HumeburnQuilpie Shire27°19′S 145°00′E
IffleyCarpentaria Shire18°52′S 141°12′E
JardineCook Shire11°39′S 142°27′E
KalkahCook Shire14°55′S 142°56′E
KamileroiBurke Shire19°14′S 139°43′E
KendallAurukun Shire13°41′S 141°58′E
KennedyMaranoa Regional26°57′S 147°41′E
KillarneyIsaac Regional22°02′S 149°11′E
KimberleyCentral Highlands Regional23°43′S 149°40′E
KingCook Shire15°52′S 143°17′E
KoolatahKowanyama Aboriginal Shire15°17′S 141°53′E
Kungie—29°00′S 145°30′E
KyabraQuilpie Shire26°06′S 142°57′E
KynunaMckinlay Shire21°35′S 141°55′E
KyrundaBulloo Shire28°04′S 143°17′E
LabouchereBanana Shire25°38′S 149°48′E
LamingtonCroydon Shire18°24′S 141°35′E
LandsboroughCloncurry Shire19°15′S 140°10′E
LangEtheridge Shire18°09′S 142°52′E
LangloMurweh Shire25°41′S 145°39′E
LennoxGympie Regional26°05′S 152°15′E
LeuraCentral Highlands Regional23°12′S 149°21′E
LiebigLivingstone Shire22°51′S 149°53′E
LivingstoneRockhampton Regional23°23′S 150°31′E
LukinCook Shire14°40′S 142°02′E
LyndMareeba Shire17°29′S 144°37′E
LyndhurstEtheridge Shire19°12′S 144°22′E
LyttonWestern Downs Regional26°47′S 151°07′E
MackenzieNorth Burnett Regional25°38′S 151°37′E
MalwaDiamantina Shire23°49′S 140°22′E
ManerooLongreach Regional23°12′S 143°38′E
ManfredMckinlay Shire20°13′S 141°38′E
ManukaWinton Shire21°37′S 143°20′E
MaramieCarpentaria Shire16°07′S 142°27′E
MaranoaMaranoa Regional27°34′S 148°07′E
MarchFraser Coast Regional25°32′S 152°42′E
MargaCarpentaria Shire16°50′S 142°30′E
MarshGoondiwindi Regional28°25′S 151°04′E
MayneBarcoo Shire23°53′S 142°19′E
McKinlayQuilpie Shire25°55′S 144°36′E
MelvilleCook Shire14°31′S 144°40′E
MerivaleSouthern Downs Regional28°07′S 151°42′E
MerlinCloncurry Shire21°32′S 140°30′E
MexicoBarcaldine Regional23°49′S 146°05′E
MitchellBlackall Tambo Regional24°24′S 144°50′E
MonkiraDiamantina Shire24°48′S 140°38′E
MorstoneMount Isa City19°23′S 138°20′E
MosmanCook Shire15°26′S 144°11′E
MowarraBarcoo Shire24°57′S 142°18′E
MuellerBurke Shire18°29′S 138°13′E
MungaMurweh Shire26°09′S 147°12′E
MungallalaParoo Shire27°59′S 147°06′E
MurchisonIsaac Regional22°21′S 149°32′E
MurrayCharters Towers Regional20°23′S 146°57′E
MusgraveLongreach Regional23°30′S 143°30′E
NaresCairns Regional16°55′S 145°47′E
NashMount Isa City20°43′S 138°32′E
NebineParoo Shire28°51′S 146°47′E
NewcastleNorth Burnett Regional25°47′S 150°49′E
NicholsonBurke Shire17°36′S 138°26′E
NickavillaQuilpie Shire26°31′S 144°20′E
NiveBlackall Tambo Regional24°51′S 146°46′E
NooramaParoo Shire28°24′S 146°12′E
NorleyQuilpie Shire27°27′S 143°57′E
NormanCarpentaria Shire17°40′S 141°05′E
Numalla—29°00′S 144°35′E
NyamaDiamantina Shire24°43′S 139°56′E
O'ConnellCharters Towers Regional19°11′S 145°27′E
OaklandsCroydon Shire17°56′S 141°45′E
OondoorooWinton Shire22°08′S 143°07′E
OrreryMurweh Shire26°03′S 146°38′E
PakingtonRockhampton Regional23°35′S 150°00′E
PalmerParoo Shire27°15′S 145°59′E
PalmerstonLivingstone Shire22°39′S 150°18′E
PalumaBarcaldine Regional22°33′S 144°53′E
ParkerDoomadgee Aboriginal Shire16°55′S 139°02′E
ParooQuilpie Shire26°47′S 145°04′E
PelhamBanana Shire24°31′S 150°35′E
PenderBulloo Shire26°40′S 141°24′E
PeraAurukun Shire13°41′S 141°58′E
PercyEtheridge Shire19°11′S 143°57′E
PhilpCharters Towers Regional19°40′S 144°53′E
PitterooBulloo Shire28°09′S 142°40′E
PiturieBoulia Shire21°37′S 138°19′E
PlantagenetCentral Highlands Regional23°44′S 147°30′E
PorchesterBurke Shire17°40′S 139°25′E
PortlandLongreach Regional23°27′S 144°15′E
PringWestern Downs Regional27°46′S 149°58′E
RaglanBanana Shire24°05′S 150°28′E
RawbelleNorth Burnett Regional25°02′S 150°51′E
RichmondFlinders Shire20°56′S 143°20′E
RochedaleMount Isa City20°45′S 139°10′E
RodneyLongreach Regional23°07′S 144°51′E
RogersWestern Downs Regional27°04′S 150°05′E
RoperIsaac Regional22°56′S 149°08′E
RoseberyDiamantina Shire25°53′S 139°21′E
RosebrookWinton Shire23°09′S 142°15′E
RossMurweh Shire26°25′S 146°36′E
RupertRichmond Shire20°58′S 142°45′E
RuthvenLongreach Regional24°12′S 143°51′E
RutledgeIsaac Regional22°35′S 147°05′E
