Logan City Council

Infobox Australian Place | type = lga
name = Logan City
state = qld

---

imagesize= 200
caption = Logan City in South East Queensland.
pop = 253,861
pop_footnotes = (2008 est) [cite book|title=Report of the Local Government Reform Commission - Volume 2|last=Longland|first=Bob (Chairperson)|publisher=Queensland Government|page=187 Formerly online at [http://www.strongercouncils.qld.gov.au/Portals/0/ReformDocuments/Logan_rationale.pdf] ]
area = 913
est = 1978
seat = Logan Central
mayor = Pam Parker [ [http://www.questnews.com.au/article/2008/03/19/25657_al_news.html Article - Local news, sport, events, gig guide, groups, blogs, classifieds | whereilive ] ]
region = South East Queensland

url = http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/
stategov =
fedgov = Rankin
near-nw = Brisbane
near-n = Brisbane
near-ne = Redland
near-e = Redland
near-w = Ipswich
near-sw = Scenic Rim
near-s = Scenic Rim
near-se = Gold Coast

Logan City Council is a Local Government Area in South East Queensland, Australia. The city borders the City of Brisbane to the north and Gold Coast to the south. In terms of population, Logan City is the third largest city in Queensland [cite web|url=http://www.oesr.qld.gov.au/queensland-by-theme/demography/population/tables/erp/erp-qld-cities/index.shtml|title=(3218.0) Estimated resident population, Queensland cities, 1996 to 2006 (preliminary)|author=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=3 October 2007|accessdate=2008-04-15] . The city also borders the Scenic Rim and Redland City.

History

The area that is now Logan City was first settled in 1842. The area was first incorporated as a shire in 8 June 1978, deriving convert|131.1|km2|sqmi|1|abbr=on and 11,550 people from the Shire of Beaudesert, and convert|110.0|km2|sqmi|1|abbr=on and 54,650 people from the Shire of Albert. The first elections for positions on the council were held in March 1979. Logan was proclaimed as a city on 1 January 1981.

The City was named after Captain Patrick Logan, one of the founders of the Moreton Bay convict settlement. Logan was honoured in the names of many locales in the district, such as the Logan River, the suburbs of Loganlea, Logan Village, Loganholme, Logan Reserve and Logan Central, the Logan Motorway and Logan Road, which connects Logan City with the nearby state capital of Brisbane.

Local government changes

With the major changes to local government in Queensland which took effect at the 15 March 2008 local elections, Logan more than tripled in area and added 78,400 people to its population. This came about through annexing a large section of the now-dissolved Shire of Beaudesert as well as the Beenleigh-Eagleby suburban area to its southeast, which had been part of the Gold Coast. Additionally, divisions were abolished so that the 12 councillors of the new City represented the entire city. In its rationale for the changes, the Local Government Reform Commission argued that the area added brought the South East Queensland urban footprint and future growth areas to 2026 under the one local council, which could plan effectively for the area's future and would face reduced compliance costs for development works. Economic factors, the lack of geographic barriers and the presence of transport corridors were also considered to be favourable to the annexation. Consideration was given to a merger with Redland to its east, but geographical barriers and the lack of a community of interest between them militated against this.

Governance

At the federal level, the majority of the city's population is represented by the electorate of Rankin [ [http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/rank.htm Rankin - Federal Election 2007 - ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) ] ] . First proclaimed in 1984, Rankin has elected a member of the Labor Party at every election since inception. [cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/rank.htm|title=Australia Votes 2007 - Rankin|last=Green|first=Antony|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=29 December 2007|accessdate=2008-04-15] The newer parts of Logan are within the Forde, while Moreton and Oxley contain small portions of Logan City closer to Brisbane.

ocioeconomics

Logan City has a diversity of socioeconomic areas. Suburbs such as Springwood, Daisy Hill, Shailer Park, Cornubia and Forestdale are perceived to be middle class areas,Fact|date=July 2007 while Woodridge and Logan Central, Kingston and Loganlea are lower socioeconomic areas. These areas began as Housing Commission estates in the 1970s, originally rental or rent-buy detached suburban homes, but are now mostly owner occupied.

There are extensive industrial and commercial areas, mostly in the north and east of Woodridge, and west of Springwood and Daisy Hill, clustered in the triangle formed by Logan Road/Pacific Highway and Kingston Road, and extending west along Compton Road.

Transportation

Logan City is serviced by Queensland Rail's Beenleigh and Gold Coast railway lines. The stations in Logan City are Trinder Park, Woodridge, Kingston and Loganlea, although Gold Coast trains stop only at Beenleigh and Loganlea stations. Integrated ticketing was introduced in South East Queensland in 2004 through TransLink which has improved access to public transport. TransLink bus routes now service most of the built-up areas of Logan City.

Logan City Bus Service is a bus operator, servicing places between Brisbane and Gold Coast at Logan City. First operated as Greenline Bus Service, it was purchased by Clark's Bus Service in 1987. Further development included the purchasing of Rochedale Bus Service in 1995. The trading name of Logan City Bus Service was adopted in 2003. Logan City Bus Service operates a number of services under the TransLink banner, in which most services are based around Loganholme and Springwood Bus Stations along Pacific Motorway. They also operate peak hour buses between Logan City and Brisbane City.

Culture and Sport

Logan City has recently been under development for new bistro areas across the region. Cinemas, shopping complexes and parks are prevalent. Logan City has one public art gallery. The internationally successful Australian band Savage Garden, who sold 25 million albums, are from Logan.

Logan City is home to Souths Logan Magpies rugby league team, one of the oldest existing rugby league clubs in Australia.

Suburbs

Until 2008, Logan had a stable boundary with neighbouring council areas such as Beaudesert, Albert (later merged into Gold Coast) and Brisbane. The following suburbs were included within the pre-2008 area:

In 2008, areas in northern Beaudesert as well as the Beenleigh connurbation in the Gold Coast were merged with Logan. As well as uniting Logan Reserve and Greenbank under one local council area, the following areas were added:

References

External links

* [http://www.logan.qld.gov.au/LCC/ Logan City Council Home]
* [http://www.translink.com.au TRANSLink]
* [http://artabase.net/gallery/139-logan-art-gallery Logan Art Gallery Artabase page]