Traditional Owners

The original inhabitants of the Tablelands Regional Council area were various Aboriginal tribes.

Settlement history

European settlement dates from the 1870s, with land used mainly for grazing, timber-getting, farming, and tin and copper mining. Many townships were established in the 1880s and 1890s. Growth took place from the late 1800s through to the early 1900s, aided by the extension of the railway line from Cairns. Expansion continued from the post-war years, with the population of the Council area increasing from about 11,000 in 1947 to over 13,000 in 1954. The population then declined slightly to 12,000 in 1966, before increasing gradually during the 1970s to about 15,000 in 1981. Steady growth took place from the 1980s, with the population rising to about 20,000 in 1991, to nearly 22,000 in 2001, and then to nearly 26,000 in 2016.

Land use

The Tablelands Regional Council area encompasses significant areas of national park and state forest, rural areas and growing rural-residential and township areas. The Council area encompasses a total land area of about 11,000 square kilometres. The primary regional centre is Atherton, with smaller townships at Herberton and Malanda, and villages at Millaa Millaa, Ravenshoe, Tinaroo, Tolga and Yungaburra. Rural land is used mainly for crop farming, beef farming, dairy farming and mining, with some timber production. Tourism is also an important industry.

Transport

The Tablelands Regional Council area is served by the Kennedy Highway, the Palmerston Highway and Maalan Road.

Major features

• Major features of the Council area include numerous National Parks (Crater Lakes,
• Curtain Fig,
• Danbulla,
• Forty Mile Scrub,
• Girringun,
• Hasties Swamp,
• Herberton Range,
• Kinrara,
• Kirrama,
• Malaan,
• Millstream Falls,
• Mount Hypipamee,
• Topaz Road,
• Tully Gorge and Wooroonooran),
• Wet Tropics World Heritage Area,
• Hallorans Hill Conservation Park,
• Tolga Scrub,
• Cathedral Fig Tree,
• Curtain Fig Tree,
• Koombooloomba Dam,
• Tinaroo Dam,
• Lake Barrine,
• Lake Eacham,
• Malanda Falls,
• Millaa Millaa Falls,
• Millstream Falls,
• TAFE Queensland North (Atherton Campus),
• Eacham Historical Museum,
• Herberton Historic Village,
• Herberton Mining Museum,
• Herberton Spy and Camera Museum,
• Innot Hot Springs Health and Leisure Park,
• Malanda Dairy Centre,
• Mungalli Creek Dairy,
• Nerada Tea Visitors Centre,
• Ravenshoe Steam Railway,
• Australian Platypus Park,
• The Chalet Rainforest Gallery,
• Tableland Regional Gallery,
• The Crystal Caves,
• Tolga Woodworks,
• Mt Uncle Distillery,
• Windy Hill Wind Farm,
• Atherton Hospital,
• Herberton Hospital,
• several golf clubs,
• and various conservation parks and state forests.

Included areas