SalisburyWhitsunday Regional19°49′S 147°34′E
SandringhamDiamantina Shire24°05′S 139°04′E
SavannahMckinlay Shire19°32′S 142°09′E
SaxbyMckinlay Shire20°00′S 141°57′E
SellheimWhitsunday Regional20°48′S 146°59′E
SelwynCloncurry Shire21°04′S 140°18′E
ShelburneCook Shire11°56′S 142°51′E
SidmouthCook Shire14°10′S 143°21′E
SolanderDouglas Shire16°29′S 145°28′E
SomersetTorres Shire10°48′S 142°24′E
StanleyBrisbane City27°28′S 153°01′E
StokesCarpentaria Shire18°16′S 140°38′E
StrathlevenCook Shire15°54′S 143°32′E
StrathmoreCarpentaria Shire17°05′S 142°25′E
SturtDiamantina Shire23°39′S 138°22′E
SurreyCroydon Shire18°12′S 142°15′E
TalawantaCarpentaria Shire18°23′S 140°11′E
TalbotCentral Highlands Regional23°12′S 148°21′E
TaldoraCarpentaria Shire19°14′S 141°21′E
TamboBlackall Tambo Regional24°30′S 145°47′E
TanbarBarcoo Shire25°49′S 142°12′E
TateEtheridge Shire18°09′S 144°19′E
TewingaCloncurry Shire19°45′S 139°48′E
ThundaBarcoo Shire25°32′S 143°06′E
TingarraCentral Highlands Regional25°15′S 148°49′E
TitherooBulloo Shire28°40′S 143°21′E
TokoBoulia Shire22°39′S 138°23′E
TomooMaranoa Regional27°23′S 147°17′E
ToorakMckinlay Shire21°14′S 141°32′E
TorresTorres Shire10°35′S 142°13′E
TowerhillFlinders Shire21°59′S 144°44′E
UandaFlinders Shire21°27′S 144°43′E
UlarundaMurweh Shire27°03′S 146°41′E
UndillaMount Isa City19°22′S 138°51′E
VergemontLongreach Regional23°50′S 143°09′E
VictorEtheridge Shire19°08′S 143°28′E
WairunaCharters Towers Regional18°33′S 145°36′E
WaldegraveMaranoa Regional26°35′S 148°47′E
WalkerBarcaldine Regional21°50′S 145°15′E
WalshMareeba Shire16°32′S 143°41′E
WarbreccanBarcoo Shire24°48′S 142°53′E
WarburtonBoulia Shire22°13′S 140°53′E
WardScenic Rim Regional27°55′S 153°10′E
WarnerCook Shire15°16′S 143°22′E
WarrongMaranoa Regional25°22′S 147°59′E
WaverleyBoulia Shire21°27′S 139°04′E
WeipaCook Shire12°15′S 142°03′E
WellesleyMornington Shire17°07′S 139°36′E
WellingtonParoo Shire28°10′S 145°02′E
WentworthBurke Shire17°21′S 138°17′E
WeramoDiamantina Shire25°27′S 138°27′E
WeringaDiamantina Shire25°15′S 139°34′E
WestgroveMaranoa Regional25°42′S 148°41′E
WeymouthLockhart River Aboriginal Shire13°08′S 143°10′E
WicklowNorth Burnett Regional25°47′S 150°49′E
Wilkie GrayCharters Towers Regional19°20′S 146°11′E
WillsBoulia Shire22°55′S 139°54′E
WilsonBulloo Shire28°08′S 141°53′E
WindeyerBlackall Tambo Regional24°39′S 146°23′E
WindsorCloncurry Shire22°10′S 140°06′E
WindulaQuilpie Shire26°59′S 142°47′E
WodehouseIsaac Regional21°41′S 148°42′E
WokinghamWinton Shire21°57′S 142°28′E
WolseleyBarcoo Shire24°25′S 143°28′E
WondoolaCarpentaria Shire18°43′S 140°33′E
WongaleeFlinders Shire20°17′S 144°33′E
WonomoMount Isa City20°08′S 138°22′E
WoodstockWinton Shire22°19′S 141°42′E
WoolgarRichmond Shire19°45′S 143°00′E
WooroolahBlackall Tambo Regional24°59′S 145°21′E
WooroonaCentral Highlands Regional24°04′S 149°06′E
WouraFlinders Shire20°52′S 144°36′E
WrothamMareeba Shire16°29′S 144°09′E
WyaraBulloo Shire28°29′S 143°51′E
YagoonyaCarpentaria Shire16°27′S 141°34′E
YapparRichmond Shire20°18′S 142°47′E
YarrolNorth Burnett Regional25°06′S 151°20′E
YorkCook Shire13°04′S 142°27′E
YouranighBarcaldine Regional23°54′S 145°02′E

FAQ

How many cadastral counties does Queensland have?

322. Almost all were proclaimed in one Governor in Council order on 7 or 8 March 1901, under the Land Act 1897.

Do cadastral counties have any government function today?

No. They have no council, no elected representatives and no services. They persist only in land titles and property descriptions.

Is a county the same as a local government area?

No. A county is a fixed 1901 land-title division. A local government area is the modern council or shire, and its boundaries rarely match a county’s.

Where can I find a county’s exact boundary?

Queensland Globe shows cadastral boundaries against current maps. The Queensland Place Names Gazetteer gives the gazetted reference point and proclamation record for each county.

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