Cairns Shire and Mulgrave Shire (1902-1995)

William John Munro - Chairman 1902-1911

William John Munro was a grazier, butcher and sugar industry pioneer,

He was elected as an Alderman of the Cairns Divisional Board in 1894 and was Chairman from 1898 to 1902. When the Cairns Shire Council was formed in 1902, he became the first Chairman and held the office until 1911.

Munro died on 7 April 1912. Munro Terrace in Mooroobool is named after this former Chairman.

George Russell Mayers - Chairman 1912-1918

George Russell Mayers was a Member of the Cairns Harbour Board, a prominent figure in the sugar industry and Chairman of the Cairns Coffee Growers’ Association.

He was an Alderman on the Cairns Shire Council and held the office of Chairman from 1912 to 1918.

After his Council career, he became the first District Grand Master of the District Grand Lodge of Carpentaria on 1 March 1924.

Mayers Street in Edge Hill/Manunda, Mayers Street in Babinda and Mayers Street in Gordonvale are all named after this former

Seymour Herbert Warner - Chairman 1919-1929

Before becoming Chairman of the Cairns Shire Council, S. H. Warner was President of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce in 1915.

Wilfred Mylchreest Simmonds - Chairman 1930-1936

Wilfred Mylchreest Simmonds was a cane farmer and pioneer of the Babinda area.

Like his father before him, he was a Cairns Shire councillor (1915–17, 1920–24, 1927–36 and 1958–64) and Chairman (1930-36). His first term was cut short by service with the 15th Battalion during World War I (August 1917 to September 1919).  He subsequently contested the federal seat of Kennedy in 1940 and 1943, and was elected to the Senate as a member of the Liberal–Country Party team on 10 December 1949.

Simmonds was appointed MBE in June 1961 for his service in the field of local government and for his charitable work. He died at Babinda on 2 January 1967. The Parliament of Australia website has a more detailed biography on Mr Simmonds.

Simmonds Street in Babinda is named after this former Chairman.

John Albert Martin - Chairman 1936-1941

J A Martin was the final Chairman of the Cairns Shire Council and inaugural Chairman of the new Mulgrave Shire Council, which was formed in 1940.

Martin enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1941 and Jim P Tully replaced him as Mulgrave Shire Chairman.

Following his military service, Martin returned to public office and was elected Mulgrave Shire Councillor for Division 3 in June 1952.

James (Jim) Parnell Tully - Chairman 1941-1944

In his early days, Jim P Tully conducted mining activities and operated his father's mine at Wolfram Camp during World War One. In 1919, he came to Cairns and was proprietor of the Mining Exchange Hotel until 1926, when he bought the Stratford Hotel.

On 7 April 1941, he was elected Chairman of the Mulgrave Shire Council in place of Cr J A Martin who had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).  Cr Tully was re-elected unopposed in May 1943.

He was a member of the Barron Falls Hydro-Electricity Board and Cairns Hospital Board, and a keen follower and supporter of local sport.

He died in office in October 1944.  Tully Street in Aeroglen/Stratford is named after Jim Tully.

His son, James John Parnell Tully, similarly operated hotels and pursued a political career (holding executive branch positions within the ALP in the 1950s).

William Charles Griffin - Chairman 1944-1951

William Charles Griffin commenced farming cane in the in the Gordonvale district at his Somerset property in 1896.

He was elected to the Cairns Divisional Board in 1908 and served on the Cairns Shire Council from 1909 to 1930. Cr Griffin also served as a member of the Cairns Harbour Board and director of the Mulgrave Mill.

He returned to Council in 1939 and was elected Mulgrave Shire Chairman in November 1944 following the death of incumbent Chairman James Tully.  

He was defeated as Chairman of Mulgrave Shire at the 1952 local government election.

Griffin Street in Gordonvale is named after this past Chairman.

Charles Edward Campbell - Chairman 1952-1963

Charles E. Campbell was President of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce in 1926.

He defeated retiring Chairman W C Griffin at the local government election in May 1952. He had been a previous member of the Mulgrave Shire Council but was defeated at the last election.

Campbell Street in Gordonvale is named after this former Chairman.

George Kenneth Alley - Chairman 1964-1979

George Kenneth (Ken) Alley was the second longest serving Chairman of the Mulgrave Shire Council.

Alley was very involved in the community serving on many committees including the Mulgrave Central Mill Board, North Queensland Electricity Board, Hospital Board and also the Ambulance and Fire Brigades.

Ken Alley is the grandson of William Saunders Alley a pioneer and one of the first European settlers in the Mulgrave Valley.

Thomas Alfred Pyne - Chairman 1979-1995

Thomas Alfred Pyne was born in Babinda in January 1935. He worked as a railway worker, wood machinist and also served in the Royal Queensland Regiment Reserve, attaining the rank of sergeant.

In 1961, he was first elected as Councillor with Mulgrave Shire Council. He was elected Deputy Shire Chairman in 1975 and in 1979, was elected unopposed as Chairman following the retirement of former Chairman Ken Alley.

Tom Pyne was re-elected as Chairman in 1982, 1983, 1988 and 1991. In 1995, he was elected inaugural Mayor of the newly amalgamated Cairns City Council (created through the forced merger of Mulgrave Shire and Cairns City).

Pyne was also a prominent member of the Local Government Association of Queensland, becoming a member of the Local Government Executive in 1979. He was re-appointed in 1985, 1988 and 1991, and served as LGAQ President from 1997 to 2000.

In 2000, Tom Pyne was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia, and in 2001 he was awarded the Centenary Medal.

He retired from public service in 2000, having never lost an election. Pyne died in Babinda on 30 October 2011.